SF 1432

3rd Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 09/14/2015 02:13pm

A bill for an act
relating to natural resources; modifying public entity purchasing requirements;
modifying solid waste provisions; modifying subsurface sewage treatment
systems provisions; modifying compensable losses due to harmful substances;
modifying eligibility for certain grants; modifying life jacket requirements;
regulating wake surfing; providing for certain recycling; modifying invasive
species provisions; modifying state parks and trails provisions; modifying
requirements for fire training; modifying auxiliary forest provisions; modifying
recreational vehicle provisions; modifying authority to issue water use permits
and waive fees; requiring rulemaking; amending Minnesota Statutes 2014,
sections 16C.073, subdivision 2; 84.788, subdivision 5, by adding a subdivision;
84.84; 84.922, subdivision 4; 84D.01, subdivisions 13, 15, 17, 18; 84D.03,
subdivision 3; 84D.06; 84D.10, subdivision 3; 84D.11, subdivision 1; 84D.12,
subdivisions 1, 3; 84D.13, subdivisions 4, 5; 85.015, subdivision 28, by adding
a subdivision; 85.053, subdivisions 8, 10; 85.054, subdivision 12; 86B.201, by
adding a subdivision; 86B.313, subdivisions 1, 4; 86B.315; 88.17, subdivision 3;
88.49, subdivisions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11; 88.491, subdivision 2; 88.50; 88.51,
subdivisions 1, 3; 88.52, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; 88.523; 88.53, subdivisions 1,
2; 103G.271, subdivisions 5, 6a; 115.55, subdivision 1; 115.56, subdivision 2;
115A.03, subdivision 32a; 115A.1314, subdivision 1; 115A.93, subdivision 1;
115B.34, subdivision 2; 282.011, subdivision 3; 446A.073, subdivisions 1, 3, 4;
repealing Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 88.47; 88.48; 88.49, subdivisions 1,
2, 10; 88.491, subdivision 1; 88.51, subdivision 2; 282.013.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 16C.073, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Purchases; printing.

(a) Whenever practicable, a public entity shall:

(1) purchase uncoated copy paper, office paper, and printing paper;

(2) purchase recycled content copy paper with at least ten 30 percent postconsumer
material by weight and purchase printing and office paper with at least ten percent
postconsumer material by weight;

(3) purchase copy, office, and printing paper which has not been dyed with colors,
excluding pastel colors;

(4) purchase recycled content copy, office, and printing paper that is manufactured
using little or no chlorine bleach or chlorine derivatives;

(5) use no more than two colored inks, standard or processed, except in formats
where they are necessary to convey meaning;

(6) (5) use reusable binding materials or staples and bind documents by methods
that do not use glue;

(7) (6) use soy-based inks;

(8) (7) produce reports, publications, and periodicals that are readily recyclable
within the state resource recovery program; and

(9) (8) purchase paper which has been made on a paper machine located in Minnesota.

(b) Paragraph (a), clause (1), does not apply to coated paper that is made with at
least 50 percent postconsumer material.

(c) A public entity shall print documents on both sides of the paper where commonly
accepted publishing practices allow.

(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), clause (2), and section 16C.0725, copier paper
purchased by a state agency must contain at least ten percent postconsumer material by
fiber content.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84.788, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Report of ownership transfers; fee.

A person who sells or transfers (a)
Application for transfer of ownership of an off-highway motorcycle registered under
this section shall report the sale or transfer must be made to the commissioner within
15 days of the date of transfer.

(b) An application for transfer must be executed by the registered owner and the
buyer on a form prescribed by the commissioner with the owner's registration certificate,
purchaser using a bill of sale, and a $4 fee that includes the vehicle serial number.

(c) The purchaser is subject to the penalties imposed by section 84.774 if the
purchaser fails to apply for transfer of ownership as provided under this subdivision.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective January 1, 2016.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84.788, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 5a.

Report of registration transfers.

(a) Application for transfer of
registration under this section must be made to the commissioner within 15 days of the
date of transfer.

(b) An application for transfer must be executed by the registered owner and the
purchaser using a bill of sale that includes the vehicle serial number.

(c) The purchaser is subject to the penalties imposed by section 84.774 if the
purchaser fails to apply for transfer of registration as provided under this subdivision.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective January 1, 2016.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84.84, is amended to read:

84.84 TRANSFER OR TERMINATION OF SNOWMOBILE OWNERSHIP.

(a) Within 15 days after the transfer of ownership, or any part thereof, other than a
security interest, or the destruction or abandonment of any snowmobile, written notice
thereof of the transfer or destruction or abandonment shall be given to the commissioner
in such form as the commissioner shall prescribe.

(b) An application for transfer must be executed by the registered owner and the
purchaser using a bill of sale that includes the vehicle serial number.

(c) The purchaser is subject to the penalties imposed by section 84.88 if the purchaser
fails to apply for transfer of ownership as provided under this subdivision. Every owner
or part owner of a snowmobile shall, upon failure to give such notice of destruction or
abandonment, be subject to the penalties imposed by Laws 1967, chapter 876 section 84.88.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective July 1, 2016.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84.922, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Report of transfers.

A person who sells or transfers ownership of a
vehicle registered under this section shall report the sale or (a) Application for transfer of
ownership must be made to the commissioner within 15 days of the date of transfer.

(b) An application for transfer must be executed by the registered owner and
the purchaser on a form prescribed by the commissioner with the owner's registration
certificate, using a bill of sale and a $4 fee that includes the vehicle serial number.

(c) The purchaser is subject to the penalties imposed by section 84.774 if the
purchaser fails to apply for transfer of ownership as provided under this subdivision.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective January 1, 2016.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.01, subdivision 13, is amended to read:

Subd. 13.

Prohibited invasive species.

"Prohibited invasive species" means a
nonnative species that has been listed designated as a prohibited invasive species in a rule
adopted by the commissioner under section 84D.12.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.01, subdivision 15, is amended to read:

Subd. 15.

Regulated invasive species.

"Regulated invasive species" means a
nonnative species that has been listed designated as a regulated invasive species in a rule
adopted by the commissioner under section 84D.12.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.01, subdivision 17, is amended to read:

Subd. 17.

Unlisted nonnative species.

"Unlisted nonnative species" means a
nonnative species that has not been listed designated as a prohibited invasive species, a
regulated invasive species, or an unregulated nonnative species in a rule adopted by the
commissioner under section 84D.12.

Sec. 9.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.01, subdivision 18, is amended to read:

Subd. 18.

Unregulated nonnative species.

"Unregulated nonnative species" means
a nonnative species that has been listed designated as an unregulated nonnative species in
a rule adopted by the commissioner under section 84D.12.

Sec. 10.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.03, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Bait harvest from infested waters.

(a) Taking wild animals from infested
waters for bait or aquatic farm purposes is prohibited, except as provided in paragraph
(b) or (c) and section 97C.341.

(b) In waters that are listed as infested waters, except those listed because they
contain as infested with prohibited invasive species of fish or certifiable diseases of fish, as
defined under section 17.4982, subdivision 6, taking wild animals may be permitted for:

(1) commercial taking of wild animals for bait and aquatic farm purposes according
to a permit issued under section 84D.11, subject to rules adopted by the commissioner; and

(2) bait purposes for noncommercial personal use in waters that contain Eurasian
water milfoil, when the infested waters are listed solely because they contain Eurasian
water milfoil and if the equipment for taking is limited to cylindrical minnow traps not
exceeding 16 inches in diameter and 32 inches in length; and.

(3) (c) In streams or rivers that are listed as infested waters, except those listed as
infested with certifiable diseases of fish, as defined under section 17.4982, subdivision 6,
the harvest of bullheads, goldeyes, mooneyes, sheepshead (freshwater drum), and suckers
for bait from streams or rivers listed as infested waters, by hook and line for noncommercial
personal use. Other provisions that apply to this clause are is allowed as follows:

(i) (1) fish taken under this clause paragraph must be used on the same body of water
where caught and while still on that water body. Where the river or stream is divided by
barriers such as dams, the fish must be caught and used on the same section of the river
or stream;

(ii) (2) fish taken under this clause paragraph may not be transported live from or
off the water body;

(iii) (3) fish harvested under this clause paragraph may only be used in accordance
with this section;

(iv) (4) any other use of wild animals used for bait from infested waters is prohibited;

(v) (5) fish taken under this clause paragraph must meet all other size restrictions
and requirements as established in rules; and

(vi) (6) all species listed under this clause paragraph shall be included in the person's
daily limit as established in rules, if applicable.

(c) (d) Equipment authorized for minnow harvest in a listed infested water by permit
issued under paragraph (b) may not be transported to, or used in, any waters other than
waters specified in the permit.

Sec. 11.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.06, is amended to read:

84D.06 UNLISTED NONNATIVE SPECIES.

Subdivision 1.

Process.

A person may not introduce an unlisted nonnative aquatic
plant or wild animal species unless:

(1) the person has notified the commissioner in a manner and form prescribed by
the commissioner;

(2) the commissioner has made the classification determination required in
subdivision 2 and listed designated the species as appropriate; and

(3) the introduction is allowed under the applicable provisions of this chapter.

Subd. 2.

Classification.

(a) If the commissioner determines that a species for which
a notification is received under subdivision 1 should be classified as a prohibited invasive
species, the commissioner shall:

(1) adopt a rule under section 84D.12, subdivision 3, listing designating the species
as a prohibited invasive species; and

(2) notify the person from which the notification was received that the species is
subject to section 84D.04.

(b) If the commissioner determines that a species for which a notification is
received under subdivision 1 should be classified as an unregulated nonnative species,
the commissioner shall:

(1) adopt a rule under section 84D.12, subdivision 3, listing designating the species
as an unregulated nonnative species; and

(2) notify the person from which the notification was received that the species is not
subject to regulation under this chapter.

(c) If the commissioner determines that a species for which a notification is received
under subdivision 1 should be classified as a regulated invasive species, the commissioner
shall notify the applicant that the species is subject to the requirements in section 84D.07.

Sec. 12.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.10, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Removal and confinement.

(a) A conservation officer or other licensed
peace officer may order:

(1) the removal of aquatic macrophytes or prohibited invasive species from
water-related equipment, including decontamination using hot water or high pressure
equipment when available on site, before it the water-related equipment is transported or
before it is placed into waters of the state;

(2) confinement of the water-related equipment at a mooring, dock, or other location
until the water-related equipment is removed from the water;

(3) removal of water-related equipment from waters of the state to remove prohibited
invasive species if the water has not been listed by the commissioner as being infested
with that species; and

(4) a prohibition on placing water-related equipment into waters of the state when
the water-related equipment has aquatic macrophytes or prohibited invasive species
attached in violation of subdivision 1 or when water has not been drained or the drain plug
has not been removed in violation of subdivision 4.; and

(5) decontamination of water-related equipment when available on site.

(b) An order for removal of prohibited invasive species under paragraph (a), clause
(1), or decontamination of water-related equipment under paragraph (a), clause (5),
may include tagging the water-related equipment and issuing a notice that specifies
a time frame for completing the removal or decontamination and reinspection of the
water-related equipment.

(b) (c) An inspector who is not a licensed peace officer may issue orders under
paragraph (a), clauses (1), (3), and (4), and (5).

Sec. 13.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.11, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Prohibited invasive species.

The commissioner may issue a permit
for the propagation, possession, importation, purchase, or transport of a prohibited invasive
species for the purposes of disposal, decontamination, control, research, or education.

Sec. 14.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.12, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Required rules.

The commissioner shall adopt rules:

(1) listing designating prohibited invasive species, regulated invasive species, and
unregulated nonnative species of aquatic plants and wild animals;

(2) governing the application for and issuance of permits under this chapter, which
rules may include a fee schedule; and

(3) governing notification under section 84D.08.

Sec. 15.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.12, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Expedited rules.

The commissioner may adopt rules under section 84.027,
subdivision 13, that list designate:

(1) prohibited invasive species of aquatic plants and wild animals;

(2) regulated invasive species of aquatic plants and wild animals; and

(3) unregulated nonnative species of aquatic plants and wild animals.

Sec. 16.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.13, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Warnings; civil citations.

After appropriate training, conservation
officers, other licensed peace officers, and other department personnel designated by the
commissioner may issue warnings or citations to a person who:

(1) unlawfully transports prohibited invasive species or aquatic macrophytes;

(2) unlawfully places or attempts to place into waters of the state water-related
equipment that has aquatic macrophytes or prohibited invasive species attached;

(3) intentionally damages, moves, removes, or sinks a buoy marking, as prescribed
by rule, Eurasian water milfoil;

(4) fails to remove plugs, open valves, and drain water from water-related equipment
before leaving waters of the state or when transporting water-related equipment as
provided in section 84D.10, subdivision 4; or

(5) transports infested water, in violation of rule, off riparian property.; or

(6) fails to complete decontamination of water-related equipment or to remove
invasive species from water-related equipment by the date specified on a tagging notice
and order.

Sec. 17.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 84D.13, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Civil penalties.

(a) A civil citation issued under this section must impose
the following penalty amounts:

(1) for transporting aquatic macrophytes in violation of section 84D.09, $100;

(2) for placing or attempting to place into waters of the state water-related equipment
that has aquatic macrophytes attached, $200;

(3) for unlawfully possessing or transporting a prohibited invasive species other
than an aquatic macrophyte, $500;

(4) for placing or attempting to place into waters of the state water-related equipment
that has prohibited invasive species attached when the waters are not listed by the
commissioner as being infested with that invasive species, $500;

(5) for intentionally damaging, moving, removing, or sinking a buoy marking, as
prescribed by rule, Eurasian water milfoil, $100;

(6) for failing to have drain plugs or similar devices removed or opened while
transporting water-related equipment or for failing to remove plugs, open valves, and
drain water from water-related equipment, other than marine sanitary systems, before
leaving waters of the state, $100; and

(7) for transporting infested water off riparian property without a permit as required
by rule, $200.; and

(8) for failing to complete decontamination of water-related equipment or to remove
invasive species from water-related equipment by the date specified on a tagging notice
and order, $250.

(b) A civil citation that is issued to a person who has one or more prior convictions
or final orders for violations of this chapter is subject to twice the penalty amounts listed
in paragraph (a).

Sec. 18.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 85.015, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

Subd. 1e.

Connection to state parks and recreation areas.

Trails designated
under this section include connections to state parks or recreation areas that generally lie
in between or within the vicinity of the waymarks specifically named in the designation.

Sec. 19.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 85.015, subdivision 28, is amended to read:

Subd. 28.

Camp Ripley/Veterans State Trail, Crow Wing, Cass, and Morrison
Counties.

The trail shall originate at Crow Wing State Park in Crow Wing County at
the southern end of the Paul Bunyan Trail and shall extend from Crow Wing State Park
westerly to the city of Pillager, then southerly along the west side of Camp Ripley, then
easterly along the south side of Camp Ripley across to the east side of the Mississippi
River, and then northerly through Fort Ripley to Crow Wing State Park. A second segment
of the trail shall be established that shall extend in a southerly direction and in close
proximity to the Mississippi River from the southeasterly portion of the first segment of
the trail to the city of Little Falls, and then terminate at the Soo Line Trail in Morrison
County. Separation of motorized and nonmotorized corridors is acceptable as needed.

Sec. 20.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 85.053, subdivision 8, is amended to read:

Subd. 8.

Military personnel; exemption.

(a) A one-day permit, An annual permit
under subdivision 4, shall 1 must be issued without a fee for a motor vehicle being used by
a person who is serving in active military service to active military personnel in any branch
or unit of the United States armed forces and who is stationed outside Minnesota, during the
period of active service and for 90 days immediately thereafter, or their dependents if the
person presents the person's current military orders a qualifying military identification or
an annual pass for the United States military issued through the National Parks and Federal
Lands Pass Program to the park attendant on duty or other designee of the commissioner.

(b) For purposes of this section, "active service" has the meaning given under section
190.05, subdivision 5c, when performed outside Minnesota the commissioner shall
establish what constitutes a qualifying military identification by written order published
in the State Register. The written order is exempt from the rulemaking provisions of
chapter 14 and section 14.386 does not apply.

(c) A permit is not required for a motor vehicle being used by military personnel or
their dependents who have in their possession the annual pass for United States military
and their dependents issued by the federal government for access to federal recreation
sites. For vehicles permitted under paragraph (a), the permit or decal issued under this
subdivision is valid only when displayed on a vehicle owned and occupied by the person
to whom the permit is issued.

(d) The commissioner may issue a daily vehicle permit free of charge to an individual
who qualifies under paragraph (a) and who does not own or operate a motor vehicle.

Sec. 21.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 85.053, subdivision 10, is amended to read:

Subd. 10.

Free entrance; disabled veterans.

(a) The commissioner shall
issue an annual park permit for no charge to any veteran with a total and permanent
service-connected disability, and a daily park permit to any resident veteran with any level
of service-connected disability, as determined by the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs, who presents each year a copy of the veteran's determination letter or other official
form of validation issued by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the
United States Department of Defense to a park attendant or commissioner's designee. For
the purposes of this section, "veteran" has the meaning given in section 197.447.

(b) For vehicles permitted under paragraph (a), the permit or decal issued under this
subdivision is valid only when displayed on a vehicle owned and occupied by the person
to whom the permit is issued.

(c) The commissioner may issue a daily vehicle permit free of charge to an individual
who qualifies under paragraph (a) and who does not own or operate a motor vehicle.

Sec. 22.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 85.054, subdivision 12, is amended to read:

Subd. 12.

Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park.

A state park
permit is not required and a fee may not be charged for motor vehicle entry or parking
at the visitor parking area of Soudan Underground Mine State Park and the Stuntz Bay
boat house area.

Sec. 23.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 86B.201, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:

Subd. 4.

Construction area restrictions.

The commissioner, after consulting with
the governmental units and contractors involved in a construction project, may adopt,
by written order, temporary water surface use controls for recreational uses at public
construction and maintenance sites that cross or are adjacent to waters of the state for a
period of time not to exceed the duration of the construction or maintenance project.
Temporary controls adopted under this subdivision are exempt from the rulemaking
requirements of chapter 14 and section 14.386 does not apply.

Sec. 24.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 86B.313, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

General requirements.

(a) In addition to requirements of other laws
relating to watercraft, a person may not operate or permit the operation of a personal
watercraft:

(1) without each person on board the personal watercraft wearing a United States
Coast Guard (USCG) approved Type I, II, III, or V wearable personal flotation device
with a USCG label indicating it either is approved for or does not prohibit use with
personal watercraft or water skiing;

(2) between one hour before sunset and 9:30 a.m.;

(3) at greater than slow-no wake speed within 150 feet of:

(i) a shoreline;

(ii) a dock;

(iii) a swimmer;

(iv) a raft used for swimming or diving; or

(v) a moored, anchored, or nonmotorized watercraft;

(4) while towing a person on water skis, a kneeboard, an inflatable craft, or any
other device unless:

(i) an observer is on board; or

(ii) the personal watercraft is equipped with factory-installed or factory-specified
accessory mirrors that give the operator a wide field of vision to the rear;

(5) without the lanyard-type engine cutoff switch being attached to the person,
clothing, or personal flotation device of the operator, if the personal watercraft is equipped
by the manufacturer with such a device;

(6) if any part of the spring-loaded throttle mechanism has been removed, altered, or
tampered with so as to interfere with the return-to-idle system;

(7) to chase or harass wildlife;

(8) through emergent or floating vegetation at other than a slow-no wake speed;

(9) in a manner that unreasonably or unnecessarily endangers life, limb, or property,
including weaving through congested watercraft traffic, jumping the wake of another
watercraft within 150 feet of the other watercraft, or operating the watercraft while
facing backwards;

(10) in any other manner that is not reasonable and prudent; or

(11) without a personal watercraft rules decal, issued by the commissioner, attached
to the personal watercraft so as to be in full view of the operator.

(b) Paragraph (a), clause (3), does not apply to a person operating a personal
watercraft to launch or land a person on water skis, a kneeboard, or similar device by the
most direct route to open water.

Sec. 25.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 86B.313, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Dealers and rental operations.

(a) A dealer of personal watercraft shall
distribute a summary of the laws and rules governing the operation of personal watercraft
and, upon request, shall provide instruction to a purchaser regarding:

(1) the laws and rules governing personal watercraft; and

(2) the safe operation of personal watercraft.

(b) A person who offers personal watercraft for rent:

(1) shall provide a summary of the laws and rules governing the operation of
personal watercraft and provide instruction regarding the laws and rules and the safe
operation of personal watercraft to each person renting a personal watercraft;

(2) shall provide a United States Coast Guard (USCG) approved Type I, II, III, or V
wearable personal flotation device with a USCG label indicating it either is approved for
or does not prohibit use with personal watercraft or water skiing and any other required
safety equipment to all persons who rent a personal watercraft at no additional cost; and

(3) shall require that a watercraft operator's permit from this state or from the
operator's state of residence be shown each time a personal watercraft is rented to any
person younger than age 18 and shall record the permit on the form provided by the
commissioner.

(c) Each dealer of personal watercraft or person offering personal watercraft for rent
shall have the person who purchases or rents a personal watercraft sign a form provided
by the commissioner acknowledging that the purchaser or renter has been provided a copy
of the laws and rules regarding personal watercraft operation and has read them. The form
must be retained by the dealer or person offering personal watercraft for rent for a period
of six months following the date of signature and must be made available for inspection
by sheriff's deputies or conservation officers during normal business hours.

Sec. 26.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 86B.315, is amended to read:

86B.315 TOWING PERSON ON WATER SKIS OR OTHER DEVICE.

Subdivision 1.

Observer or mirror required.

A person may not operate a
watercraft on waters of this state and create a wake for a wake surfer or tow a person on
water skis, an aquaplane, a surfboard, a saucer, or a similar device unless:

(1) there is another person in the watercraft in addition to the operator who is in a
position to continually observe the person being towed; or

(2) the boat is equipped with a mirror providing the operator a wide field of vision
to the rear.

Subd. 2.

Prohibited night skiing or towing prohibited activities.

On waters of this
state, from one-half hour after sunset to sunrise of the following day, a person may not:

(1) wake surf;

(2) operate a watercraft creating a wake for a wake surfer;

(3) be towed by a watercraft; or

(4) operate a watercraft towing a person on water skis, an aquaplane, a surfboard, a
saucer, or another device on waters of this state from one hour after sunset to sunrise of
the following day.

Sec. 27.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.17, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Special permits.

The following special permits are required at all times,
including when the ground is snow-covered:

(a) Fire training. A permit to start a fire for the instruction and training of
firefighters, including liquid fuels training, may be given by the commissioner or agent of
the commissioner. Except for owners or operators conducting fire training in specialized
industrial settings pursuant to applicable federal, state, or local standards, owners
or operators conducting open burning for the purpose of instruction and training of
firefighters with regard to structures must follow the techniques described in a document
entitled: Structural Burn Training Procedures for the Minnesota Technical College System
use only fuel materials as outlined in the current edition of National Fire Protection
Association 1403, Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions, and obtain the applicable
live burn documents in accordance with the current edition of the Board of Firefighter
Training and Education's live burn plan established according to section 299N.02,
subdivision 3, clause (2).

(b) Permanent tree and brush open burning sites. A permit for the operation of
a permanent tree and brush burning site may be given by the commissioner or agent of
the commissioner. Applicants for a permanent open burning site permit shall submit a
complete application on a form provided by the commissioner. Existing permanent tree
and brush open burning sites must submit for a permit within 90 days of the passage of
this statute for a burning permit. New site applications must be submitted at least 90
days before the date of the proposed operation of the permanent open burning site. The
application must be submitted to the commissioner and must contain:

(1) the name, address, and telephone number of all owners of the site proposed for
use as the permanent open burning site;

(2) if the operator for the proposed permanent open burning site is different from the
owner, the name, address, and telephone number of the operator;

(3) a general description of the materials to be burned, including the source and
estimated quantity, dimensions of the site and burn pile areas, hours and dates of operation,
and provisions for smoke management; and

(4) a topographic or similarly detailed map of the site and surrounding area within
a one-mile circumference showing all structures that might be affected by the operation
of the site.

Only trees, tree trimmings, or brush that cannot be disposed of by an alternative
method such as chipping, composting, or other method shall be permitted to be burned
at a permanent open burning site. A permanent tree and brush open burning site must
be located and operated so as not to create a nuisance or endanger water quality. The
commissioner shall revoke the permit or order actions to mitigate threats to public health,
safety, and the environment in the event that permit conditions are violated.

Sec. 28.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.49, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Recording Provisions of auxiliary forest contract to run with the land.

The commissioner shall submit such contract in recordable form to the owner of the land
covered thereby. If the owner shall indicate to the commissioner an unwillingness to
execute the same, or if the owner or any of the persons having an interest therein or lien
thereon fail to execute it within 60 days from the time of its submission to the owner, all
proceedings relating to the making of this land into an auxiliary forest shall be at an end.

When the contract shall have been executed it shall forthwith be recorded in the
office of the county recorder at the expense of the owner or, if the title to the land be
registered, with the registrar of titles. At the time the contract is recorded with the county
recorder for record the owner, at the owner's expense, shall record with the county recorder
a certificate from the county attorney to the effect that no change in record title thereof has
occurred, that no liens or other encumbrances have been placed thereon, and that no taxes
have accrued thereon since the making of the previous certificate. It shall be the duty of
the county attorney to furnish this certificate without further compensation.

All the provisions of the a recorded contract shall be for an auxiliary forest are deemed
covenants running with the land from the date of the filing of the contract for record.

Sec. 29.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.49, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Effect.

Upon the filing of the contract for record, the land therein described
in the contract shall become, and, during the life of the contract, remain and be, an
auxiliary forest entitled to all the benefits and subject to all the restrictions of sections
88.47 88.49 to 88.53, all of which shall be deemed a. These sections are part of the
obligation of the contract and shall be are inviolate, subject only to the police power of the
state, to the power of eminent domain, and to the right of the parties thereto by mutual
agreement to make applicable to the contract any laws of the state enacted subsequent to its
the execution and filing. This provision shall not be so construed as to prevent amendatory
or supplementary legislation which does of the contract. Laws enacted subsequent to
the date of execution of the contract are applicable to the contract, so long as the laws
do not impair these the contract rights of the parties thereto, or as to prevent amendatory
or supplementary legislation in respect of the culture, care, or management of the lands
included in any such contract signatories of the contract or their successors or assigns.

Sec. 30.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.49, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Cancellation.

Upon the failure of (a) If the owner fails to faithfully to
fulfill and perform such the contract or, any provision thereof of the contract, or any
requirement of sections 88.47 88.49 to 88.53, or any rule adopted by the commissioner
thereunder adopts under those sections, the commissioner may cancel the contract in
the manner herein provided. The commissioner shall give to the owner, in the manner
prescribed in section 88.48, subdivision 4, 60 days' notice of a hearing thereon at which
the owner may appear and show cause, if any, why the contract should not be canceled.
The commissioner shall thereupon then determine whether the contract should be canceled
and make an order to that effect. Notice of the commissioner's determination and the
making of the order shall be given to The commissioner shall give the owner in the manner
provided in section 88.48, subdivision 4 notice of the commissioner's determination and
order. On determining If the commissioner determines that the contract should be canceled
and no appeal therefrom be taken the owner does not appeal the determination as provided
in subdivision 7, the commissioner shall send notice thereof of the cancellation to the
auditor of the county and to the town clerk of the town affected and file with the recorder a
certified copy of the order, who. The recorder shall forthwith note the cancellation upon
the record thereof, and thereupon the land therein described in the contract shall cease to
be an auxiliary forest and, together with the timber thereon on the land, become liable
to for all taxes and assessments that otherwise would have been levied against it had it
never been an auxiliary forest the land from the time of the making of the contract, any
notwithstanding provisions of the statutes of limitation to the contrary notwithstanding,
less. The amount of taxes paid under the provisions of section 88.51, subdivision 1,
together with interest on such taxes and assessments at six percent per annum, but without
penalties, must be subtracted from the tax owed by the owner.

(b) The commissioner may in like manner and with like effect cancel the contract
upon written application of the owner.

(c) The commissioner shall cancel any the contract if the owner has made successful
application successfully applied under sections 290C.01 to 290C.11, the Sustainable Forest
Incentive Act, sections 290C.01 to 290C.11, and has paid to the county treasurer the tax
difference between the amount which that would have been paid had the land under contract
been subject to the Minnesota Tree Growth Tax Law and the Sustainable Forest Incentive
Act from the date of the recording of the contract and the amount actually paid under
section 88.51, subdivisions subdivision 1, and Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.51,
subdivision 2. This tax difference must be calculated based on the years the lands would
have been taxed under the Tree Growth Tax Law and the Sustainable Forest Incentive Act.
The sustainable forest tax difference is net of the incentive payment of section 290C.07.
If the amount which that would have been paid, had if the land under contract had been
under the Minnesota Tree Growth Tax Law and the Sustainable Forest Incentive Act from
the date of the filing of the contract, was filed is less than the amount actually paid under
the contract, the cancellation shall be made without further payment by the owner.

When (d) If the execution of any the contract creating an auxiliary forest shall have
been is procured through fraud or deception practiced upon on the county board or, the
commissioner, or any other person or body representing the state, it may be canceled
cancel it upon suit brought by the attorney general at the direction of the commissioner.
This cancellation shall have has the same effect as the cancellation of a contract by the
commissioner.

Sec. 31.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.49, subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Assessment after cancellation.

(a) For the purpose of levying such taxes,
the county auditor shall, immediately upon receipt of receiving notice of the cancellation
of any a contract creating an auxiliary forest, direct the local assessor to assess the lands
within the forest, excluding the value of merchantable timber and minerals and other
things of value taxed under the provisions of Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.51,
subdivision 2, as of for each of the years during which the lands have been were included
within the auxiliary forest. The local assessor shall forthwith make the assessment and
certify the same to the county auditor. The county auditor shall thereupon levy a tax on the
assessable value of the land as, fixed by section 273.13, for each of the years during which
the land has been was within an auxiliary forest, at the rate at which other real estate
within the taxing district was taxed in those years. The tax so assessed and levied against
any land shall be is a first and prior lien upon the land and upon all timber and forest
products growing, grown, or cut thereon on the land and removed therefrom from the land.
These taxes shall must be enforced in the same manner as other taxes on real estate are
enforced and, in addition thereto, the lien of the tax on forest products cut or removed
from this land shall must be enforced by the seizure and sale of the forest products.

(b) No person shall, after the mailing by the commissioner, as provided in subdivision
5, of notice of hearing on the cancellation of a the contract making any lands an auxiliary
forest, cut or remove from these lands any timber or forest products growing, grown, or
cut thereon until all taxes levied under this subdivision shall have been are paid, or, in the
event such if the levy shall is not have been completed, until the owner shall have has given
a bond payable to the county, with sureties approved by the county auditor, in such the
amount as the county auditor shall deem deems ample for the payment of all taxes that may
be levied thereon under this subdivision, conditioned for the payment of such the taxes.

(c) Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of violates this subdivision
shall be is guilty of a felony.

Sec. 32.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.49, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Appeal.

(a) The owner may appeal from any cancellation order of the
commissioner to the district court of the county wherein where the land is situate, located
by serving notice of appeal on the commissioner and filing the same with the court
administrator of the district court within 30 days after the date of mailing of notice
of such order.

(b) The appeal shall must be tried between the state of Minnesota and the owner by
the court as a suit for the rescission of a contract is tried, and the judgment of the court
shall be is substituted for the cancellation order of the commissioner, and shall be is final.

Sec. 33.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.49, subdivision 8, is amended to read:

Subd. 8.

Proceedings in lieu of cancellation.

If cause for the cancellation of any a
contract shall exist exists, the commissioner may, in lieu of canceling such the contract,
perform the terms and conditions, other than the payment of that the owner was required
to perform, except that the commissioner may not pay any taxes, that the owner was
required, by the contract or by law or by the rules of the commissioner, to be performed by
the owner, and may for that purpose to have paid by law. The commissioner may use any
available moneys appropriated for the maintenance of the commissioner's division and
any other lawful means to perform all other terms and conditions required to maintain the
auxiliary forest status. The commissioner shall, on December 1 each year, certify to the
auditor of each county the amount of moneys thus expended on and the value of services
thus rendered in respect of any lands therein for land in the county since December 1 of
the preceding year. The county auditor shall forthwith assess and levy the amount shown
by this certificate against the lands described therein. This amount shall bear bears interest
at the rate of six percent per annum and shall be is a lien upon the lands described therein,
and. The collection thereof of the tax must be enforced in the same manner as taxes
levied under section 88.52, subdivision 1;, and, if such the tax be is not sooner paid, it
shall must be added to, and the payment thereof enforced with, the yield tax imposed
under section 88.52, subdivision 2.

Sec. 34.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.49, subdivision 9, is amended to read:

Subd. 9.

Auxiliary forests; withdrawal of land from.

(a) Land needed for other
purposes may be withdrawn from an auxiliary forest as herein provided. The owner may
submit a verified application therefor in a form prescribed by the commissioner of natural
resources may be made by the owner to the county board of the county in which the land is
situated, describing the land and stating the purpose of withdrawal. Like proceedings shall
be had upon the application as upon an application for the establishment of an auxiliary
forest, except that consideration need be given only to the questions to be determined as
provided in this subdivision. The county board shall consider the application and hear any
matter offered in support of or in opposition to the application. The county board shall
make proper record of its action upon the application. If the application is rejected, the
county board shall prepare a written statement stating the reasons for the rejection within
30 days of the date of rejection. If the application is rejected, the county auditor shall,
within 30 days of the rejection, endorse the rejection on the application and return it,
together with a copy of the written statement prepared by the county board stating the
reasons for rejection to the applicant. The rejected application and written statement must
be sent to the owner by certified mail at the address given in the application.

(b) If the application is disapproved as to only a part of the lands described, the
county auditor shall notify the applicant in the same manner as if the application were
rejected. The applicant may amend the application within 60 days after the notice is
mailed. If it is not amended, the application is deemed rejected.

(c) If the county board shall determine determines that the land proposed to be
withdrawn is needed and is suitable for the purposes set forth in the application, and
that the remaining land in the auxiliary forest is suitable and sufficient for the purposes
thereof of the auxiliary forest as provided by law, the board may, in its discretion, grant
the application, subject to the approval of the commissioner. Upon such approval a
supplemental contract evidencing the withdrawal shall be executed, filed, and recorded
or registered as the case may require, in like manner as an original auxiliary forest
contract. Thereupon by both the county board and the commissioner, the county auditor
shall notify the applicant and the commissioner. Upon notice from the county auditor,
the commissioner shall cause to be prepared a supplemental contract executed by the
commissioner on behalf of the state and by the owner of the fee title or the holder of
a state deed and by all other persons having any liens on the land and witnessed and
acknowledged as provided by law for the execution of recordable deeds of conveyance.
Notices sent by certified mail to the owner in fee at the address given in the application
is deemed notice to all persons executing the supplemental contract. The supplemental
contract must be prepared by the director of the Division of Forestry on a recordable
form approved by an attorney appointed by the commissioner. Every supplemental
contract must be approved by the Executive Council. The commissioner shall submit the
supplemental contract to the owner of the land. If the owner indicates to the commissioner
an unwillingness to execute the supplemental contract, or if the owner or any of the
persons with an interest in the land or a lien upon the land fail to execute the contract
within 60 days from the time of submission of the contract to the owner for execution, all
proceedings relating back to the withdrawal of the land from an auxiliary forest shall be at
an end. When the supplemental contract is executed, it must be recorded in the office of
the county recorder at the expense of the owner or, if the title to the land is registered, the
supplemental contract must be recorded with the registrar of titles. At the time the contract
is recorded with the county recorder, the owner, at the owner's expense, shall record with
the county recorder a certificate from the county attorney to the effect that no change in
record title to the land has occurred, that no liens or other encumbrances have been placed
on the land, and that no taxes have accrued on the land since the making of the previous
certificate. The county attorney must furnish this certificate without further compensation.
Upon execution and recording of the supplemental contract, the land described in the
supplemental contract shall cease that is to be withdrawn from the auxiliary forest ceases
to be part of the auxiliary forest, and, together with the timber thereon, shall be the owner
is liable to taxes and assessments of the withdrawn portion together with the timber on the
withdrawn portion in like manner as upon cancellation of an auxiliary forest contract.

Sec. 35.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.49, subdivision 11, is amended to read:

Subd. 11.

Auxiliary forests; transfer of title; procedure on division.

The title to
the land in an auxiliary forest or any part thereof of an auxiliary forest is subject to transfer
in the same manner as the title to other real estate, subject to the auxiliary forest contract
therefor and to applicable provisions of law. In case If the ownership of such a an auxiliary
forest is divided into two or more parts by any transfer or transfers of title and the owners
of all such the parts desire to have the same parts made separate auxiliary forests, they the
owners may join in a verified application therefor to the county board of the county in
which the forest is situated in a form prescribed by the commissioner of natural resources.
If the county board determines that each of the parts into which the forest has been divided
is suitable and sufficient for a separate auxiliary forest as provided by law, it may, in
its discretion, grant the application, subject to the approval of the commissioner. Upon
such approval, the commissioner shall prepare a new auxiliary forest contract for each
part transferred, with like provisions and for the remainder of the same term as the prior
contract in force for the entire forest at the time of the transfer, and shall also prepare a
modification of such the prior contract, eliminating therefrom the part or parts of the land
transferred but otherwise leaving the remaining land subject to all the provisions of such
the contract. The new contract or contracts and modification of the prior contract shall
must be executed and otherwise dealt with in like manner as provided for an original a
supplemental auxiliary forest contract in subdivision 9, but no such instrument shall must
take effect until all of them, covering together all parts of the forest existing before the
transfer, have been executed, filed, and recorded or registered, as the case may require.
Upon the taking effect of When all such the instruments take effect, the owner of the
forest prior to the transfer shall be is divested of all rights and relieved from all liabilities
under the contract then in force with respect to the parts transferred except such those as
may have existed or accrued at the time of the taking effect of such instruments, and
thereafter the several tracts into which the forest has been divided and the respective
owners thereof shall be are subject to the new contract or contracts or the modified prior
contract relating thereto, as the case may be, as provided for an original auxiliary forest
contract. The provisions of this subdivision shall not supersede or affect the application
of any other provision of law to any auxiliary forest which is divided by transfer of title
unless the procedure herein authorized is fully consummated.

Sec. 36.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.491, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Effect of expired contract.

When auxiliary forest contracts expire,
or prior to expiration by mutual agreement between the land owner landowner and the
appropriate county office, the lands previously covered by an auxiliary forest contract
automatically qualify for inclusion under the provisions of the Sustainable Forest Incentive
Act; provided that when such lands are included in the Sustainable Forest Incentive Act
prior to expiration of the auxiliary forest contract, they will be transferred and a tax paid as
provided in section 88.49, subdivision 5, upon application and inclusion in the sustainable
forest incentive program. The land owner landowner shall pay taxes in an amount equal to
the difference between:

(1) the sum of:

(i) the amount which would have been paid from the date of the recording of the
contract had the land under contract been subject to the Minnesota Tree Growth Tax
Law; plus

(ii) beginning with taxes payable in 2003, the taxes that would have been paid if the
land had been enrolled in the sustainable forest incentive program; and

(2) the amount actually paid under section 88.51, subdivisions subdivision 1, and
Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.51, subdivision 2.

Sec. 37.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.50, is amended to read:

88.50 TAXATION.

Every auxiliary forest in this state shall must be taxed in the manner and to the extent
hereinafter provided according to sections 88.49 to 88.53 and not otherwise. Except as
expressly permitted by sections 88.47 88.49 to 88.53, no auxiliary forest shall be taxed
for, or in any manner, directly or indirectly made to contribute to, or become liable for
the payment of, any tax or assessment, general or special, or any bond, certificate of
indebtedness, or other public obligation of any name or kind, made, issued, or created
subsequent to the filing of the contract creating the auxiliary forest, provided that
temporary buildings, structures, or other fixtures of whatsoever kind located upon land
within an auxiliary forest shall be valued and assessed as personal property and classified
as class 3 under the general system of ad valorem taxation. In any proceeding for the
making of a special improvement under the laws of this state by which any auxiliary forest
will be benefited, the owner thereof may subject the lands therein to assessment therefor in
the manner provided by law, by filing the owner's written consent in writing to the making
of the assessment in the tribunal in which the proceeding is pending, whereupon. The lands
shall for the purposes of the improvement and assessment not be treated as lands not in an
auxiliary forest; but the lien of any assessment so levied on lands in any auxiliary forest shall
be is subject to the provisions of the contract creating the auxiliary forest and subordinate
to the lien of any tax imposed under the provisions of sections 88.47 88.49 to 88.53.

Sec. 38.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.51, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Annual tax, ten cents per acre.

(a) From and after the filing of the
contract creating any tract of land an auxiliary forest under sections 88.47 88.49 to 88.53
and hereafter upon any tract heretofore created as an auxiliary forest, the surface of the
land therein, exclusive of mineral or anything of value thereunder, shall must be taxed
annually at the rate of 10 cents per acre. This tax shall must be levied and collected, and
the payment thereof of the tax, with penalties and interest, enforced in the same manner as
other taxes on real estate, and shall must be credited to the funds of the taxing districts
affected in the proportion of their interest in the taxes on this land if it had not been so
made an auxiliary forest; provided, that such tax shall be is due in full on or before May
31, after the levy thereof. Failure to pay when due any tax so levied shall be is cause
for cancellation of the contract.

(b) The levy upon the land of the taxes provided for by section 88.49, subdivision 5,
upon the cancellation of a contract, shall discharge and annul discharges and annuls all
unpaid taxes levied or assessed thereon on the land.

Sec. 39.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.51, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Determination of estimated market value.

In determining the net tax
capacity of property within any taxing district, the value of the surface of lands within any
auxiliary forest therein in the taxing district, as determined by the county board under the
provisions of section 88.48, subdivision 3, shall, for all purposes except the levying of
taxes on lands within any such forest, be deemed the estimated market value thereof of
those surface lands.

Sec. 40.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.52, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Examination, report.

When any timber growing or standing in any
auxiliary forest shall have become is suitable for merchantable forest products, the
commissioner shall, at the written request of the owner, a copy of which shall at the time be
filed in the office of the county auditor, make an examination of the timber and designate
for the owner the kind and number of trees most suitable to be cut if in the judgment of
the commissioner there be any, and. The cutting and removal of these designated trees so
designated shall must be in accordance with the instructions of the commissioner. The
commissioner shall inspect the cutting or removal and determine whether it or the manner
of its performance constitute a violation of the terms of the contract creating the auxiliary
forest or of the laws applicable thereto laws, or of the instructions of the commissioner
relative to the cutting and removal. Any such violation shall be is ground for cancellation
of the contract by the commissioner; otherwise the contract shall continue continues in
force for the remainder of the period therein stated in the contract, regardless of the cutting
and removal. Within 90 days after the completion of any cutting or removal operation,
the commissioner shall make a report of findings thereon and transmit copies of such the
report to the county auditor and the surveyor general.

Sec. 41.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.52, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Kinds, permit, scale report, assessment and payment of tax.

(a) Upon
the filing of the owner's written request of the owner as provided in subdivision 2, the
director of lands and forestry, with the county board or the county land commissioner,
shall determine within 30 days the kinds, quantities, and value on the stump of the timber
proposed to be cut.

Before the cutting is to begin, the director of lands and forestry shall file with the
county auditor a report showing the kinds, quantities, and value of the timber proposed to
be cut or removed and approved by the director of lands and forestry for cutting within
two years after the date of approval of the report by the director of lands and forestry. The
county auditor shall assess and levy the estimated yield tax thereon, make proper record
of this assessment and levy in the auditor's office, and notify the owner of the auxiliary
forest of the tax amount thereof. The owner shall, before any timber in the forest is cut or
removed, give a bond payable to the state of Minnesota, or in lieu thereof, a deposit in
cash with the county treasurer, in the amount required by the report, which shall be and not
less than 150 percent of the amount of the levy, conditioned for the payment of all taxes on
the timber to be cut or removed. Upon receipt of notification from the county auditor that
the bond or cash requirement has been deposited, the director of lands and forestry will
issue a cutting permit in accordance with the report. The owner shall keep an accurate
count or scale of all timber cut. On or before the fifteenth day of April 15 following
issuance of such the cutting permit, and on or before the fifteenth day of April 15 of each
succeeding year in which any merchantable wood products were cut on auxiliary forest
lands prior to the termination of such the permit, the owner of the timber covered by the
permit shall file with the director of lands and forestry a sworn statement, submitted in
duplicate, on a form prepared by the director of lands and forestry, one copy of which
shall must be transmitted to the county auditor, specifying the quantity and value of each
variety of timber and kind of product cut during the preceding year ending on March 31,
as shown by the scale or measurement thereof made on the ground as cut, skidded, or
loaded as the case may be. If no such scale or measurement shall have been was made on
the ground, an estimate thereof shall must be made and such estimate corrected by the first
scale or measurement, made in the due course of business, and such. The correction must
at once be filed with the director of lands and forestry who shall immediately transmit it to
the county auditor. On or before the fifteenth day of May 15 following the filing of the
sworn statement covering the quantity and value of timber cut under an authorized permit,
the auditor shall assess and levy a yield (severance) tax, according to Minnesota Statutes
2014, section 88.51, subdivision 2, of the timber cut during the year ending on the March
31st 31 preceding the date of assessing and levying this tax. This tax is payable and must
be paid to the county treasurer on or before the following May 31 next following. Copies
of the yield (severance) tax assessment and of the yield (severance) tax payment shall must
be filed with the director of lands and forestry and the county auditor. Except as otherwise
provided, all yield (severance) taxes herein provided for shall must be levied and collected,
and payment thereof, with penalties and interest, enforced in the same manner as taxes
imposed under the provisions of section 88.51, subdivision 1, and shall must be credited to
the funds of the taxing districts affected in the proportion of their interests in the taxes on
the land producing the yield (severance) tax. At any time On deeming it necessary, the
director of lands and forestry may order an inspection of any or all cutting areas within
an auxiliary forest and also may require the owner of the auxiliary forest to produce for
inspection by the director of lands and forestry of any or all cutting records pertaining to
timber cutting operations within an auxiliary forest for the purpose of determining the
accuracy of scale or measurement reports, and if intentional error in scale or measurement
reports is found to exist, shall levy and assess a tax triple the yield (severance) tax on the
stumpage value of the timber cut in excess of the quantity and value reported.

(b) The following alternative method of assessing and paying annually the yield tax
on an auxiliary forest is to be available to an auxiliary forest owner upon application and
upon approval of the county board of the county within which the auxiliary forest is located.

For auxiliary forests entered under this subdivision paragraph, the county auditor
shall assess and levy the yield tax by multiplying the acreage of each legal description
included within the auxiliary forest by the acre quantity of the annual growth by species,
calculated in cords, or in thousands of feet board measure Minnesota standard log scale
rule, whichever is more reasonably usable, for the major species found in each type by
the from year-to-year appraised stumpage prices for each of these species, used by the
Division of Lands and Forestry, Department of Natural Resources, in selling trust fund
timber located within the district in which the auxiliary forest is located. The assessed
value of the annual growth of the auxiliary forest, thus determined, shall be is subject to
a ten percent of stumpage value yield tax, payable annually on or before May 31. In all
other respects the assessment, levying and collection of the yield tax, as provided for in
this subdivision shall must follow the procedures specified in clause paragraph (a).

Forest owners operating under this subdivision shall be paragraph are subject to all
other provisions of the auxiliary forest law except such the provisions of clause paragraph
(a) as that are in conflict with this subdivision paragraph. Penalties for intentional failure
by the owner to report properly the quantity and value of the annual growth upon an
auxiliary forest entered under this subdivision paragraph and for failure to pay the yield
tax when due shall be are the same as the penalties specified in other subdivisions of this
law for like failure to abide by its provisions.

To qualify for the assessment and levying of the yield tax by this method, the
owner of the forest requesting this method of taxation must submit a map or maps
and a tabulation in acres and in quantity of growth by legal descriptions showing the
division of the area covered by the auxiliary forest for which this method of taxation is
requested into the following forest types, namely: white and Norway red pine; jack pine;
aspen-birch; spruce-balsam fir; swamp black spruce; tamarack; cedar; upland hardwoods;
lowland hardwoods; upland brush and grass (temporarily nonproductive); lowland brush
(temporarily nonproductive); and permanently nonproductive (open bogs, stagnant
swamps, rock outcrops, flowage, etc.). Definition of these types and determination of the
average rate or rates of growth (in cords or thousand feet, board measure, Minnesota
standard log scale rule, which ever whichever is more logically applicable for each of
them) shall must be made by the director of the Division of Lands and Forestry, Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources, with the advice and assistance of the land commissioner
of the county in which the auxiliary forest is located; the director of the United States
Forest Service's North Central Forest Experiment Station; and the director of the School of
Forestry, University of Minnesota. Before the approval of the application of the owner of
an auxiliary forest to have the auxiliary or proposed auxiliary forest taxed under provisions
of this subdivision paragraph is submitted to the county board, the distribution between
types of the area as shown on the maps and in the tabulations submitted by the owner of the
auxiliary or proposed auxiliary forest shall must be examined and their accuracy determined
by the director of the Division of Lands and Forestry, Department of Natural Resources,
with the assistance of the county board of the county in which the auxiliary forest is located.

During the life of the auxiliary forest, contract timber cutting operations within the
various types shown upon the type map accepted as a part of the approved auxiliary forest
application shall do not bring about a reclassification of the forest types shown upon that
map or those maps until after the passage of ten years following the termination of said the
timber cutting operations and then only upon proof of a change in type.

Sec. 42.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.52, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Hearing, procedure.

The owner of any land or timber upon which a yield
tax is assessed and levied as provided in this section may, within 15 days after mailing
of notice of the amount of the tax, file with the county auditor a demand for hearing
thereon on the tax before the county board. The county auditor shall thereupon fix a date
of hearing, which shall must be held within 30 days after the filing of the demand, and
mail to the owner notice of the time and place of the hearing. The owner may appear at
the meeting and present evidence and argument as to the amount of the tax and as to any
related matter relating thereto. The county board shall thereupon determine whether the
tax as levied is proper in amount and make its order thereon. The county auditor shall
forthwith mail to the owner a notice of the order. If the amount of the tax is increased or
reduced by the order, the county auditor shall make a supplemental assessment and levy
thereof, as in this subdivision provided.

Sec. 43.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.52, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Yield tax, a prior lien.

Throughout the life of any such auxiliary forest,
the yield tax accruing thereon shall constitute and be yield tax constitutes and is a first and
prior lien upon all the merchantable timber and forest products growing or grown thereon;
and, if not paid when due, this yield tax, together with penalties and interest thereon as
otherwise provided by law and all expenses of collecting same, shall continue continues to
be a lien upon the timber and forest products and every part and parcel thereof wherever
the same may be or however much changed in form or otherwise improved until the yield
tax is fully paid. Such The lien may be foreclosed and the property subject thereto to
the lien dealt with by action in the name of the state, brought by the county attorney at
the request of the county auditor.

Sec. 44.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.52, subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Timber held exempt from yield tax.

Timber cut from an auxiliary forest
by an owner and used by the owner for fuel, fencing, or building on land occupied by the
owner which is within or contiguous to the auxiliary forest where cut shall be is exempt
from the yield tax, and, as to timber so cut and used, the requirements of subdivisions
1 and 2 shall do not be applicable and in lieu thereof apply. The owner shall, prior to
cutting, file with the county auditor, on a form prepared by the commissioner, a statement
showing the quantity of each kind of forest products proposed to be cut and the purposes
for which the same the products will be used.

Sec. 45.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.523, is amended to read:

88.523 AUXILIARY FOREST CONTRACTS; SUPPLEMENTAL
AGREEMENTS.

Upon application of the owner, any auxiliary forest contract heretofore or hereafter
executed may be made subject to any provisions of law enacted subsequent to the execution
of the contract and in force at the time of application, so far as not already applicable, with
the approval of the county board and the commissioner of natural resources. As evidence
thereof A supplemental agreement in a form prescribed by the commissioner and approved
by the attorney general shall must be executed by the commissioner in behalf of the state
and by the owner. Such The supplemental agreement shall must be filed and recorded in
like manner as the original supplemental contract under section 88.49, subdivision 9, and
shall thereupon take takes effect upon filing and recording.

Sec. 46.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.53, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Time for disposal.

Any corporation, association, or organization
may acquire and hold any amount of land without restriction and without limit as to
acreage or quantity for the purpose of including same within and holding same as an
auxiliary forest under the provisions of sections 88.47 to 88.53. When the same shall
cease land ceases to be an auxiliary forest, the owners shall have five years within which
to dispose of the land, any provisions of general law to the contrary notwithstanding.

Sec. 47.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 88.53, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Rules.

The director shall make rules and adopt and prescribe such forms
and procedure as shall be is necessary in carrying out the provisions of sections 88.47
88.49 to 88.53; and the director and every county board, county recorder, registrar of titles,
assessor, tax collector, and every other person in official authority having any duties to
perform under or growing out of sections 88.47 88.49 to 88.53 are hereby severally vested
with full power and authority to enforce such rules, employ help and assistance, acquire
and use equipment and supplies, or do any other act or thing reasonably necessary to the
proper performance of duties under or arising from the administration and enforcement of
sections 88.47 88.49 to 88.53. It shall be the duty of The director to must cause periodic
inspections to be made of all auxiliary forests for the purpose of determining whether
relative contract and statutory provisions relative thereto are being complied with.

Sec. 48.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 103G.271, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Prohibition on once-through water use permits.

(a) Except as provided
in paragraph (c), the commissioner may not issue a water use permit to increase the
volume of appropriation from a groundwater source for a once-through cooling system.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), once-through system water use permits
using in excess of 5,000,000 gallons annually must be terminated by the commissioner,
unless the discharge is into a public water basin within a nature preserve approved by the
commissioner and established prior to January 1, 2001. The commissioner may issue a
permit for a system in existence prior to January 1, 2015, for up to 5,000,000 gallons
annually. Existing once-through systems must not be expanded and are required to convert
to water efficient alternatives within the design life of existing equipment.

(c) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b), the commissioner, with the approval of
the commissioners of health and the Pollution Control Agency, may issue once-through
system water use permits on an annual basis for groundwater thermal exchange devices
or aquifer storage and recovery systems that return all once-through system water to the
source aquifer. Water use permit processing fees in subdivision 6, paragraph (a), apply
to all water withdrawals under this paragraph, including any reuse of water returned to
the source aquifer.

Sec. 49.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 103G.271, subdivision 6a, is amended to read:

Subd. 6a.

Payment of fees for past unpermitted appropriations.

An entity that
appropriates water without a required permit under subdivision 1 must pay the applicable
water use permit processing fee specified in subdivision 6 for the period during which the
unpermitted appropriation occurred. The fees for unpermitted appropriations are required
for the previous seven calendar years after being notified of the need for a permit. This
fee is in addition to any other fee or penalty assessed. The commissioner may waive
payment of fees for past unpermitted appropriations for a residential system permitted
under subdivision 5, paragraph (b).

Sec. 50.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 115.55, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

(a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to sections
115.55 to 115.56.

(b) "Advisory committee" means the Advisory Committee on Subsurface Sewage
Treatment Systems established under the subsurface sewage treatment system rules. The
advisory committee must be appointed to ensure geographic representation of the state
and include elected public officials.

(c) "Applicable requirements" means:

(1) local ordinances that comply with the subsurface sewage treatment system rules,
as required in subdivision 2; or

(2) in areas without compliant ordinances described in clause (1), the subsurface
sewage treatment system rules.

(d) "Building sewer connected to a subsurface sewage treatment system" means the
pipe that connects a structure to a subsurface sewage treatment system. Building sewers
connected to subsurface sewage treatment systems are codefined as both plumbing and
subsurface sewage treatment system components.

(d) (e) "City" means a statutory or home rule charter city.

(e) (f) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency.

(f) (g) "Dwelling" means a building or place used or intended to be used by human
occupants as a single-family or two-family unit.

(g) (h) "Subsurface sewage treatment system" or "system" means a sewage treatment
system, or part thereof, that uses subsurface soil treatment and disposal, or a holding tank,
serving a dwelling, other establishment, or a group thereof, and that does not require a
state permit. Subsurface sewage treatment system includes a building sewer connected
to a subsurface sewage treatment system.

(h) (i) "Subsurface sewage treatment system professional" means an inspector,
installer, designer, service provider, or maintainer.

(i) (j) "Subsurface sewage treatment system rules" means rules adopted by the
agency that establish minimum standards and criteria for the design, location, installation,
use, maintenance, and closure of subsurface sewage treatment systems.

(j) (k) "Inspector" means a person who inspects subsurface sewage treatment
systems for compliance with the applicable requirements.

(k) (l) "Installer" means a person who constructs or repairs subsurface sewage
treatment systems.

(l) (m) "Local unit of government" means a township, city, or county.

(m) (n) "Performance-based system" means a system that is designed specifically
for environmental conditions on a site and is designed to adequately protect the public
health and the environment and provide consistent, reliable, long-term performance. At a
minimum, a performance based system must ensure that applicable water quality standards
are met in both ground and surface water that ultimately receive the treated sewage.

(n) (o) "Maintainer " means a person who removes solids and liquids from and
maintains and repairs components of subsurface sewage treatment systems including, but
not limited to, sewage, aerobic, and holding tanks.

(o) (p) "Seasonal dwelling" means a dwelling that is occupied or used for less than
180 days per year and less than 120 consecutive days.

(p) (q) "Septic system tank" means any covered receptacle designed, constructed,
and installed as part of a subsurface sewage treatment system.

(q) (r) "Designer" means a person who:

(1) investigates soils and site characteristics to determine suitability, limitations, and
sizing requirements; and

(2) designs subsurface sewage treatment systems.

(r) (s) "Straight-pipe system" means a sewage disposal system that transports raw or
partially treated sewage directly to a lake, a stream, a drainage system, or ground surface.

Sec. 51.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 115.56, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

License required.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a person may
not design, install, maintain, pump, inspect, or provide service to a subsurface sewage
treatment system without a license issued by the commissioner. Licenses issued under this
section allow work on subsurface sewage treatment systems that do not require a state
permit using prescriptive designs and design guidances provided by the agency. Licensees
who design systems using these prescriptive designs and design guidances are not subject
to the additional licensing requirements of section 326.03.

(b) A license is not required for a person who complies with the applicable
requirements if the person is:

(1) a qualified employee of state or local government who is a certified professional;

(2) an individual who constructs a subsurface sewage treatment system on land that
is owned or leased by the individual and functions solely as the individual's dwelling or
seasonal dwelling, unless specifically disallowed in local ordinance. A person constructing
a subsurface sewage treatment system under this clause must comply with all local
administrative and technical requirements. In addition, the system must be inspected
before being covered and a compliance report must be provided to the local unit of
government after the inspection;

(3) a farmer who pumps and disposes of sewage waste from subsurface sewage
treatment systems, holding tanks, and privies on land that is owned or leased by the
farmer; or

(4) an individual who performs labor or services for a licensed business under this
section in connection with the design, installation, operation, pumping, or inspection of a
subsurface sewage treatment system at the direction and under the personal supervision of
a person certified under this section.

(c) The commissioner, in conjunction with the University of Minnesota Extension
Service or another higher education institution, shall ensure adequate training and design
guidance exists for subsurface sewage treatment system certified professionals.

(d) The commissioner shall conduct examinations to test the knowledge of applicants
for certification and shall issue documentation of certification.

(e) Licenses may be issued only upon submission of general liability insurance, a
corporate surety bond in the amount of at least $10,000 $25,000, and the name of the
individual who will be the designated certified individual for that business. The bond may
be for both plumbing work and subsurface sewage treatment work if the bond complies
with the requirements of this section and satisfies the requirements and references
identified in section 326B.46, subdivision 2.

(f) Local units of government may not require additional local licenses for
subsurface sewage treatment system businesses.

(g) No other professional license under section 326.03 is required to design, install,
maintain, inspect, or provide service for a subsurface sewage treatment system that does
not require a state permit using prescriptive designs and design guidances provided by
the agency if the system designer, installer, maintainer, inspector, or service provider
is licensed under this subdivision and the local unit of government has not adopted
additional requirements.

Sec. 52.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 115A.03, subdivision 32a, is amended to read:

Subd. 32a.

Source-separated compostable materials.

"Source-separated
compostable materials" means materials that:

(1) are separated at the source by waste generators for the purpose of preparing
them for use as compost;

(2) are collected separately from mixed municipal solid waste, and are governed by
the licensing provisions of section 115A.93;

(3) are comprised of food wastes, fish and animal waste, plant materials, diapers,
sanitary products, and paper that is not recyclable because the commissioner has
determined that no other person is willing to accept the paper for recycling;

(4) are delivered to a facility to undergo controlled microbial degradation to yield
a humus-like product meeting the agency's class I or class II, or equivalent, compost
standards and where process residues rejects do not exceed 15 percent by weight of the
total material delivered to the facility; and

(5) may be delivered to a transfer station, mixed municipal solid waste processing
facility, or recycling facility only for the purposes of composting or transfer to a
composting facility, unless the commissioner determines that no other person is willing
to accept the materials.

Sec. 53.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 115A.1314, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Registration fee.

(a) Each manufacturer who registers under section
115A.1312 must, by September 1, 2007, and each year thereafter, pay to the commissioner
of revenue an annual registration fee. The commissioner of revenue must deposit the fee
in the state treasury and credit the fee to the environmental fund.

(b) The registration fee is equal to a base fee of $2,500, plus a variable recycling
fee calculated according to the formula:

((A x B) - (C + D)) x E, where:

(1) A = the number of pounds of a manufacturer's video display devices sold to
households during the previous program year, as reported to the department under section
115A.1316, subdivision 1;

(2) B = the proportion of sales of video display devices required to be recycled, set at
0.6 for the first program year and 0.8 for the second program year and every year thereafter;

(3) C = the number of pounds of covered electronic devices recycled by a
manufacturer from households during the previous program year, as reported to the
department under section 115A.1316, subdivision 1;

(4) D = the number of recycling credits a manufacturer elects to use to calculate the
variable recycling fee, as reported to the department under section 115A.1316, subdivision
1; and

(5) E = the estimated per-pound cost of recycling, initially set at $0.50 per pound for
manufacturers who recycle less than 50 percent of the product (A x B); $0.40 per pound
for manufacturers who recycle at least 50 percent but less than 90 percent of the product
(A x B); and $0.30 per pound for manufacturers who recycle at least 90 percent but less
than 100 percent of the product (A x B).

(c) If, as specified in paragraph (b), the term C - (A x B) equals a positive number of
pounds, that amount is defined as the manufacturer's recycling credits. A manufacturer
may retain recycling credits to be added, in whole or in part, to the actual value of C, as
reported under section 115A.1316, subdivision 2, during any succeeding program year,
provided that no more than 25 percent of a manufacturer's obligation (A x B) for any
program year may be met with recycling credits generated in a prior program year. A
manufacturer may sell any portion or all of its recycling credits to another manufacturer, at
a price negotiated by the parties, who may use the credits in the same manner.

(d) For the purpose of calculating a manufacturer's variable recycling fee under
paragraph (b), the weight of covered electronic devices collected from households located
outside the 11-county metropolitan area, as defined in subdivision 2, paragraph (c), is
calculated at 1.5 times their actual weight.

(e) The registration fee for the initial program year and the base registration fee
thereafter for a manufacturer who produces fewer than 100 video display devices for sale
annually to households is $1,250.

(f) For the ninth program year, the agency shall publish a statewide recycling goal of
16,000,000 pounds.

(g) For the ninth program year, the agency shall determine each registered
manufacturer's market share of video display devices to be collected and recycled based
on the manufacturer's percentage share of the total weight of video display devices sold
as reported to the department for the eighth program year as reported to the agency by
July 15, 2015. By July 30, 2015, the agency shall provide each manufacturer with a
determination of its share of video display devices to be collected and recycled, which
is the quotient of the total weight of the manufacturer's video display devices sold to
households in the eighth program year, divided by the total weight of all manufacturers'
video display devices sold to households in this state based on reporting to the department
for the eighth program year, then applied proportionally to the statewide recycling goal of
16,000,000 pounds as specified in paragraph (f).

(h) If a manufacturer's proportion of sales of video display devices as determined in
paragraph (b), clause (1), by weight is higher than the obligation determined by the agency
in paragraph (g), then the higher number is the obligation for program year eight.

(i) For the ninth program year, a manufacturer that did not report sales data to the
department for the eighth or ninth program years shall be subject to a recycling obligation
that is equal to 80 percent by weight of the manufacturer's video display devices sold
to households.

Sec. 54.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 115A.93, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

License and registration required; reporting.

(a) A person may
not collect mixed municipal solid waste for hire without a license from the jurisdiction
where the mixed municipal solid waste is collected. The local licensing entity shall submit
a list of licensed collectors to the agency.

(b) A person may not collect recyclable materials for hire unless registered with the
agency. If a person is licensed under paragraph (a), the person need not register with
the agency under this paragraph.

(c) The agency, in consultation with the Solid Waste Management Coordinating
Board, the Association of Minnesota Counties, the Minnesota Solid Waste Administrators
Association, and representatives from the waste industry shall, by July 1, 2016, develop
uniform short and long reporting forms that will reduce duplicative reporting by collectors
of solid waste and recyclable materials to governmental units.

(d) A collector of mixed municipal solid waste or recyclable materials shall separately
report to the agency on an annual basis information including, but not limited to, the
quantity of mixed municipal solid waste and the quantity of recyclable materials collected:

(1) from commercial customers;

(2) from residential customers;

(3) by county of origin; and

(4) by destination of the material.

Sec. 55.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 115B.34, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Property damage losses.

(a) Losses compensable by the fund for property
damage are limited to the following losses caused by damage to the principal residence of
the claimant:

(1) the reasonable cost of replacing or decontaminating the primary source of
drinking water for the property not to exceed the amount actually expended by the
claimant or assessed by a local taxing authority, if the Department of Health has confirmed
that the remedy provides safe drinking water and advised that the water not be used for
drinking or determined that the replacement or decontamination of the source of drinking
water was necessary, up to a maximum of $25,000;

(2) the reasonable cost to install a mitigation system for the claimant's principal
residence, not to exceed the amount actually expended by the claimant, if the agency has
recommended such installation to protect human health due to soil vapor intrusion into
the residence from releases of harmful substances. Reimbursement of eligible claims
shall not exceed $25,000;

(2) (3) losses incurred as a result of a bona fide sale of the property at less than
the appraised market value under circumstances that constitute a hardship to the owner,
limited to 75 percent of the difference between the appraised market value and the selling
price, but not to exceed $25,000; and

(3) (4) losses incurred as a result of the inability of an owner in hardship circumstances
to sell the property due to the presence of harmful substances, limited to the increase in
costs associated with the need to maintain two residences, but not to exceed $25,000.

(b) In computation of the loss under paragraph (a), clause (3) (4), the agency shall
offset the loss by the amount of any income received by the claimant from the rental
of the property.

(c) For purposes of paragraph (a), the following definitions apply:

(1) "appraised market value" means an appraisal of the market value of the property
disregarding any decrease in value caused by the presence of a harmful substance in
or on the property; and

(2) "hardship" means an urgent need to sell the property based on a special
circumstance of the owner including catastrophic medical expenses, inability of the owner
to physically maintain the property due to a physical or mental condition, and change of
employment of the owner or other member of the owner's household requiring the owner
to move to a different location.

(d) Appraisals are subject to agency approval. The agency may adopt rules
governing approval of appraisals, criteria for establishing a hardship, and other matters
necessary to administer this subdivision.

Sec. 56.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 282.011, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Title examination.

The commissioner of revenue shall, if requested by the
purchaser or the county attorney of the county where all or a portion of the land is situated,
deliver the deed to the county attorney for use under Minnesota Statutes 2014, section
88.48, subdivision 5, but such delivery shall not be considered delivery to the purchaser.
The county attorney shall be instructed when taking the transferral of the deed that said
deed shall not be delivered to the purchaser unless the land involved is accepted as and
placed into an auxiliary forest.

Sec. 57.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 446A.073, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Program established.

When money is appropriated for grants
under this program, the authority shall award grants up to a maximum of $3,000,000 to
governmental units to cover up to one-half the cost of wastewater treatment or storm water
infrastructure projects made necessary by:

(1) a wasteload reduction prescribed under a total maximum daily load plan required
by section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act, United States Code, title 33, section
1313(d);

(2) a phosphorus concentration or mass limit which requires discharging one
milligram per liter or less at permitted design flow which is incorporated into a permit
issued by the Pollution Control Agency;

(3) any other water quality-based effluent limit established under section 115.03,
subdivision 1, paragraph (e), clause (8), and incorporated into a permit issued by the
Pollution Control Agency that exceeds secondary treatment limits; or

(4) a total nitrogen limit of ten milligrams per liter or less for a land-based treatment
system.

Sec. 58.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 446A.073, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Project priorities.

When money is appropriated for grants under this
program, the authority shall accept applications during the month of July and reserve
money for projects expected to proceed with construction by the end of the fiscal year in
the order listed on the Pollution Control Agency's project priority list and in an amount
based on the cost estimate submitted to the authority in the grant application or the as-bid
costs, whichever is less. Notwithstanding Minnesota Rules, chapter 7077, the Pollution
Control Agency may rank a drinking water infrastructure project on its project priority list
that is necessary to meet the applicable requirement in subdivision 1.

Sec. 59.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 446A.073, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Grant approval.

The authority must make a grant for an eligible project
only after:

(1) the applicant has submitted the as-bid cost for the wastewater treatment or storm
water infrastructure project;

(2) the Pollution Control Agency has approved the as-bid costs and certified the
grant eligible portion of the project; and

(3) the authority has determined that the additional financing necessary to complete
the project has been committed from other sources.

Sec. 60. RULEMAKING; SEPTIC SYSTEM PROFESSIONALS; ELIGIBILITY.

The commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall adopt rules, using the
expedited rulemaking process in Minnesota Statutes, section 14.389, to create a procedure
for previously or currently certification-eligible septic system professionals to apply to
re-establish or maintain certification eligibility. The conditional eligibility shall begin upon
acceptance of an application by the Pollution Control Agency and end upon completion of
recertification procedures, including completion of necessary continuing education and
examinations. The length of the conditional eligibility shall be limited to one year.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Sec. 61. RULEMAKING; SSTS; EXISTING CAMPGROUNDS AND RESORTS.

(a) The commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall adopt rules, using the
expedited rulemaking process in Minnesota Statutes, section 14.389, to eliminate the need
for existing campgrounds and resorts that are open for 180 days or less per year to estimate
wastewater flow rates to subsurface sewage treatment systems as required by Minnesota
Rules, part 7081.0040, subpart 1, item B. The rules shall establish flow monitoring and
recording for subsurface sewage treatment systems at existing campgrounds and resorts
that are open for 180 days or less per year as provided in paragraphs (b) to (f).

(b) The rules shall provide that existing campgrounds and resorts are allowed to use
the following flow measurement methods:

(1) sewage lift station pump with runtime meter and counter;

(2) sewage flow meter;

(3) flow meters on wells; and

(4) water softener system with flow measurement when the measurement includes
all flow to the subsurface soil treatment system, including backwash.

(c) The measured flow rate must include the total of all treatment systems that are
located on the resort or campground. If fewer than 25 percent of the systems are not
measured, an average of the metered systems can be used to determine the flow from
the unmetered systems.

(d) A daily flow rate and daily campground occupancy rate must be recorded for a
minimum of two weeks, centered on and including July 4. Weekly monitoring must also
be done for an additional continuous two weeks prior and two weeks following July 4.

(e) If no flow data exists, the existing campground or resort owner or operator shall
implement an acceptable flow measurement plan and start measuring and recording flow
data within 120 days of notification.

(f) Flow measurement devices must be calibrated before start-up of monitoring and
another calibration during the test to verify results.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Sec. 62. REQUIRED RULEMAKING; SUBSURFACE SEWAGE TREATMENT
SYSTEMS.

The commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall adopt rules, using the
expedited rulemaking process in Minnesota Statutes, section 14.389, that set forth
procedures to conform with the changes to Minnesota Statutes, chapter 115, under this act
and to streamline the subsurface sewage treatment system (SSTS) license application and
renewal process in a manner that:

(1) surety bond and insurance requirements of licensed SSTS businesses meet the
requirements of Minnesota Statutes, chapter 115 and section 326B.46, subdivision 2; and

(2) properly trained SSTS installers may complete work on a building sewer with
respect to the Plumbing Code and plumbing program and SSTS designers and inspectors
may complete work on a building sewer connected to an SSTS with respect to the
Plumbing Code and plumbing program.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Sec. 63. EFFECTIVE RECYCLING EFFORTS REQUIREMENT.

Subdivision 1.

Requirements.

The Department of Administration shall partner with
the legislature to implement effective methods for increasing recycling rates and reducing
waste generated at buildings housing a state agency or the legislature.

Subd. 2.

Methods for increasing recycling.

Effective methods for increasing
recycling rates and reducing the amount of waste generated by state and legislative
operations must include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) colocation of recycling containers with each trash container;

(2) maintenance staff collection of recycling from every location from which they
collect trash; and

(3) establish policies requiring employees to recycle and handle waste responsibly.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Sec. 64. LAKE VERMILION-SOUDAN UNDERGROUND MINE STATE PARK.

[85.012] [Subd. 38a.] Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park,
St. Louis County.

The Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park mine tour operation is
exempt from Minnesota Statutes, sections 326B.163 to 326B.191. The federal mine
code for hoists that lift people under 30 CFR Part 57 Subpart R, applies to the Lake
Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park hoist. The commissioner shall employ
a hoist safety expert to conduct an annual inspection of the hoist system at the Lake
Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park.

Sec. 65. RULEMAKING; WATER SURFACE USE RESTRICTIONS.

(a) The commissioner of natural resources shall amend Minnesota Rules, part
6110.3700, subpart 9, to allow a longer period of temporary special controls in situations
of local emergency by deleting "five" and inserting "30" and deleting "five-day" and
inserting "30-day."

(b) The commissioner may use the good-cause exemption under Minnesota Statutes,
section 14.388, subdivision 1, clause (3), to adopt rules under this section, and Minnesota
Statutes, section 14.386, does not apply except as provided under Minnesota Statutes,
section 14.388.

Sec. 66. RULEMAKING; PERSONAL FLOTATION DEVICES.

(a) To conform with changes in federal regulation, the commissioner of natural
resources shall amend Minnesota Rules, part 6110.1200, subpart 3, as follows:

(1) delete the term "Type I, II, or III" and insert "wearable";

(2) delete the term "Type IV" and insert "throwable";

(3) delete items B and D and reletter the remaining items; and

(4) insert a new item that reads:

"C. All personal flotation devices required by this subpart must be:

(1) approved by the U.S. Coast Guard;

(2) legibly marked with any requirements and the approval number issued by the
U.S. Coast Guard;

(3) in serviceable condition free of tears, rot, punctures, or waterlogging, and with
all straps and fasteners present and in good condition;

(4) of the appropriate size for the intended wearer, if the device is designed to be worn,
and in compliance with any requirements listed on the U.S. Coast Guard approval label;

(5) for wearable devices, either readily accessible or worn, except when:

(a) devices are required to be worn to be accepted as U.S. Coast Guard-approved; or

(b) wearing a U.S. Coast Guard-approved wearable personal flotation device is
mandatory; and

(6) for throwable devices, immediately available.

"Readily accessible" means easily retrievable within a reasonable amount of time
in an emergency. "Immediately available" means easily reached in time of emergency.
Personal flotation devices located in locked containers, under heavy objects, or left in
shipping bags are not considered readily accessible or immediately available."

(b) The commissioner may use the good cause exemption under Minnesota Statutes,
section 14.388, subdivision 1, clause (3), to adopt rules under this section, and Minnesota
Statutes, section 14.386, does not apply except as provided under Minnesota Statutes,
section 14.388.

Sec. 67. DIGITAL REPAIR STAKEHOLDER GROUP.

The commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency may convene a stakeholder
group to develop recommendations for the establishment of fair repair requirements for the
reuse of computers and other electronic devices. Stakeholders shall include representatives
of recyclers, consumers, environmental organizations, manufacturers, and other interested
stakeholders. The initial stakeholder group may be convened by September 15, 2015.

Sec. 68. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.

The revisor of statutes shall delete the range reference "88.47 to 88.53" wherever it
appears in Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota Rules and insert "88.49 to 88.53."

Sec. 69. REPEALER.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 88.47; 88.48; 88.49, subdivisions 1, 2, and 10;
88.491, subdivision 1; 88.51, subdivision 2; and 282.013, are repealed.