Minnesota Session Laws - 1998, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 379-H.F.No. 2722 
                  An act relating to the environment; providing 
                  penalties for violations of underground storage tank 
                  statutes and rules; modifying provisions relating to 
                  the placement of motor vehicle antifreeze in 
                  wastewater systems; providing for a study; amending 
                  Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 115.071, by adding a 
                  subdivision; and 116.073, subdivisions 1 and 2; 
                  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 115A.916. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 115.071, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 7.  [UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS; RED TAGS.] (a) The 
        commissioner may issue a red tag for failure to have the 
        regulated underground tank system protected from corrosion, 
        failure to have spill and overfill protection, or failure to 
        have a leak detection method in place.  A red tag may also be 
        issued for underground storage tank system violations if an 
        enforcement action, including, but not limited to, a citation as 
        defined in section 116.073, subdivision 1, has been issued and 
        the violations are not corrected.  Upon discovery of a violation 
        at a facility with an underground storage tank system, the 
        commissioner shall affix a red tag, in plain view, to the fill 
        pipe cap of the tank system that provides notice that delivery 
        of petroleum products to the tank system is prohibited.  When 
        the red tag is issued, agency staff must determine the product 
        level in the tank. 
           (b) No owner or operator of a facility having an 
        underground storage tank system shall fill or allow the filling 
        of a tank with a petroleum product while a red tag is affixed to 
        the fill pipe cap of the tank system. 
           (c) A person shall not remove, deface, alter, or otherwise 
        tamper with a red tag so that the information contained on the 
        tag is not legible. 
           (d) A red tag may not be removed until the commissioner has 
        inspected the underground storage tank system and established 
        that it is no longer in violation.  After making that 
        determination, the commissioner shall remove the red tag within 
        24 hours or as soon as reasonably possible.  Upon agreement by 
        the commissioner, the red tag may also be removed by an 
        agency-certified installer who provides documentation to the 
        commissioner that the violation for which the system was 
        red-tagged has been corrected. 
           (e) The issuance of a red tag may be appealed under section 
        116.072, subdivision 6, paragraphs (a) to (e), except that the 
        person subject to the order must request a hearing within 15 
        days after issuance of a red tag and, if a hearing is not 
        requested within the 15-day period, the red tag becomes a final 
        order not subject to further review. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1997 Supplement, section 
        115A.916, is amended to read: 
           115A.916 [MOTOR VEHICLE FLUIDS AND FILTERS; PROHIBITIONS.] 
           (a) A person may not knowingly place motor oil, brake 
        fluid, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, motor oil 
        filters, or motor vehicle antifreeze: 
           (1) in solid waste or in a solid waste management facility 
        other than a recycling facility or a household hazardous waste 
        collection facility; 
           (2) in or on the land, unless approved by the agency; or 
           (3) in or on the waters of the state, in an individual 
        sewage treatment system as defined in section 115.55, or in a 
        stormwater or wastewater collection or treatment system except 
        as described in paragraph (c).  
           (b) For the purposes of this section, "antifreeze" does not 
        include small amounts of antifreeze contained in water used to 
        flush the cooling system of a vehicle after the antifreeze has 
        been drained and does not include deicer that has been used on 
        the exterior of a vehicle. 
           (c) For businesses that purchase or use an annual average 
        of over 50 gallons of motor vehicle antifreeze per month for 
        on-site installation in motor vehicles, this section does not 
        apply to antifreeze placed in a wastewater collection system 
        that includes a publicly owned treatment works that is permitted 
        by the agency until December 31, 1997.  For businesses that 
        purchase or use an annual average of 50 gallons or less of motor 
        vehicle antifreeze per month for on-site installation in motor 
        vehicles, this section does not apply to antifreeze placed in a 
        wastewater collection system that includes a publicly owned 
        treatment works that is permitted by the agency until July 1, 
        1998.  A person may place waste motor vehicle antifreeze in a 
        wastewater collection or treatment system permitted by the 
        agency, unless prohibited by the operator of the system, if the 
        person: 
           (1) generates an annual average of less than 50 gallons per 
        month of waste motor vehicle antifreeze; and 
           (2) keeps records of the amount of waste antifreeze 
        generated.  Records must be maintained on site and made 
        available for inspection for a minimum of three years following 
        generation of the waste antifreeze. 
           (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), motor oil filters and 
        portions of motor oil filters may be processed at a permitted 
        mixed municipal solid waste resource recovery facility that 
        directly burns the waste if: 
           (1) the facility is subject to an industrial waste 
        management plan that addresses management of motor oil filters 
        and the owner or operator of the facility can demonstrate to the 
        satisfaction of the commissioner that the facility is in 
        compliance with that plan; 
           (2) the facility recovers ferrous metal after incineration 
        for recycling as part of its operation; and 
           (3) the motor oil filters are collected separately from 
        mixed municipal solid waste and are not combined with it except 
        for the purpose of incinerating the waste. 
           (e) The commissioner of the pollution control agency, in 
        conjunction with the director of the office of environmental 
        assistance, industry organizations representing automotive 
        repair businesses and antifreeze recycling businesses, and 
        environmental organizations shall work together to develop and 
        promote opportunities to recycle waste motor vehicle antifreeze 
        and to review the impact of alternative antifreeze disposal or 
        recycling methods on businesses and the environment. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 116.073, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [AUTHORITY TO ISSUE.] Pollution control 
        agency staff designated by the commissioner and department of 
        natural resources conservation officers may issue citations to a 
        person who disposes of solid waste as defined in section 116.06, 
        subdivision 22, at a location not authorized by law for the 
        disposal of solid waste without permission of the owner of the 
        property.  In addition, pollution control agency staff 
        designated by the commissioner may issue citations to owners and 
        operators of facilities dispensing petroleum products who 
        violate sections 116.46 to 116.50 and Minnesota Rules, chapter 
        7150.  The citations may be issued only after the owners and 
        operators have had a 90-day period to correct all the violations 
        stated in a letter issued previously by pollution control agency 
        staff.  A citation issued under this subdivision must include a 
        requirement that the person cited remove and properly dispose of 
        or otherwise manage the waste or, reimburse any government 
        agency that has disposed of the waste for the reasonable costs 
        of disposal, or correct any underground storage tank violations. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 116.073, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [PENALTY AMOUNT.] The citation must impose the 
        following penalty amounts: 
           (1) $100 per major appliance, as defined in section 
        115A.03, subdivision 17a, up to a maximum of $2,000; 
           (2) $25 per waste tire, as defined in section 115A.90, 
        subdivision 11, up to a maximum of $2,000; 
           (3) $25 per lead acid battery governed by section 115A.915, 
        up to a maximum of $2,000; 
           (4) $1 per pound of other solid waste or $20 per cubic foot 
        up to a maximum of $2,000; and 
           (5) up to $200 for any amount of waste that escapes from a 
        vehicle used for the transportation of solid waste if, after 
        receiving actual notice that waste has escaped the vehicle, the 
        person or company transporting the waste fails to immediately 
        collect the waste.; 
           (6) $50 per violation of rules adopted under section 
        116.49, relating to underground storage tank system design, 
        construction, installation, and notification requirements, up to 
        a maximum of $2,000; 
           (7) $250 per violation of rules adopted under section 
        116.49, relating to upgrading of existing underground storage 
        tank systems, up to a maximum of $2,000; 
           (8) $100 per violation of rules adopted under section 
        116.49, relating to underground storage tank system general 
        operating requirements, up to a maximum of $2,000; 
           (9) $250 per violation of rules adopted under section 
        116.49, relating to underground storage tank system release 
        detection requirements, up to a maximum of $2,000; 
           (10) $50 per violation of rules adopted under section 
        116.49, relating to out-of-service underground storage tank 
        systems and closure, up to a maximum of $2,000; and 
           (11) $50 per violation of sections 116.48 to 116.491 
        relating to underground storage tank system notification, 
        monitoring, environmental protection, and tank installers 
        training and certification requirements, up to a maximum of 
        $2,000. 
           Sec. 5.  [LEAD STUDY.] 
           By January 15, 1999, the commissioner of the pollution 
        control agency, in conjunction with the director of the office 
        of environmental assistance, the commissioner of the department 
        of health, the University of Minnesota, and the metropolitan 
        council, shall report to the environment and natural resources 
        committees of the senate and the house of representatives on the 
        sources and amount of lead, including lead in wastewater 
        treatment sludges, the ecological and health risks associated 
        with lead, and recommendations for reducing the amount of lead 
        in the environment and associated risks. 
           Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Sections 1, 3, and 4 are effective December 31, 1998, and 
        apply to violations occurring on or after that date.  Section 2 
        is effective the day following final enactment. 
           Presented to the governor April 9, 1998 
           Signed by the governor April 9, 1998, 6:35 p.m.