Minnesota Session Laws - 1987, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1987 

                        CHAPTER 277-H.F.No. 1030 
           An act relating to water pollution; providing for 
          grants and loans for the construction and 
          rehabilitation of wastewater treatment facilities and 
          systems; authorizing rulemaking; amending Minnesota 
          Statutes 1986, section 116.18, by adding subdivisions; 
          proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
          chapter 116. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 116.18, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 3b.  [CAPITAL COST COMPONENT GRANT.] (a) The 
definitions of "capital cost component," "capital cost component 
grant," "service fee," "service contract," and "private vendor" 
in section 471A.02 apply to this subdivision.  
    (b) Beginning in fiscal year 1989, up to $1,500,000 of the 
money to be awarded as grants under subdivision 3a in any single 
fiscal year may be set aside for the award of capital cost 
component grants to municipalities on the municipal needs list 
for part of the capital cost component of the service fee under 
a service contract for a term of at least 20 years with a 
private vendor for the purpose of constructing and operating 
wastewater treatment facilities.  
    (c) The amount granted to a municipality shall be 50 
percent of the average total eligible costs of municipalities of 
similar size recently awarded state and federal grants under the 
provisions of subdivisions 2a and 3a and the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act, United States Code, title 33, sections 
1281 to 1289.  Federal and state eligibility requirements for 
determining the amount of grant dollars to be awarded to a 
municipality are not applicable to municipalities awarded 
capital cost component grants.  Federal and state eligibility 
requirements for determining which cities qualify for state and 
federal grants are applicable, except as provided in this 
subdivision.  
    (d) Except as provided in this subdivision, municipalities 
receiving capital cost component grants shall not be required to 
comply with federal and state regulations regarding facilities 
planning and procurement contained in sections 116.16 to 116.18, 
except those necessary to issue a National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System permit or state disposal system permit and 
those necessary to assure that the proposed facilities are 
reasonably capable of meeting the conditions of the permit over 
20 years.  The municipality and the private vendor shall be 
parties to the permit.  Municipalities receiving capital cost 
component grants may also be exempted by rules of the agency 
from other state and federal regulations relating to the award 
of state and federal grants for wastewater treatment facilities, 
except those necessary to protect the state from fraud or misuse 
of state funds.  
    (e) Funds shall be distributed from the set-aside to 
municipalities that apply for the funds in accordance with these 
provisions in the order of their ranking on the municipal needs 
list.  
    (f) The authority shall award capital cost component grants 
to municipalities selected by the state pollution control 
director upon certification by the state pollution control 
director that the municipalities' projects and applications have 
been reviewed and approved in accordance with this subdivision 
and agency rules adopted under paragraph (g).  
    (g) The agency shall adopt permanent rules to provide for 
the administration of grants awarded under this subdivision.  
    (h) The commissioner of energy and economic development may 
adopt rules containing procedures for administration of the 
authority's duties as set forth in paragraph (f).  
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1986, section 116.18, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 3c.  [INDIVIDUAL ON-SITE TREATMENT SYSTEMS 
PROGRAM.] (a) Beginning in fiscal year 1989, up to ten percent 
of the money to be awarded as grants under subdivision 3a in any 
single fiscal year, up to a maximum of $1,000,000, may be set 
aside for the award of grants by the authority to municipalities 
to reimburse owners of individual on-site wastewater treatment 
systems for a part of the costs of upgrading or replacing the 
systems. 
    (b) An individual on-site treatment system is a wastewater 
treatment system, or part thereof, serving one or two dwellings 
or other establishments, which utilizes subsurface soil 
treatment and disposal.  
    (c) Municipalities may apply yearly for grants of up to 50 
percent of the cost of replacing or upgrading individual on-site 
treatment systems within their jurisdiction.  Upon application 
for a grant, a municipality must certify that:  
    (1) it has adopted and is enforcing the requirements of 
Minnesota Rules governing individual sewage treatment systems; 
    (2) the existing systems for which application is made do 
not conform to those rules, were constructed prior to January 1, 
1977, do not serve seasonal residences, and were not constructed 
with state or federal funds; and 
    (3) that the costs requested do not include planning and 
engineering costs, administrative costs, and costs for 
improvements or replacements made before the application is 
submitted to the authority unless it pertains to the plan 
finally adopted.  
    (d) The federal and state regulations regarding the award 
of state and federal wastewater treatment grants do not apply to 
municipalities or systems funded under this subdivision, except 
as provided in this subdivision.  
    (e) The authority shall award individual on-site wastewater 
treatment grants to municipalities selected by the state 
pollution control director upon certification by the state 
pollution control director that the municipalities' applications 
have been reviewed and approved in accordance with this 
subdivision and agency rules adopted under paragraph (f). 
    (f) The agency shall adopt permanent rules regarding 
priorities, distribution of funds, payments, inspections, and 
other matters that the agency finds necessary for proper 
administration of grants awarded under this subdivision.  
    (g) The commissioner of energy and economic development may 
adopt rules containing procedures for administration of the 
authority's duties as set forth in paragraph (e). 
    Sec. 3.  [116.181] [CORRECTIVE ACTION GRANTS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) The definitions in 
section 116.16, subdivision 2, apply to this section.  
    (b) "Corrective action" means action taken to upgrade or 
correct wastewater treatment facilities, funded under the 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act or the independent state 
grants program, that have failed to meet performance standards, 
and includes engineering, design, construction, legal 
assistance, and other action as the agency may allow.  
    Subd. 2.  [SET ASIDE.] In any fiscal year, up to ten 
percent of the money available for independent state grants, up 
to a maximum of $1,000,000, may be set aside for the award of 
grants to municipalities for corrective action.  
    Subd. 3.  [GRANT LIMITATIONS.] The amount of a corrective 
action grant awarded to a municipality shall not exceed 
$500,000.  In no event shall the grant amount exceed the cost of 
the corrective action.  Construction costs that were not 
eligible under the original grant are not eligible under a 
corrective action grant.  
    Subd. 4.  [REPAYMENT.] Any municipality that is awarded a 
corrective action grant shall seek recovery from any person who 
is responsible for the failure of the facility to perform.  The 
municipality shall reimburse the state in the event the 
municipality recovers any funds from responsible persons.  Any 
repayments must be deposited in the Minnesota state water 
pollution control fund.  
    Subd. 5.  [AWARD OF GRANTS.] Until June 30, 1988, the 
agency shall award corrective action grants.  On July 1, 1988, 
the authority shall award corrective action grants to 
municipalities selected by the state pollution control director 
upon certification by the state pollution control director that 
the municipalities' projects and applications have been reviewed 
and approved in accordance with this section and agency rules 
adopted under subdivision 6.  
     Subd. 6.  [RULES OF THE AGENCY.] The agency shall 
promulgate permanent rules and may promulgate emergency rules 
for the administration of the corrective action grant program.  
The rules must contain at a minimum: 
     (1) the method for determining the amount of the corrective 
action grant; 
     (2) application requirements; 
     (3) criteria for determining which municipalities will be 
awarded grants when there are more applicants than money; 
    (4) conditions for use of the grant funds; 
     (5) identification of eligible costs; 
     (6) the amount that must be reimbursed to the authority in 
the event funds are recovered by the municipality from the 
responsible person; and 
     (7) other matters that the agency finds necessary for 
proper administration of the program.  
    Subd. 7.  [RULES OF THE AUTHORITY.] The commissioner of 
energy and economic development may adopt rules containing 
procedures for administration of the authority's duties as set 
forth in subdivision 5. 
     Sec. 4.  [STATE MATCHING GRANTS.] 
    For projects providing wastewater treatment to a federal 
correctional institution that are tendered, on or after January 
1, 1987, a grant of federal money under section 201(g), section 
202, 203, or 206(f) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 
as amended, United States Code, title 33, sections 1251 to 1376, 
at 55 percent or more of the eligible cost for construction of 
the treatment works, state money appropriated under Minnesota 
Statutes, section 116.18, subdivision 1, must be expended for 50 
percent of the nonfederal share of the eligible cost of 
construction for municipalities with populations of 25,000 or 
less. 
    Approved May 28, 1987