2007 Minnesota Statutes

CHAPTER 115. WATER POLLUTION CONTROL; SANITARY DISTRICTS

WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT

115.01 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Applicability. The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
and, with respect to the pollution of the waters of the state, in chapter 116, unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section.
    Subd. 2.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 17]
    Subd. 2. Agency. "Agency" means the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
    Subd. 3.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 8]
    Subd. 3. Depository. "Depository" means: (a) a disposal facility or stabilization and
containment facility for hazardous waste as defined in section 115A.03; and (b) a radioactive
waste management facility as defined in section 116C.71, subdivision 7.
    Subd. 4.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 9]
    Subd. 4. Discharge. "Discharge" means the addition of any pollutant to the waters of the
state or to any disposal system.
    Subd. 5.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 13]
    Subd. 5. Disposal system. "Disposal system" means a system for disposing of sewage,
industrial waste and other wastes, and includes sewer systems and treatment works.
    Subd. 6.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 18]
    Subd. 6. Groundwater. "Groundwater" means water contained below the surface of the
earth in the saturated zone including, without limitation, all waters whether under confined,
unconfined, or perched conditions, in near-surface unconsolidated sediment or regolith, or in
rock formations deeper underground.
    Subd. 7.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 21]
    Subd. 7. Hazardous waste. "Hazardous waste" means waste as defined in section 116.06,
subdivision 11 .
    Subd. 8.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 5]
    Subd. 8. Industrial waste. "Industrial waste" means any liquid, gaseous or solid waste
substance resulting from any process of industry, manufacturing trade or business or from the
development of any natural resource.
    Subd. 9.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 22]
    Subd. 9. Other wastes. "Other wastes" mean garbage, municipal refuse, decayed wood,
sawdust, shavings, bark, lime, sand, ashes, offal, oil, tar, chemicals, dredged spoil, solid waste,
incinerator residue, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive
materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, cellar dirt or municipal or agricultural
waste, and all other substances not included within the definitions of sewage and industrial waste
set forth in this chapter which may pollute or tend to pollute the waters of the state.
    Subd. 10. Person. "Person" means the state or any agency or institution thereof, any
municipality, governmental subdivision, public or private corporation, individual, partnership,
or other entity, including, but not limited to, association, commission or any interstate body,
and includes any officer or governing or managing body of any municipality, governmental
subdivision, or public or private corporation, or other entity.
    Subd. 11.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 2]
    Subd. 11. Point source. "Point source" means any discernible, confined and discrete
conveyance, including, but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete
fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating
craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged.
    Subd. 12.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 4]
    Subd. 12. Pollutant. "Pollutant" means any sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes, as
defined in this chapter, discharged into a disposal system or to waters of the state.
    Subd. 13.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 12]
    Subd. 13. Pollution of water, water pollution, or pollute the water. "Pollution of water,"
"water pollution," or "pollute the water" means: (a) the discharge of any pollutant into any waters
of the state or the contamination of any waters of the state so as to create a nuisance or render such
waters unclean, or noxious, or impure so as to be actually or potentially harmful or detrimental or
injurious to public health, safety or welfare, to domestic, agricultural, commercial, industrial,
recreational or other legitimate uses, or to livestock, animals, birds, fish or other aquatic life; or
(b) the alteration made or induced by human activity of the chemical, physical, biological, or
radiological integrity of waters of the state.
    Subd. 14.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 20]
    Subd. 14. Potable water. "Potable water" means water which is or may be used as a source
of supply for human consumption including drinking, culinary use, food processing, and other
similar purposes, and which is suitable for such uses in its untreated state or when treated using
generally recognized treatment methods.
    Subd. 15.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 11]
    Subd. 15. Radioactive waste. "Radioactive waste" means high-level radioactive waste as
defined in section 116C.71, subdivision 2f, and low-level radioactive waste as defined in article II
of the Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact, as enacted by section 116C.831.
    Subd. 16.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 19]
    Subd. 16. Schedule of compliance. "Schedule of compliance" means a schedule of remedial
measures including an enforceable sequence of actions or operations leading to compliance with
an effluent limitation, other limitation, prohibition, or standard.
    Subd. 17.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 16]
    Subd. 17. Sewage. "Sewage" means the water-carried waste products from residences, public
buildings, institutions or other buildings, or any mobile source, including the excrementitious or
other discharge from the bodies of human beings or animals, together with such groundwater
infiltration and surface water as may be present.
    Subd. 18.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 7]
    Subd. 18. Sewer system. "Sewer system" means pipelines or conduits, pumping stations,
and force mains, and all other constructions, devices, and appliances appurtenant thereto, used for
conducting sewage or industrial waste or other wastes to a point of ultimate disposal.
    Subd. 19.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 15]
    Subd. 19. Standards. "Standards" means effluent standards, effluent limitations, standards of
performance for new sources, water quality standards, pretreatment standards, and prohibitions.
    Subd. 20.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 14]
    Subd. 20. Toxic pollutants. "Toxic pollutants" means those pollutants, or combinations of
pollutants, including disease-causing agents, which after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion,
inhalation or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by
ingestion through food chains, will, on the basis of information available to the agency, cause
death, disease, behavioral abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions,
including malfunctions in reproduction, or physical deformation, in such organisms or their
offspring.
    Subd. 21.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 6]
    Subd. 21. Treatment works. "Treatment works" means any plant, disposal field, lagoon,
dam, pumping station, constructed drainage ditch or surface water intercepting ditch, incinerator,
area devoted to sanitary land fills, or other works not specifically mentioned herein, installed for
the purpose of treating, stabilizing or disposing of sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes.
    Subd. 22.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 3]
    Subd. 22. Waters of the state. "Waters of the state" means all streams, lakes, ponds,
marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifers, irrigation systems,
drainage systems and all other bodies or accumulations of water, surface or underground, natural
or artificial, public or private, which are contained within, flow through, or border upon the
state or any portion thereof.
History: 1945 c 395 s 1; 1963 c 874 s 2,3; 1969 c 9 s 16; 1973 c 374 s 1-6; 1986 c 425 s
1-5; 1986 c 444

115.02 [Repealed, 1967 c 882 s 11]

115.03 POWERS AND DUTIES.
    Subdivision 1. Generally. The agency is hereby given and charged with the following
powers and duties:
(a) to administer and enforce all laws relating to the pollution of any of the waters of the state;
(b) to investigate the extent, character, and effect of the pollution of the waters of this state
and to gather data and information necessary or desirable in the administration or enforcement of
pollution laws, and to make such classification of the waters of the state as it may deem advisable;
(c) to establish and alter such reasonable pollution standards for any waters of the state in
relation to the public use to which they are or may be put as it shall deem necessary for the
purposes of this chapter and, with respect to the pollution of waters of the state, chapter 116;
(d) to encourage waste treatment, including advanced waste treatment, instead of stream
low-flow augmentation for dilution purposes to control and prevent pollution;
(e) to adopt, issue, reissue, modify, deny, or revoke, enter into or enforce reasonable orders,
permits, variances, standards, rules, schedules of compliance, and stipulation agreements, under
such conditions as it may prescribe, in order to prevent, control or abate water pollution, or for the
installation or operation of disposal systems or parts thereof, or for other equipment and facilities:
(1) requiring the discontinuance of the discharge of sewage, industrial waste or other wastes
into any waters of the state resulting in pollution in excess of the applicable pollution standard
established under this chapter;
(2) prohibiting or directing the abatement of any discharge of sewage, industrial waste, or
other wastes, into any waters of the state or the deposit thereof or the discharge into any municipal
disposal system where the same is likely to get into any waters of the state in violation of this
chapter and, with respect to the pollution of waters of the state, chapter 116, or standards or rules
promulgated or permits issued pursuant thereto, and specifying the schedule of compliance within
which such prohibition or abatement must be accomplished;
(3) prohibiting the storage of any liquid or solid substance or other pollutant in a manner
which does not reasonably assure proper retention against entry into any waters of the state that
would be likely to pollute any waters of the state;
(4) requiring the construction, installation, maintenance, and operation by any person of any
disposal system or any part thereof, or other equipment and facilities, or the reconstruction,
alteration, or enlargement of its existing disposal system or any part thereof, or the adoption
of other remedial measures to prevent, control or abate any discharge or deposit of sewage,
industrial waste or other wastes by any person;
(5) establishing, and from time to time revising, standards of performance for new sources
taking into consideration, among other things, classes, types, sizes, and categories of sources,
processes, pollution control technology, cost of achieving such effluent reduction, and any
nonwater quality environmental impact and energy requirements. Said standards of performance
for new sources shall encompass those standards for the control of the discharge of pollutants
which reflect the greatest degree of effluent reduction which the agency determines to be
achievable through application of the best available demonstrated control technology, processes,
operating methods, or other alternatives, including, where practicable, a standard permitting
no discharge of pollutants. New sources shall encompass buildings, structures, facilities, or
installations from which there is or may be the discharge of pollutants, the construction of which
is commenced after the publication by the agency of proposed rules prescribing a standard of
performance which will be applicable to such source. Notwithstanding any other provision of the
law of this state, any point source the construction of which is commenced after May 20, 1973,
and which is so constructed as to meet all applicable standards of performance for new sources
shall, consistent with and subject to the provisions of section 306(d) of the Amendments of 1972
to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, not be subject to any more stringent standard of
performance for new sources during a ten-year period beginning on the date of completion of such
construction or during the period of depreciation or amortization of such facility for the purposes
of section 167 or 169, or both, of the Federal Internal Revenue Code of 1954, whichever period
ends first. Construction shall encompass any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or
equipment, including contractual obligations to purchase such facilities or equipment, at the
premises where such equipment will be used, including preparation work at such premises;
(6) establishing and revising pretreatment standards to prevent or abate the discharge of
any pollutant into any publicly owned disposal system, which pollutant interferes with, passes
through, or otherwise is incompatible with such disposal system;
(7) requiring the owner or operator of any disposal system or any point source to establish
and maintain such records, make such reports, install, use, and maintain such monitoring
equipment or methods, including where appropriate biological monitoring methods, sample such
effluents in accordance with such methods, at such locations, at such intervals, and in such a
manner as the agency shall prescribe, and providing such other information as the agency may
reasonably require;
(8) notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and with respect to the pollution
of waters of the state, chapter 116, requiring the achievement of more stringent limitations than
otherwise imposed by effluent limitations in order to meet any applicable water quality standard
by establishing new effluent limitations, based upon section 115.01, subdivision 13, clause (b),
including alternative effluent control strategies for any point source or group of point sources
to insure the integrity of water quality classifications, whenever the agency determines that
discharges of pollutants from such point source or sources, with the application of effluent
limitations required to comply with any standard of best available technology, would interfere
with the attainment or maintenance of the water quality classification in a specific portion of the
waters of the state. Prior to establishment of any such effluent limitation, the agency shall hold a
public hearing to determine the relationship of the economic and social costs of achieving such
limitation or limitations, including any economic or social dislocation in the affected community
or communities, to the social and economic benefits to be obtained and to determine whether or
not such effluent limitation can be implemented with available technology or other alternative
control strategies. If a person affected by such limitation demonstrates at such hearing that,
whether or not such technology or other alternative control strategies are available, there is no
reasonable relationship between the economic and social costs and the benefits to be obtained,
such limitation shall not become effective and shall be adjusted as it applies to such person;
(9) modifying, in its discretion, any requirement or limitation based upon best available
technology with respect to any point source for which a permit application is filed after July 1,
1977, upon a showing by the owner or operator of such point source satisfactory to the agency that
such modified requirements will represent the maximum use of technology within the economic
capability of the owner or operator and will result in reasonable further progress toward the
elimination of the discharge of pollutants; and
(10) requiring that applicants for wastewater discharge permits evaluate in their applications
the potential reuses of the discharged wastewater;
(f) to require to be submitted and to approve plans and specifications for disposal systems
or point sources, or any part thereof and to inspect the construction thereof for compliance with
the approved plans and specifications thereof;
(g) to prescribe and alter rules, not inconsistent with law, for the conduct of the agency and
other matters within the scope of the powers granted to and imposed upon it by this chapter and,
with respect to pollution of waters of the state, in chapter 116, provided that every rule affecting
any other department or agency of the state or any person other than a member or employee of the
agency shall be filed with the secretary of state;
(h) to conduct such investigations, issue such notices, public and otherwise, and hold such
hearings as are necessary or which it may deem advisable for the discharge of its duties under this
chapter and, with respect to the pollution of waters of the state, under chapter 116, including,
but not limited to, the issuance of permits, and to authorize any member, employee, or agent
appointed by it to conduct such investigations or, issue such notices and hold such hearings;
(i) for the purpose of water pollution control planning by the state and pursuant to the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, to establish and revise planning areas, adopt plans
and programs and continuing planning processes, including, but not limited to, basin plans and
areawide waste treatment management plans, and to provide for the implementation of any such
plans by means of, including, but not limited to, standards, plan elements, procedures for revision,
intergovernmental cooperation, residual treatment process waste controls, and needs inventory
and ranking for construction of disposal systems;
(j) to train water pollution control personnel, and charge such fees therefor as are necessary
to cover the agency's costs. All such fees received shall be paid into the state treasury and credited
to the Pollution Control Agency training account;
(k) to impose as additional conditions in permits to publicly owned disposal systems
appropriate measures to insure compliance by industrial and other users with any pretreatment
standard, including, but not limited to, those related to toxic pollutants, and any system of user
charges ratably as is hereby required under state law or said Federal Water Pollution Control Act,
as amended, or any regulations or guidelines promulgated thereunder;
(l) to set a period not to exceed five years for the duration of any national pollutant discharge
elimination system permit;
(m) to require each governmental subdivision identified as a permittee for a wastewater
treatment works to evaluate in every odd-numbered year the condition of its existing system and
identify future capital improvements that will be needed to attain or maintain compliance with a
national pollutant discharge elimination system or state disposal system permit; and
(n) to train individual sewage treatment system personnel, including persons who design,
construct, install, inspect, service, and operate individual sewage treatment systems, and charge
fees as necessary to pay the agency's costs. All fees received must be paid into the state treasury
and credited to the agency's training account. Money in the account is appropriated to the agency
to pay expenses related to training.
The information required in clause (m) must be submitted in every odd-numbered year to the
commissioner on a form provided by the commissioner. The commissioner shall provide technical
assistance if requested by the governmental subdivision.
The powers and duties given the agency in this subdivision also apply to permits issued
under chapter 114C.
    Subd. 2. Hearing or investigation. In any hearing or investigation conducted pursuant to
this chapter and chapters 114C, 116, and 116F, any employee or agent thereto authorized by the
agency, may administer oaths, examine witnesses and issue, in the name of the agency, subpoenas
requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence relevant to
any matter involved in any such hearing or investigation. Witnesses shall receive the same fees
and mileage as in civil actions.
    Subd. 3. Contempt of court. In case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena issued
under this section, the district court of the county where the proceeding is pending or in which the
person guilty of such contumacy or refusal to obey is found or resides, shall have jurisdiction upon
application of the agency or its authorized member, employee or agent to issue to such person an
order requiring the person to appear and testify or produce evidence, as the case may require, and
any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by said court as a contempt thereof.
    Subd. 4. Building permits. It is unlawful for any person to issue or grant a building permit
for, or otherwise permit, the construction, enlargement, or relocation of a commercial or industrial
building to be used as the place of employment of more than 12 persons, or any other commercial
or industrial building to house a process producing industrial or other wastes, unless the sewage
or industrial or other waste originating in such buildings is or will be discharged into a disposal
system for which a permit has first been granted by the agency unless the agency has cause not to
apply this requirement, provided that this subdivision shall not apply to building permits issued
for buildings, which have an estimated value of less than $500,000, located or to be located within
an incorporated municipality. After January 1, 1975, such permits shall be acted upon by the
agency within 90 days after submitted, provided that the agency, for good cause, may order said
90 day period to be extended for a reasonable time.
    Subd. 4a. Section 401 certifications. (a) The following definitions apply to this subdivision:
(1) "section 401 certification" means a water quality certification required under section 401
of the federal Clean Water Act, United States Code, title 33, section 1341; and
(2) "nationwide permit" means a nationwide general permit issued by the United States Army
Corps of Engineers and listed in Code of Federal Regulations, title 40, part 330, appendix A.
(b) The agency is responsible for providing section 401 certifications for nationwide permits.
(c) Before making a final decision on a section 401 certification for regional conditions on a
nationwide permit, the agency shall hold at least one public meeting outside the seven-county
metropolitan area.
(d) In addition to other notice required by law, the agency shall provide written notice of a
meeting at which the agency will be considering a section 401 certification for regional conditions
on a nationwide permit at least 21 days before the date of the meeting to the members of the senate
and house of representatives environment and natural resources committees, the senate Agriculture
and Rural Development Committee, and the house of representatives Agriculture Committee.
    Subd. 5. Agency authority; national pollutant discharge elimination system.
Notwithstanding any other provisions prescribed in or pursuant to this chapter and, with respect
to the pollution of waters of the state, in chapter 116, or otherwise, the agency shall have the
authority to perform any and all acts minimally necessary including, but not limited to, the
establishment and application of standards, procedures, rules, orders, variances, stipulation
agreements, schedules of compliance, and permit conditions, consistent with and, therefore
not less stringent than the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended,
applicable to the participation by the state of Minnesota in the national pollutant discharge
elimination system (NPDES); provided that this provision shall not be construed as a limitation
on any powers or duties otherwise residing with the agency pursuant to any provision of law.
    Subd. 5a. Public notice for national pollutant discharge elimination system permit
application. The commissioner must give public notice of a completed national pollutant
discharge elimination system permit application for new municipal discharges in the official
county newspaper of the county where the discharge is proposed.
    Subd. 5b. Storm water permits; compliance with nondegradation and mitigation
requirements. (a) During the period in which this subdivision is in effect, all point source storm
water discharges that are subject to and in compliance with an individual or general storm water
permit issued by the Pollution Control Agency under the national pollution discharge elimination
system are considered to be in compliance with the nondegradation and mitigation requirements
of agency water quality rules.
(b) This subdivision is repealed on the earlier of July 1, 2007, or the effective date of
rules adopted by the Pollution Control Agency that provide specific mechanisms or criteria to
determine whether point source storm water discharges comply with the nondegradation and
mitigation requirements of agency water quality rules.
    Subd. 5c. Regulation of storm water discharges. (a) The agency may issue a general
permit to any category or subcategory of point source storm water discharges that it deems
administratively reasonable and efficient without making any findings under agency rules.
Nothing in this subdivision precludes the agency from requiring an individual permit for a point
source storm water discharge if the agency finds that it is appropriate under applicable legal or
regulatory standards.
(b) Pursuant to this paragraph, the legislature authorizes the agency to adopt and enforce
rules regulating point source storm water discharges. No further legislative approval is required
under any other legal or statutory provision whether enacted before or after May 29, 2003.
    Subd. 6. Certification statement; pollution control equipment loan. (a) In addition to
its other powers and duties, the agency shall prepare the certification statement required to be
submitted by an applicant for a pollution control equipment loan under the provisions of section
7(g) of the Small Business Act and section 8 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as
amended.
(b) The agency certification shall state whether the loan applicant's proposed additions to,
or alterations in, equipment facilities or methods of operation are necessary and adequate to
comply with the requirements established under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as
amended. The agency's certification statement shall comply with the requirements of Code of
Federal Regulations, title 40, part 21.
(c) The agency may identify small businesses eligible for loans under section 7(g) of the
Small Business Act and section 8 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended and
assist in the preparation of loan application.
(d) No fee shall be required of an applicant for any assistance provided under this subdivision.
    Subd. 7. Pollution control facility revenue bonds. In addition to its other powers and duties,
the agency shall disseminate information and provide assistance regarding the small business
administration program to guarantee payments or rentals on pollution control facility revenue
bonds pursuant to Public Law 94-305 (June 4, 1976). The agency shall also encourage and assist
governmental units to coordinate the joint or cooperative issuance of bonds guaranteed under this
program to the end that the total amount of the bonds is sufficient in size to allow convenient sale.
    Subd. 8. Exemptions for aboveground storage tanks. The commissioner may not adopt
rules under this section that regulate the use of the following aboveground storage tanks:
(1) farm or residential tanks of 1,100 gallons or less capacity used for storing motor fuel for
noncommercial purposes;
(2) tanks of 1,100 gallons or less capacity used for storing heating oil for consumptive
use on the premises where stored;
(3) tanks used for storing liquids that are gaseous at atmospheric temperature and pressure; or
(4) tanks used for storing agricultural chemicals regulated under chapter 18B, 18C, or 18D.
    Subd. 8a. Permit duration for major aboveground storage facilities. Agency permits for
major aboveground storage facilities may be issued for a term of up to ten years.
    Subd. 9. Future costs of wastewater treatment; update of 1995 report. The commissioner
shall, by January 15, 1998, and each even-numbered year thereafter, provide the chairs of the
house and senate committees with primary jurisdiction over the agency's budget with the
following information:
(1) an updated list of all wastewater treatment upgrade and construction projects the agency
has identified to meet existing and proposed water quality standards and regulations;
(2) an estimate of the total costs associated with the projects listed in clause (1), and the
projects' priority ranking under Minnesota Rules, chapter 7077. The costs of projects necessary
to meet existing standards must be identified separately from the costs of projects necessary to
meet proposed standards;
(3) the commissioner's best estimate, developed in consultation with the commissioner of
employment and economic development and affected permittees, of the increase in sewer service
rates to the residents in the municipalities required to construct the projects listed in clause (1)
resulting from the cost of these projects; and
(4) a list of existing and proposed state water quality standards which are more stringent than
is necessary to comply with federal law, either because the standard has no applicable federal
water quality criteria, or because the standard is more stringent than the applicable federal water
quality criteria.
    Subd. 10. Nutrient loading offset. (a) Prior to the completion of a total maximum daily
load for an impaired water, the Pollution Control Agency may issue a permit for a new discharger
or an expanding discharger if it results in decreased loading to an impaired water. Where a new
discharger or an expanding existing discharger cannot effectively implement zero discharge
options, the agency may issue a permit if the increased loading is offset by reductions from
other sources of loading to the impaired water, so that there is a net decrease in the pollutant
loading of concern. The term "new discharger" is as defined in Code of Federal Regulations,
title 40, section 122.2.
(b) The legislature intends this subdivision to confirm and clarify the authority of the
Pollution Control Agency to issue the authorized permits under prior law. The subdivision must
not be construed as a legislative interpretation within the meaning of section 645.16, clause (8),
or otherwise as the legislature's intent that the agency did not have authority to issue such a
permit under prior law.
History: 1945 c 395 s 3; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1969 c 931 s 6; 1973 c 374 s 7-9; 1973 c 412 s 12;
1976 c 76 s 1; 1979 c 147 s 1; 1984 c 597 s 41; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 13 s 229; 1986 c 444;
1987 c 186 s 15; 1989 c 335 art 1 s 127; art 4 s 33; 1992 c 601 s 2; 1993 c 87 s 1; 1993 c 186
s 8; 1996 c 437 s 9,10; 1996 c 462 s 38; 1997 c 216 s 93; 2000 c 370 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 2 s 120;
2003 c 128 art 1 s 120,121; 1Sp2003 c 4 s 1; 2006 c 251 s 10

115.04 DISPOSAL SYSTEMS AND POINT SOURCES.
    Subdivision 1. Information. Any person operating or installing a disposal system or other
point source, or portion thereof, when requested by the agency, or any member, employee or
agent thereof, when authorized by it, shall furnish to it any information which that person may
have or which is relevant to the subject of this chapter, chapter 114C, and, with respect to the
pollution of waters of the state, of chapter 116.
    Subd. 2. Examination of records. The agency or any member, employee or agent thereof,
when authorized by it, upon presentation of credentials, may examine and copy any books, papers,
records or memoranda pertaining to the installation, maintenance, or operation or discharge,
including, but not limited to, monitoring data, of disposal systems or other point sources, in
accordance with the purposes of this chapter, chapter 114C, and, with respect to the pollution
of waters of the state, chapter 116.
    Subd. 3. Access to premises. Whenever it shall be necessary for the purposes of this chapter,
chapter 114C, and, with respect to pollution of waters of the state, chapter 116, the agency or
any member, employee, or agent thereof, when authorized by it, upon presentation of credentials,
may enter upon any property, public or private, for the purpose of obtaining information or
examination of records or conducting surveys or investigations.
History: 1945 c 395 s 4; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1973 c 374 s 10; 1986 c 444; 1996 c 437 s 11

115.05 JUDICIAL REVIEW.
    Subdivision 1.[Repealed, 1976 c 76 s 8]
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1973 c 374 s 22]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1976 c 76 s 8]
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1976 c 76 s 8]
    Subd. 5.[Repealed, 1976 c 76 s 8]
    Subd. 6.[Repealed, 1976 c 76 s 8]
    Subd. 7.[Repealed, 1976 c 76 s 8]
    Subd. 8.[Repealed, 1976 c 76 s 8]
    Subd. 9.[Repealed, 1976 c 76 s 8]
    Subd. 10.[Repealed, 1976 c 76 s 8]
    Subd. 11. Judicial review. Any person aggrieved by any final decision of the agency or of
the commissioner may obtain judicial review thereof pursuant to sections 14.63 to 14.69 if the
final decision is made pursuant to the agency's or the commissioner's authority under section
115A.914, this chapter, chapter 116, or the rules adopted thereunder, and if the decision is a
final decision pertaining to:
(1) issuance, amendment, or denial of a permit, license, or certification;
(2) granting or denial of a variance;
(3) issuance of an administrative order, except for an administrative penalty order issued
pursuant to section 116.072; or
(4) denial of a contested case hearing on any of the matters listed in clauses (1) to (3).
History: 1945 c 395 s 5; 1959 c 461 s 1; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1969 c 931 s 1,2; 1973 c 374 s 11;
1976 c 76 s 2; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1987 c 384 art 2 s 1; 1999 c 235 s 1

115.06 COOPERATION.
    Subdivision 1. With other sovereign states. The agency, so far as it is not inconsistent
with its duties under the laws of this state, may assist and cooperate with any agency of another
state, of the United States of America or of the Dominion of Canada or any province thereof in
any matter relating to water pollution control.
    Subd. 2. Funds received from persons or agencies. The agency may receive and accept
money, property, or services from any person or from any agency described in subdivision 1 or
from any other source for any purpose within the scope of its functions under this chapter, chapter
116, or 116F, and all money so received are hereby appropriated for such purposes in like manner
and subject to like provisions of law as the corresponding appropriations of state funds.
    Subd. 3. By governmental subdivisions. It shall be the duty of each city, county, town,
sanitary district, public corporation, or other governmental subdivision to cooperate with the
agency in obtaining compliance with the provisions of this chapter and to enforce within its
jurisdiction all standards, orders, rules, or permit requirements adopted by the agency thereunder.
    Subd. 4. Citizen monitoring of water quality. (a) The agency may encourage citizen
monitoring of ambient water quality for public waters by:
(1) providing technical assistance to citizen and local group water quality monitoring efforts;
(2) integrating citizen monitoring data into water quality assessments and agency programs,
provided that the data adheres to agency quality assurance and quality control protocols; and
(3) seeking public and private funds to:
(i) collaboratively develop clear guidelines for water quality monitoring procedures and data
management practices for specific data and information uses;
(ii) distribute the guidelines to citizens, local governments, and other interested parties;
(iii) improve and expand water quality monitoring activities carried out by the agency; and
(iv) continue to improve electronic and Web access to water quality data and information
about public waters that have been either fully or partially assessed.
(b) This subdivision does not authorize a citizen to enter onto private property for any
purpose.
(c) By January 15 of each odd-numbered year, the commissioner shall report to the senate
and house of representatives committees with jurisdiction over environmental policy and finance
on activities under this section.
History: 1945 c 395 s 6; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1969 c 931 s 3; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1978 c 568 s
1; 1985 c 248 s 70; 2002 c 253 s 1; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 2 s 125

115.061 DUTY TO NOTIFY AND AVOID WATER POLLUTION.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), it is the duty of every person to notify the agency
immediately of the discharge, accidental or otherwise, of any substance or material under its
control which, if not recovered, may cause pollution of waters of the state, and the responsible
person shall recover as rapidly and as thoroughly as possible such substance or material and take
immediately such other action as may be reasonably possible to minimize or abate pollution of
waters of the state caused thereby.
(b) Notification is not required under paragraph (a) for a discharge of five gallons or less
of petroleum, as defined in section 115C.02, subdivision 10. This paragraph does not affect the
other requirements of paragraph (a).
History: 1969 c 931 s 4; 1993 c 341 art 1 s 1

115.063 HAZARDOUS AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE; STATE POTABLE WATER
PROTECTION POLICY.
The legislature finds that:
(1) the waters of the state, because of their abundant quantity and high natural quality,
constitute a unique natural resource of immeasurable value which must be protected and
conserved for the benefit of the health, safety, welfare, and economic well-being of present and
future generations of the people of the state;
(2) the actual or potential use of the waters of the state for potable water supply is the highest
priority use of that water and deserves maximum protection by the state; and
(3) the disposal of hazardous waste and radioactive waste in Minnesota may pose a serious
risk of pollution of the waters of the state, particularly potable water.
It is therefore the policy of the state of Minnesota, consistent with the state's primary
responsibility and rights to prevent, reduce, and eliminate water pollution and to plan for the
preservation of water resources, that depositories for hazardous waste or radioactive waste should
not be located in any place or be constructed or operated in any manner that can reasonably be
expected to cause pollution of potable water.
History: 1986 c 425 s 6

115.065 PROHIBITION OF DISPOSAL.
The location, construction, or operation of any depository for hazardous waste or radioactive
waste, whether generated within or outside of the state, in any place or in any manner that can
reasonably be expected to cause the pollution of potable water is prohibited.
History: 1986 c 425 s 7

115.067 BELOW GRADE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS; PROHIBITION; EXCEPTION.
The construction or operation of a depository for hazardous waste or radioactive waste in
whole or in part below the natural grade of the land where it is located is prohibited unless the
person proposing to construct or operate the depository demonstrates that the depository cannot
reasonably be expected to cause the pollution of potable water.
History: 1986 c 425 s 8

115.069 RADIONUCLIDE POLLUTION; HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE
DEPOSITORY.
The determination of whether the location, construction, or operation of a depository
for spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste can reasonably be expected to cause
radionuclide pollution of potable groundwater in violation of section 115.065 shall be made in
accordance with the provisions of section 116C.76.
History: 1986 c 425 s 9

115.07 VIOLATIONS AND PROHIBITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Obtain permit. It shall be unlawful for any person to construct, install or
operate a disposal system, or any part thereof, until plans therefor shall have been submitted to
the agency unless the agency shall have waived the submission thereof to it and a written permit
therefor shall have been granted by the agency.
For disposal systems operated on streams with extreme seasonal flows, the agency must allow
seasonal permit limits based on a fixed or variable effluent limit when the municipality operating
the disposal system requests them and is in compliance with agency water quality standards.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1973 c 374 s 22]
    Subd. 3. Permission for extension. It shall be unlawful for any person to make any change
in, addition to or extension of any existing disposal system or point source, or part thereof, to
effect any facility expansion, production increase, or process modification which results in new or
increased discharges of pollutants, or to operate such system or point source, or part thereof as so
changed, added to, or extended until plans and specifications therefor shall have been submitted to
the agency unless the agency shall have waived the submission thereof to it and a written permit
therefor shall have been granted by the agency.
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1973 c 374 s 22]
    Subd. 5.[Repealed, 1963 c 798 s 16]
    Subd. 6.[Repealed, 1973 c 374 s 22]
History: 1945 c 395 s 8-10; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1969 c 931 s 5; 1973 c 374 s 12; 1986 c 465 art
3 s 1

115.071 ENFORCEMENT.
    Subdivision 1. Remedies available. The provisions of sections 103F.701 to 103F.761, this
chapter and chapters 114C, 115A, and 116, and sections 325E.10 to 325E.1251 and 325E.32
and all rules, standards, orders, stipulation agreements, schedules of compliance, and permits
adopted or issued by the agency thereunder or under any other law now in force or hereafter
enacted for the prevention, control, or abatement of pollution may be enforced by any one or any
combination of the following: criminal prosecution; action to recover civil penalties; injunction;
action to compel performance; or other appropriate action, in accordance with the provisions of
said chapters and this section.
    Subd. 2. Criminal penalties. (a) Violations of laws; orders; permits. Except as provided in
section 609.671, any person who willfully or negligently violates any provision of this chapter
or chapter 114C or 116, or any standard, rule, variance, order, stipulation agreement, schedule
of compliance or permit issued or adopted by the agency thereunder shall upon conviction be
guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Duty of law enforcement officials. It shall be the duty of all county attorneys, sheriffs
and other peace officers, and other officers having authority in the enforcement of the general
criminal laws to take all action to the extent of their authority, respectively, that may be necessary
or proper for the enforcement of said provisions, rules, standards, orders, stipulation agreements,
variances, schedule of compliance, or permits.
    Subd. 2a.[Repealed, 1987 c 267 s 5]
    Subd. 2b.[Repealed, 1987 c 267 s 5]
    Subd. 3. Civil penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or chapter
114C or 116, except any provisions of chapter 116 relating to air and land pollution caused by
agricultural operations which do not involve national pollutant discharge elimination system
permits, or of (1) any effluent standards and limitations or water quality standards, (2) any permit
or term or condition thereof, (3) any national pollutant discharge elimination system filing
requirements, (4) any duty to permit or carry out inspection, entry or monitoring activities, or (5)
any rules, stipulation agreements, variances, schedules of compliance, or orders issued by the
agency, shall forfeit and pay to the state a penalty, in an amount to be determined by the court, of
not more than $10,000 per day of violation except that if the violation relates to hazardous waste
the person shall forfeit and pay to the state a penalty, in an amount to be determined by the court,
of not more than $25,000 per day of violation.
In addition, in the discretion of the court, the defendant may be required to:
(a) forfeit and pay to the state a sum which will adequately compensate the state for the
reasonable value of cleanup and other expenses directly resulting from unauthorized discharge of
pollutants, whether or not accidental;
(b) forfeit and pay to the state an additional sum to constitute just compensation for any loss
or destruction to wildlife, fish or other aquatic life and for other actual damages to the state caused
by an unauthorized discharge of pollutants.
As a defense to any of said damages, the defendant may prove that the violation was caused
solely by (1) an act of God, (2) an act of war, (3) negligence on the part of the state of Minnesota,
or (4) an act or failure to act which constitutes sabotage or vandalism, or any combination of
the foregoing clauses.
The civil penalties and damages provided for in this subdivision may be recovered by a civil
action brought by the attorney general in the name of the state.
    Subd. 4. Injunctions. Any violation of the provisions, rules, standards, orders, stipulation
agreements, variances, schedules of compliance, or permits specified in this chapter and chapters
114C and 116 shall constitute a public nuisance and may be enjoined as provided by law in an
action, in the name of the state, brought by the attorney general.
    Subd. 5. Actions to compel performance. In any action to compel performance of an order
of the agency for any purposes relating to the prevention, control or abatement of pollution under
this chapter and chapters 114C and 116, the court may require any defendant adjudged responsible
to do and perform any and all acts and things within the defendant's power which are reasonably
necessary to accomplish the purposes of the order. In case a municipality or its governing or
managing body or any of its officers is a defendant, the court may require it to exercise its powers,
without regard to any limitation of any requirement for an election or referendum imposed thereon
by law and without restricting the powers of the agency to do any or all of the following, without
limiting the generality hereof: to levy taxes, levy special assessments, prescribe service or use
charges, borrow money, issue bonds, employ assistance, acquire real or personal property, let
contracts or otherwise provide for the doing of work or the construction, installation, maintenance,
or operation of facilities, and do all other acts and things reasonably necessary to accomplish the
purposes of the order, but the court shall grant the municipality the opportunity to determine the
appropriate financial alternatives to be utilized in complying with the court imposed requirements.
    Subd. 6. Administrative penalties. A provision of law that may be enforced under this
section may also be enforced under section 116.072.
    Subd. 7. Underground and aboveground storage tanks; red tags. (a) The commissioner
may issue a red tag for failure to have the regulated underground tank system or aboveground
tank facility at a bulk plant, as defined in section 115C.09, subdivision 3h, paragraph (a),
protected from corrosion, failure to have spill and overfill protection, or failure to have a leak
detection method in place. A red tag may also be issued for underground storage tank system
or aboveground tank facility at a bulk plant violations if an enforcement action, including, but
not limited to, a citation as defined in section 116.073, subdivision 1, has been issued and the
violations are not corrected. Upon discovery of a violation at a facility with an underground
storage tank system or aboveground tank facility at a bulk plant, the commissioner shall affix a
red tag, in plain view, to the fill pipe cap of the tank system that provides notice that delivery
of petroleum products to the tank system is prohibited. When the red tag is issued, agency staff
must determine the product level in the tank.
(b) No owner or operator of a facility having an underground storage tank system or
aboveground tank facility at a bulk plant shall fill or allow the filling of a tank with a petroleum
product while a red tag is affixed to the fill pipe cap of the tank system.
(c) A person shall not remove, deface, alter, or otherwise tamper with a red tag so that the
information contained on the tag is not legible.
(d) A red tag may not be removed until the commissioner has inspected the underground
storage tank system or aboveground tank facility at a bulk plant and established that it is no longer
in violation. After making that determination, the commissioner shall remove the red tag within
24 hours or as soon as reasonably possible. Upon agreement by the commissioner, the red tag may
also be removed by an agency-certified installer who provides documentation to the commissioner
that the violation for which the system was red-tagged has been corrected.
(e) The issuance of a red tag may be appealed under section 116.072, subdivision 6,
paragraphs (a) to (e), except that the person subject to the order must request a hearing within
15 days after issuance of a red tag and, if a hearing is not requested within the 15-day period,
the red tag becomes a final order not subject to further review.
History: 1973 c 374 s 13; 1976 c 76 s 3; 1983 c 373 s 1-4; 1984 c 628 art 3 s 11; 1984 c 655
art 1 s 18; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 267 s 1; 1988 c 553 s 1; 1990 c 391 art 10 s 3;
1991 c 347 art 1 s 2; 1993 c 249 s 6; 1996 c 437 s 12-16; 1998 c 379 s 1; 2004 c 169 s 1

115.072 RECOVERY OF LITIGATION COSTS AND EXPENSES.
    In any action brought by the attorney general, in the name of the state, pursuant to the
provisions of this chapter and chapters 114C, 114E, and 116, for civil penalties, injunctive relief,
or in an action to compel compliance, if the state shall finally prevail, and if the proven violation
was willful, the state, in addition to other penalties provided in this chapter, may be allowed an
amount determined by the court to be the reasonable value of all or a part of the litigation expenses
incurred by the state. In determining the amount of such litigation expenses to be allowed, the
court shall give consideration to the economic circumstances of the defendant.
    Amounts recovered under the provisions of this section and section 115.071, subdivisions
3 to 5 , shall be paid into the environmental fund in the state treasury to the extent provided in
section 115.073.
History: 1973 c 374 s 14; 1991 c 347 art 1 s 3; 1996 c 437 s 17; 2007 c 131 art 1 s 72

115.073 ENFORCEMENT FUNDING.
Except as provided in section 115C.05, all money recovered by the state under this chapter
and chapters 115A and 116, including civil penalties and money paid under an agreement,
stipulation, or settlement, excluding money paid for past due fees or taxes, up to the amount
appropriated for implementation of Laws 1991, chapter 347, must be deposited in the state
treasury and credited to the environmental fund.
History: 1991 c 347 art 1 s 4; 2003 c 128 art 2 s 3

115.075 INFORMATION AND MONITORING.
A person may not:
(1) make a false material statement, representation, or certification in; omit material
information from; or alter, conceal, or fail to file or maintain a notice, application, record, report,
plan, manifest, or other document required under section 103F.701 or this chapter or chapter
114C, 115A, or 116; or
(2) falsify, tamper with, render inaccurate, or fail to install a monitoring device or method
required to be maintained or followed for the purpose of compliance with sections 103F.701 to
103F.761 or this chapter or chapter 114C, 115A, or 116.
History: 1991 c 347 art 1 s 5; 1996 c 437 s 18

115.076 BACKGROUND OF PERMIT APPLICANTS.
    Subdivision 1. Authority of commissioner. (a) The agency may refuse to issue or to
authorize the transfer of:
(1) a hazardous waste facility permit or a solid waste facility permit to construct or operate a
commercial waste facility as defined in section 115A.03, subdivision 6, if the agency determines
that the permit applicant does not possess sufficient expertise and competence to operate the
facility in conformance with the requirements of this chapter and chapters 114C and 116, or if
other circumstances exist that demonstrate that the permit applicant may not operate the facility in
conformance with the requirements of this chapter and chapters 114C and 116; or
(2) an animal feedlot facility permit, under section 116.07, subdivision 7, to construct or
operate an animal feedlot facility, if the agency determines that the permit applicant does not
possess sufficient expertise and competence to operate the feedlot facility in conformance with the
requirements of this chapter and chapter 116 or if other circumstances exist that demonstrate that
the permit applicant may not operate the feedlot facility in conformance with the requirements of
this chapter and chapter 116.
(b) In making a determination under paragraph (a), the agency may consider:
(1) the experience of the permit applicant in constructing or operating commercial waste
facilities or animal feedlot facilities;
(2) the expertise of the permit applicant;
(3) the past record of the permit applicant in operating commercial waste facilities or animal
feedlot facilities in Minnesota and other states;
(4) any criminal convictions of the permit applicant in state or federal court during the
past five years that bear on the likelihood that the permit applicant will operate the facility in
conformance with the applicable requirements of this chapter and chapters 114C and 116; and
(5) in the case of a corporation or business entity, any criminal convictions in state or federal
court during the past five years of any of the permit applicant's officers, partners, or facility
managers that bear on the likelihood that the facility will be operated in conformance with the
applicable requirements of this chapter and chapters 114C and 116.
    Subd. 2. Permit applicant. For purposes of this section, a permit applicant includes a natural
person, a partnership and its owners, and a corporation and its parent.
    Subd. 3. Investigation. The commissioner may conduct an investigation to assist in making
determinations under subdivision 1. The reasonable costs of any investigation must be paid by
the permit applicant.
    Subd. 4. Notice of permit denial. The agency may not refuse to issue or transfer a permit
under this section without first providing the permit applicant with the relevant information and
with an opportunity to respond by commenting on the information and submitting additional
information regarding the circumstances surrounding the conviction, corrective measures to
prevent recurrence, the applicant's rehabilitation, and technical and managerial experience. In
making a final decision on the permit, the agency shall consider the permit applicant's response
prior to making a final decision on the permit.
    Subd. 5. Hearing. If the agency proposes to deny a permit under this section, the permit
applicant may request a hearing under chapter 14. The permit applicant may request that the
hearing be held under Minnesota Rules, parts 1400.8510 to 1400.8612.
History: 1991 c 347 art 1 s 6; 1996 c 437 s 19; 1998 c 401 s 39

115.08 INTERPRETATION.
Sections 115.01 to 115.09 shall not be construed as repealing any of the provisions of
law relating to the pollution of any waters of the state, but shall be held and construed as
supplementing the same and in addition to the laws now in force, except as the same may be
in direct conflict herewith.
History: 1945 c 395 s 7

115.09 CITATION, WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT.
Sections 115.01 to 115.09 may be cited as the State Water Pollution Control Act.
History: 1945 c 395 s 11

115.091 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.092 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.093 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.094 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.095 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.096 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.097 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.098 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.099 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.10 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.101 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.102 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.103 [Repealed, 1990 c 391 art 10 s 4]

115.15    Subdivision 1.[Repealed, 1Sp1981 c 4 art 1 s 188]
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1969 c 9 s 20; 1Sp 1981 c 4 art 1 s 188]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1Sp1981 c 4 art 1 s 188]
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1Sp1981 c 4 art 1 s 188]
    Subd. 5.[Repealed, 1Sp1981 c 4 art 1 s 188]

115.16 [Repealed, 1Sp1981 c 4 art 1 s 188]

115.17 [Repealed, 1975 c 61 s 26]

SANITARY DISTRICTS

115.18 SANITARY DISTRICTS; DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Applicability. As used in sections 115.18 to 115.37, the terms defined in this
section have the meanings given them except as otherwise provided or indicated by the context.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1969 c 9 s 20]
    Subd. 3.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 6]
    Subd. 3. Additional terms. The terms defined in section 115.01, as now in force or hereafter
amended, have the meanings given them therein.
    Subd. 4.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 5]
    Subd. 4. Agency. "Agency" means the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
    Subd. 5.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 10]
    Subd. 5. Board. "Board" means the board of managers of a sanitary district.
    Subd. 6.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 8]
    Subd. 6. District. "District" means a sanitary district created under the provisions of sections
115.18 to 115.37.
    Subd. 7.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 9]
    Subd. 7. Municipality. "Municipality" means a city, however organized.
    Subd. 8.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 7]
    Subd. 8. Related governmental subdivision or body. "Related governmental subdivision"
means a municipality or organized town wherein there is a territorial unit of a district, or, in the
case of an unorganized area, the county. "Related governing body" means the governing body of a
related governmental subdivision, and, in the case of an organized town, means the town board.
    Subd. 9.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 3]
    Subd. 9. Statutory city. "Statutory city" means a city organized as provided by chapter 412,
under the plan other than optional.
    Subd. 10.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 4]
    Subd. 10. Territorial unit. "Territorial unit" means all that part of the territory of a district
situated within a single municipality, a single organized town outside of any municipality, or, in
the case of an unorganized area, within a single county.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 4; 1969 c 9 s 18; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7

115.19 CREATION; PURPOSE; EXCEPTIONS.
A sanitary district may be created under the provisions of sections 115.18 to 115.37 for
any territory embracing an area or a group of two or more adjacent areas, whether contiguous
or separate, but not situated entirely within the limits of a single municipality, for the purpose
of promoting the public health and welfare by providing an adequate and efficient system and
means of collecting, conveying, pumping, treating and disposing of domestic sewage and garbage
and industrial wastes within the district, in any case where the agency finds that there is need
throughout the territory for the accomplishment of these purposes, that these purposes can be
effectively accomplished on an equitable basis by a district if created, and that the creation and
maintenance of such a district will be administratively feasible and in furtherance of the public
health, safety, and welfare; but subject to the following exceptions:
No district shall be created within 25 miles of the boundary of any city of the first class
without the approval of the governing body thereof and the approval of the governing body of
each and every municipality in the proposed district by resolution filed with the agency.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 5; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1992 c 601 s 3

115.20 PROCEEDING TO CREATE DISTRICT.
    Subdivision 1. Petition required. (a) A proceeding for the creation of a district may be
initiated by a petition to the agency, filed with its secretary, containing the following:
(1) a request for creation of the proposed district;
(2) the name proposed for the district, to include the words "sanitary district";
(3) a description of the territory of the proposed district;
(4) a statement showing the existence in such territory of the conditions requisite for creation
of a district as prescribed in section 115.19;
(5) a statement of the territorial units represented by and the qualifications of the respective
signers;
(6) the post office address of each signer, given under the signer's signature. A petition may
consist of separate writings of like effect, each signed by one or more qualified persons, and all
such writings, when filed, shall be considered together as a single petition.
(b) A public meeting must be held to inform citizens of the proposed creation of the district.
At the meeting, information must be provided, including a description of the district's proposed
structure, bylaws, territory, ordinances, budget, and charges. Notice of the meeting must be
published for two successive weeks in a qualified newspaper published within the territory of
the proposed district or, if there is no qualified newspaper published within the territory, in a
qualified newspaper of general circulation in the territory, and by posting for two weeks in each
territorial unit of the proposed district. A record of the meeting must be submitted to the agency
with the petition.
    Subd. 2. Signatures; publication. Every petition shall be signed as follows:
(1) for each municipality wherein there is a territorial unit of the proposed district, by an
authorized officer or officers pursuant to a resolution of the municipal governing body;
(2) for each organized town wherein there is a territorial unit of the proposed district, by an
authorized officer or officers pursuant to a resolution of the town board;
(3) for each county wherein there is a territorial unit of the proposed district consisting of an
unorganized area, by an authorized officer or officers pursuant to a resolution of the county board,
or by at least 20 percent of the voters residing and owning land within the unit.
Each resolution shall be published in the official newspaper of the governing body adopting
it and shall become effective 40 days after publication, unless within said period there shall be
filed with the governing body a petition signed by qualified electors of a territorial unit of the
proposed district, equal in number to five percent of the number of such electors voting at the last
preceding election of the governing body, requesting a referendum on the resolution, in which
case the resolution may not become effective until approved by a majority of the qualified electors
voting at a regular election or special election which the governing body may call. The notice
of any election and the ballot to be used shall contain the text of the resolution followed by the
question: "Shall the above resolution be approved?"
If any signer is alleged to be a landowner in a territorial unit, a statement as to the signer's
landowner status as shown by the county auditor's tax assessment records, certified by the auditor,
shall be attached to or endorsed upon the petition.
    Subd. 3. Changes; errors. At any time before publication of the public notice required in
subdivision 4, or before the public hearing, if required under subdivision 4, additional signatures
may be added to the petition or amendments of the petition may be made to correct or remedy any
error or defect in signature or otherwise except a material error or defect in the description of the
territory of the proposed district. No proceeding shall be invalidated on account of any error or
defect in the petition unless questioned by an interested party before the reception of evidence
begins at the hearing except a material error or defect in the description of the territory of the
proposed district. If the qualifications of any signer of a petition are challenged, the agency or
its agent shall determine the challenge forthwith on the allegations of the petition, the county
auditor's certificate of land ownership, and such other evidence as may be received.
    Subd. 4. State Register; hearing. (a) Upon receipt of a petition and the record of the public
meeting required under subdivision 1, the agency shall publish a notice in the State Register and
mail a copy to each property owner in the affected territory at the owner's address as given by
the county auditor. The mailed copy must state the date that the notice will appear in the State
Register. Copies need not be sent by registered mail. The notice must:
(1) describe the petition for creation of the district;
(2) describe the territory affected by the petition;
(3) allow 30 days for submission of written comments on the petition;
(4) state that a person who objects to the petition may submit a written request for hearing to
the agency within 30 days of the publication of the notice in the State Register; and
(5) state that if a timely request for hearing is not received, the agency may make a decision
on the petition at a future meeting of the agency.
(b) If 25 or more timely requests for hearing are received, the agency must hold a hearing on
the petition in accordance with the contested case provisions of chapter 14.
    Subd. 5. Findings; order. After the public notice period or the public hearing, if required
under subdivision 4, and based on the petition, any public comments received, and, if a hearing
was held, the hearing record, the agency shall make findings of fact and conclusions determining
whether or not the conditions requisite for the creation of a district exist in the territory described
in the petition. If the agency finds that conditions exist, it may make an order creating a district for
the territory described in the petition under the name proposed in the petition or such other name,
including the words "sanitary district," as the agency deems appropriate.
    Subd. 6. Denial of petition. If the agency, after the conclusion of the public notice period
or the holding of a hearing, if required, determines that the creation of a district in the territory
described in the petition is not warranted, it shall make an order denying the petition. The
secretary of the agency shall give notice of such denial by mail to each signer of the petition. No
petition for the creation of a district consisting of the same territory shall be entertained within a
year after the date of an order, but this shall not preclude action on a petition for the creation of a
district embracing part of the territory with or without other territory.
    Subd. 7. Notice of orders. Notice of the making of every order of the agency creating
a sanitary district, referring to the date of the order and describing the territory of the district,
shall be given by the secretary in like manner as for notice of the hearing on the petition for
creation of the district.
    Subd. 8. Appeal. An appeal may be taken from an order of the agency creating or dissolving
a district, annexing territory to or detaching territory from a district, or denying a petition for any
such action, as now or hereafter provided for appeals from other orders of the agency except that
the giving of notice of the order as provided in subdivision 7 shall be deemed notice thereof
to all interested parties, and the time for appeal by any party shall be limited to 30 days after
completion of the mailing of copies of the order or after expiration of the prescribed period of
posting or publication, whichever is latest. The validity of the creation of a district shall not be
otherwise questioned.
    Subd. 9. Filing. Upon expiration of the time for appeal from an order of the agency creating a
district, or, in case of an appeal, upon the taking effect of a final judgment of a court of competent
jurisdiction sustaining the order, the secretary of the agency shall deliver a certified copy of the
order to the secretary of state for filing. Thereupon the creation of the district shall be deemed
complete, and it shall be conclusively presumed that all requirements of law relating thereto have
been complied with. The secretary of the agency shall also transmit a certified copy of the order
for filing to the county auditor of each county and the clerk or recorder of each municipality and
organized town wherein any part of the territory of the district is situated and to the secretary
of the district board when elected.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 6; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1986 c 444; 1992 c 601 s 4-9

115.21 ANNEXATION, DETACHMENT, AND DISSOLUTION.
    Subdivision 1. Annexation. An area adjacent to an existing district may be annexed thereto
upon a petition to the agency stating the grounds therefor as hereinafter provided, signed by an
authorized officer or officers of the district pursuant to a resolution of the board, also signed with
respect to the area proposed for annexation in like manner as provided for a petition for creation
of a district. Except as otherwise provided, a proceeding for annexation shall be governed by the
provisions now or hereafter in force relating to proceedings for the creation of districts, so far as
applicable. For the purpose of giving the required notices the territory involved shall comprise
the area proposed for annexation together with the entire territory of the district. If the agency
determines that the requisite conditions exist in the area proposed for annexation together with the
territory of the district, it may make an order for annexation accordingly. All taxable property
within the annexed area shall be subject to taxation for any existing bonded indebtedness or other
indebtedness of the district for the cost of acquisition, construction, or improvement of any
disposal system or other works or facilities beneficial to the annexed area to such extent as the
agency may determine to be just and equitable, to be specified in the order for annexation. The
proper officers shall levy further taxes on such property accordingly.
    Subd. 2. Detachment. An area within a district may be detached therefrom upon a petition to
the agency stating the grounds therefor as hereinafter provided, signed by an authorized officer
or officers of the district pursuant to a resolution of the board, also signed with respect to the
area proposed for detachment in like manner as provided for a petition for creation of a district.
Except as otherwise provided, a proceeding for detachment shall be governed by the provisions
now or hereafter in force relating to proceedings for the creation of districts, so far as applicable.
For the purpose of giving the required notices the territory involved shall comprise the entire
territory of the district. If the agency determines that the requisite conditions for inclusion in a
district no longer exist in the area proposed for detachment, it may make an order for detachment
accordingly. All taxable property within the detached area shall remain subject to taxation for any
existing bonded indebtedness of the district to such extent as it would have been subject thereto
if not detached, and shall also remain subject to taxation for any other existing indebtedness of
the district incurred for any purpose beneficial to such area to such extent as the agency may
determine to be just and equitable, to be specified in the order for detachment. The proper officers
shall levy further taxes on such property accordingly.
    Subd. 3. Joint petition. Different areas may be annexed to and detached from a district in
a single proceeding upon a joint petition therefor and upon compliance with the provisions of
subdivisions 1 and 2 with respect to the area affected so far as applicable.
    Subd. 4. Dissolution. A district may be dissolved upon a petition to the agency stating the
grounds for dissolution as hereinafter provided, signed by an authorized officer or officers of the
district pursuant to a resolution of the board, and containing a proposal for distribution of the
remaining funds of the district, if any, among the related governmental subdivisions. Except as
otherwise provided, a proceeding for dissolution shall be governed by the provisions now or
hereafter in force relating to proceedings for the creation of districts, so far as applicable. If the
commission determines that the conditions requisite for the creation of the district no longer exist
therein, that all indebtedness of the district has been paid, and that all property of the district
except funds has been disposed of, it may make an order dissolving the district and directing the
distribution of its remaining funds, if any, among the related governmental subdivisions on such
basis as the agency determines to be just and equitable, to be specified in the order. Certified
copies of the order for dissolution shall be transmitted and filed as provided for an order creating a
district. The secretary of the agency shall also transmit a certified copy of the order to the treasurer
of the district, who shall thereupon distribute the remaining funds of the district as directed by the
order, and shall be responsible for such funds until so distributed.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 7; 1969 c 9 s 21

115.22 PETITIONERS TO PAY EXPENSES.
Expenses of the preparation and submission of petitions in proceedings under sections
115.19 to 115.21 shall be paid by the petitioners. Expenses of hearings therein shall be paid out of
any available funds appropriated for the agency.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 8; 1969 c 9 s 21

115.23 BOARD OF MANAGERS OF DISTRICT.
    Subdivision 1. Composition. The governing body of each district shall be a board of
managers of five members, who shall be voters residing in the district, and who may but need not
be officers, members of governing bodies, or employees of the related governmental subdivisions,
except that where there are more than five territorial units in a district there shall be one board
member for each unit.
    Subd. 2. Terms. The terms of the first board members elected after creation of a district shall
be so arranged and determined by the electing body as to expire on the first business day in
January as follows:
(1) the terms of two members in the second calendar year after the year in which they
were elected;
(2) the terms of two other members in the third calendar year after the year in which they
were elected;
(3) the term of the remaining member in the fourth calendar year after the year in which the
member was elected. In case a board has more than five members the additional members shall be
assigned to the groups hereinbefore provided for so as to equalize such groups as far as practicable.
Thereafter board members shall be elected successively for regular terms beginning on expiration
of the preceding terms and expiring on the first business day in January of the third calendar year
thereafter. Each board member shall serve until a successor is elected and has qualified.
    Subd. 3. Election of board. In a district having only one territorial unit all the members
of the board shall be elected by the related governing body. In a district having more than one
territorial unit the members of the board shall be elected by the members of the related governing
bodies in joint session except as otherwise provided. The electing bodies concerned shall meet and
elect the first board members of a new district as soon as practicable after creation of the district,
and shall meet and elect board members for succeeding regular terms as soon as practicable after
November 1 next preceding the beginning of the terms to be filled, respectively.
    Subd. 4. Central related governing body. Upon the creation of a district having more than
one territorial unit, the agency, on the basis of convenience for joint meeting purposes, shall
designate one of the related governing bodies as the central related governing body in the order
creating the district or in a subsequent special order, of which the secretary of the agency shall
notify the clerks or recorders of all the related governing bodies. Upon receipt of such notification,
the clerk or recorder of the central related governing body shall immediately transmit the same
to the presiding officer of such body. Such officer shall thereupon call a joint meeting of the
members of all the related governing bodies to elect board members, to be held at such time as
the officer shall fix at the regular meeting place of the officer's governing body or at such other
place in the district as the officer shall determine. At least ten days' notice of the meeting shall
be given by mail by the clerk or recorder of such body to the clerks or recorders of all the other
related governing bodies, who shall immediately transmit such notice to all the members of such
bodies, respectively. Subsequent joint meetings to elect board members for regular terms shall
be called and held in like manner. The presiding officer and the clerk or recorder of the central
related governing body shall act respectively as chair and secretary of the joint electing body at
any meeting thereof, but in case of the absence or disability of either of them such body may
elect a temporary substitute. A majority of the members of each related governing body shall be
required for a quorum at any meeting of the joint electing body.
    Subd. 5. Nominations. Nominations for board members may be made by petitions, each
signed by ten or more voters residing and owning land in the district, filed with the clerk, recorder,
or secretary of the electing body before the election meeting. No person shall sign more than one
petition. The electing body shall give due consideration to all such nominations but shall not be
limited thereto.
    Subd. 6. Election; single governing body. In the case of an electing body consisting of a
single related governing body, a majority vote of all the members shall be required for an election.
In the case of a joint electing body, a majority vote of the members present shall be required for
an election. In case of lack of a quorum or failure to elect, a meeting of an electing body may
be adjourned to a stated time and place without further notice.
    Subd. 7. Election; multiple governing bodies. In any district having more than one
territorial unit, the related governing bodies, instead of meeting in joint session, may elect a board
member by resolutions adopted by all of them separately, concurring in the election of the same
person. A majority vote of all the members of each related governing body shall be required for
the adoption of any such resolution. The clerks or recorders of the other related governing bodies
shall transmit certified copies of such resolutions to the clerk or recorder of the central related
governing body. Upon receipt of concurring resolutions from all the related governing bodies,
the presiding officer and clerk or recorder of the central related governing body shall certify the
results and furnish certificates of election as provided for a joint meeting.
    Subd. 8. Vacancies. Any vacancy in the membership of a board shall be filled for the
unexpired term in like manner as provided for the regular election of board members.
    Subd. 9. Certification of election; temporary chair. The presiding and recording officers of
the electing body shall certify the results of each election to the secretary of the agency, to the
county auditor of each county wherein any part of the district is situated, and to the clerk or
recorder of each related governing body, and shall make and transmit to each board member
elected a certificate of the board member's election. Upon electing the first board members of a
district, the presiding officer of the electing body shall designate one of them to serve as temporary
chair for the purposes of initial organization of the board, and the recording officer of the body
shall include written notice thereof to all the board members with their certificates of election.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 9; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1986 c 444

115.24 ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE OF BOARD.
    Subdivision 1. Initial, annual meetings. As soon as practicable after the election of the first
board members of a district they shall meet at the call of the temporary chair to elect officers and
take other appropriate action for organization and administration of the district. Each board shall
hold a regular annual meeting at the call of the chair or otherwise as it shall prescribe on or as
soon as practicable after the first business day in January of each year, and such other regular and
special meetings as it shall prescribe.
    Subd. 2. Officers. The officers of each district shall be a chair and a vice-chair, who shall
be members of the board, and a secretary and a treasurer, who may but need not be members of
the board. The board of a new district at its initial meeting or as soon thereafter as practicable
shall elect the officers to serve until the first business day in January next following. Thereafter
the board shall elect the officers at each regular annual meeting for terms expiring on the first
business day in January next following. Each officer shall serve until a successor is elected
and has qualified.
    Subd. 3. Meeting place; offices. The board at its initial meeting or as soon thereafter as
practicable shall provide for suitable places for board meetings and for offices of the district
officers, and may change the same thereafter as it deems advisable. Such meeting place and
offices may be the same as those of any related governing body, with the approval of such body.
The secretary of the board shall notify the secretary of state, the secretary of the agency, the
county auditor of each county wherein any part of the district is situated, and the clerk or recorder
of each related governing body of the locations and post office addresses of such meeting place
and offices and any changes therein.
    Subd. 4. Budget. At any time before the proceeds of the first tax levy in a district become
available, the district board may prepare a budget comprising an estimate of the expenses of
organizing and administering the district until such proceeds are available, with a proposal for
apportionment of the estimated amount among the related governmental subdivisions, and may
request the governing bodies thereof to advance funds in accordance with the proposal. Such
governing bodies may authorize advancement of the requested amounts, or such part thereof
as they respectively deem proper, from any funds available in their respective treasuries. The
board shall include in its first tax levy after receipt of any such advancements a sufficient sum
to cover the same and shall cause the same to be repaid, without interest, from the proceeds of
taxes as soon as received.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 10; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1986 c 444

115.25 STATUS AND POWERS OF DISTRICT.
    Subdivision 1. Status. Every district shall be a public corporation and a governmental
subdivision of the state, and shall be deemed to be a municipality or municipal corporation for the
purpose of obtaining federal or state grants or loans or otherwise complying with any provision of
federal or state law or for any other purpose relating to the powers and purposes of the district for
which such status is now or hereafter required by law.
    Subd. 2. Powers and purpose. Every district shall have the powers and purposes prescribed
by sections 115.18 to 115.37 and such others as may now or hereafter be prescribed by law. No
express grant of power or enumeration of powers herein shall be deemed to limit the generality or
scope of any grant of power.
    Subd. 3. Scope of powers and duties. Except as otherwise provided, a power or duty vested
in or imposed upon a district or any of its officers, agents, or employees shall not be deemed
exclusive and shall not supersede or abridge any power or duty vested in or imposed upon any
other agency of the state or any governmental subdivision thereof, but shall be supplementary
thereto.
    Subd. 4. Exercise of power. All the powers of a district shall be exercised by its board of
managers except so far as approval of any action by popular vote or by any other authority
may be expressly required by law.
    Subd. 5. Lawsuits; contracts. A district may sue and be sued and may enter into any
contract necessary or proper for the exercise of its powers or the accomplishment of its purposes.
    Subd. 6. Property acquisition. A district may acquire by purchase, gift, or condemnation
or may lease or rent any real or personal property within or without the district which may be
necessary for the exercise of its powers or the accomplishment of its purposes, may hold such
property for such purposes, and may lease or rent out or sell or otherwise dispose of any such
property so far as not needed for such purposes.
    Subd. 7. Acceptance of money or property. A district may accept gifts, grants, or loans of
money or other property from the United States, the state, or any person, corporation, or other
entity for district purposes, may enter into any agreement required in connection therewith,
and may hold, use, and dispose of such money or property in accordance with the terms of the
gift, grant, loan, or agreement relating thereto.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 11

115.26 SPECIFIC PURPOSES AND POWERS.
    Subdivision 1. Pollution prevention. A district may construct, install, improve, maintain,
and operate any system, works, or facilities within or without the district required to control and
prevent pollution of any waters of the state within its territory.
    Subd. 2. Sewage disposal. A district may construct, install, improve, maintain, and operate
any system, works, or facilities within or without the district required to provide for, regulate, and
control the disposal of sewage, industrial waste and other waste originating within its territory.
The district may require any person upon whose premises there is any source of sewage, industrial
waste, or other waste within the district to connect the same with the disposal system, works, or
facilities of the district whenever reasonable opportunity therefor is provided.
    Subd. 3. Garbage, refuse disposal. A district may construct, install, improve, maintain,
and operate any system, works, or facilities within or without the district required to provide for,
regulate, and control the disposal of garbage or refuse originating within the district, and may
require any person upon whose premises any garbage or refuse is produced or accumulated
to dispose thereof through the system, works, or facilities of the district whenever reasonable
opportunity therefor is provided.
    Subd. 4. Water supply. A district may procure supplies of water so far as necessary for any
purpose under subdivisions 1, 2, and 3, and may construct, install, improve, maintain, and operate
any system, works, or facilities required therefor within or without the district.
    Subd. 5. Roads. (a) In order to maintain the integrity of and facilitate access to district
systems, works, or facilities, the district may maintain and repair a road by agreement with the
entity that was responsible for the performance of maintenance and repair immediately prior to
the agreement. Maintenance and repair includes, but is not limited to, providing lighting, snow
removal, and grass mowing.
(b) A district shall establish a taxing subdistrict of benefited property and shall levy
special taxes, pursuant to section 115.33, subdivision 2, for the purposes of paying the cost of
improvement or maintenance of a road under paragraph (a).
(c) For purposes of this subdivision, a district shall not be construed as a road authority
under chapter 160.
(d) The district and its officers and employees are exempt from liability for any tort claim
for injury to person or property arising from travel on a road maintained by the district and
related to its maintenance or condition.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 12; 1996 c 471 art 13 s 2

115.27 DISTRICT PROJECTS AND FACILITIES.
    Subdivision 1. Public property. For the purpose of constructing, improving, maintaining,
or operating any system, works, or facilities designed or used for any purpose under section
115.26, a district, its officers, agents, employees, and contractors may enter, occupy, excavate,
and otherwise operate it, upon, under, through, or along any public highway, including a state
trunk highway, or any street, park, or other public grounds so far as necessary for such work, with
the approval of the governing body or other authority in charge of the public property affected
and on such terms as may be agreed upon with such governing body or authority respecting
interference with public use, restoration of previous conditions, compensation for damages, and
other pertinent matters. If such an agreement cannot be reached after reasonable opportunity
therefor, the district may acquire the necessary rights, easements, or other interests in such public
property by condemnation, subject to all applicable provisions of law as in case of taking private
property, upon condition that the court shall determine that there is paramount public necessity
for such acquisition.
    Subd. 2. Use of other systems. A district may, upon such terms as may be agreed upon with
the respective governing bodies or authorities concerned, provide for connecting with or using or
may lease or acquire and take over any system, works, or facilities for any purpose under section
115.26 belonging to any other governmental subdivision or other public agency.
    Subd. 3. Use by other governmental bodies. A district may, upon such terms as may be
agreed upon with the respective governing bodies or authorities concerned, authorize the use by
any other governmental subdivision or other public agency of any system, works, or facilities
of the district constructed for any purpose under section 115.26 so far as the capacity thereof is
sufficient beyond the needs of the district. A district may extend any such system, works, or
facilities and permit the use thereof by persons outside the district, so far as the capacity thereof is
sufficient beyond the needs of the district, upon such terms as the board may prescribe.
    Subd. 4. Joint projects. A district may be a party to a joint cooperative project, undertaking,
or enterprise with any one or more other governmental subdivisions or other public agencies for
any purpose under section 115.26 upon such terms as may be agreed upon between the governing
bodies or authorities concerned. Without limiting the effect of the foregoing provision or any
other provisions of sections 115.18 to 115.37, a district, with respect to any of said purposes, may
act under and be subject to the provisions of section 471.59, as now in force or hereafter amended,
or any other appropriate law now in force or hereafter enacted providing for joint or cooperative
action between governmental subdivisions or other public agencies.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 13

115.28 CONTROL OF SANITARY FACILITIES.
A district may regulate and control the construction, maintenance, and use of privies,
cesspools, septic tanks, toilets, and other facilities and devices for the reception or disposal
of human or animal excreta or other domestic wastes within its territory so far as necessary
to prevent nuisances or pollution or to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, and may
prohibit the use of any such facilities or devices not connected with a district disposal system,
works, or facilities whenever reasonable opportunity for such connection is provided; provided,
that the authority of a district under this section shall not extend or apply to the construction,
maintenance, operation, or use by any person other than the district of any disposal system or part
thereof within the district under and in accordance with a valid and existing permit heretofore
or hereafter issued by the agency.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 14; 1969 c 9 s 21

115.29 DISTRICT PROGRAMS, SURVEYS, AND STUDIES.
A district may develop general programs and particular projects within the scope of its
powers and purposes, and may make all surveys, studies, and investigations necessary therefor.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 15

115.30 GENERAL AND STATUTORY CITY POWERS.
A district may do and perform all other acts and things necessary or proper for the
effectuation of its powers and the accomplishment of its purposes. Without limiting the effect of
the foregoing provision or any other provision of sections 115.18 to 115.37, a district, with respect
to each and all of said powers and purposes, shall have like powers as are vested in statutory
cities with respect to any similar purposes, and the exercise of such powers by a district and all
matters pertaining thereto shall be governed by the provisions of law relating to the exercise of
similar powers by statutory cities and matters pertaining thereto, so far as applicable, with like
force and effect, except as otherwise provided.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 16; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7

115.31 ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
The board may appoint an advisory committee with such membership and duties as it may
prescribe.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 17

115.32 POWERS OF BOARD.
    Subdivision 1. Generally. The board of managers of every district shall have charge and
control of all the funds, property, and affairs of the district. With respect thereto, the board shall
have like powers and duties as are provided by law for a statutory city council with respect
to similar statutory city matters, except as otherwise provided. Except as otherwise provided,
the chair, vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer of the district shall have like powers and duties,
respectively, as the mayor, acting mayor, clerk, and treasurer of a statutory city. Except as
otherwise provided the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties of the board and
officers of the district and all other activities, transactions, and procedures of the district or any of
its officers, agents, or employees, respectively, shall be governed by the provisions of law relating
to similar matters in a statutory city, so far as applicable, with like force and effect.
    Subd. 2. Regulation of district. The board may enact ordinances, prescribe regulations,
adopt resolutions, and take other appropriate action relating to any matter within the powers and
purposes of the district, and may do and perform all other acts and things necessary or proper for
the effectuation of said powers and the accomplishment of said purposes. The board may provide
that violation of any ordinance shall be a penal offense and may prescribe penalties therefor, not
exceeding those prescribed by law for violation of statutory city ordinances.
    Subd. 3. Arrest; prosecution. Violations of district ordinances may be prosecuted before
any court having jurisdiction of misdemeanors. Any peace officer may make arrests for violations
committed anywhere within the district in the same manner as for violations of city ordinances or
for statutory misdemeanors.
All fines collected shall be deposited in the treasury of the district.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 18; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1983 c 359 s 6; 1986 c 444; 2005 c 10 art
2 s 4

115.33 TAX LEVIES, ASSESSMENTS, AND SERVICE CHARGES.
    Subdivision 1. Tax levies. The board may levy taxes for any district purpose on all property
taxable within the district, and for a period of five years from June 5, 1971, the same shall not be
subject to any limitation and shall be excluded in computing amounts subject to any limitation on
tax levies.
    Subd. 2. Particular area. In the case where a particular area within the district, but not the
entire district, is benefited by a system, works, or facilities of the district, the board, after holding
a public hearing as provided by law for levying assessments on benefited property, shall by
ordinance establish such area as a taxing subdistrict, to be designated by number, and shall levy
special taxes on all the taxable property therein, to be accounted for separately and used only
for the purpose of paying the cost of construction, improvement, acquisition, maintenance, or
operation of such system, works, or facilities, or paying the principal and interest on bonds issued
to provide funds therefor and expense incident thereto. Such hearing may be held jointly with
a hearing for the purpose of levying assessments on benefited property within the proposed
taxing subdistrict.
    Subd. 3. Benefited property. The board shall levy assessments on benefited property to
provide funds for payment of the cost of construction, improvement, or acquisition of any system,
works, or facilities designed or used for any district purpose, or for payment of the principal of
and interest on any bonds issued therefor and expenses incident thereto.
    Subd. 4. Service charges. The board shall prescribe service, use, or rental charges for
persons or premises connecting with or making use of any system, works, or facilities of the
district, prescribe the method of payment and collection of such charges, and provide for the
collection thereof for the district by any related governmental subdivision or other public agency
on such terms as may be agreed upon with the governing body or other authority thereof.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 19; 1971 c 826 s 1

115.34 BORROWING POWERS; BONDS.
    Subdivision 1. Borrowing power. The board may authorize the borrowing of money for
any district purpose and provide for the repayment thereof, subject to chapter 475. The taxes
initially levied by any district in accordance with section 475.61 for the payment of its bonds,
upon property within each municipality included in the district, shall be included in computing
the levy of such municipality.
    Subd. 2. Bond issuance. The board may authorize the issuance of bonds or obligations of the
district to provide funds for the construction, improvement, or acquisition of any system, works,
or facilities for any district purpose, or for refunding any prior bonds or obligations issued for any
such purpose, and may pledge the full faith and credit of the district or the proceeds of tax levies
or assessments or service, use, or rental charges, or any combination thereof, to the payment of
such bonds or obligations and interest thereon or expenses incident thereto. An election or vote
of the people of the district shall be required to authorize the issuance of any such bonds or
obligations. Except as otherwise provided in sections 115.18 to 115.37, the forms and procedures
for issuing and selling bonds and provisions for payment thereof shall comply with the provisions
of chapter 475, as now in force or hereafter amended.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 20; 1Sp1981 c 4 art 1 s 72; 1Sp1989 c 1 art 5 s 4

115.35 FUNDS; DISTRICT TREASURY.
The proceeds of all tax levies, assessments, service, use, or rental charges, and other income
of the district shall be deposited in the district treasury and shall be held and disposed of as the
board may direct for district purposes, subject to any pledges or dedications made by the board
for the use of particular funds for the payment of bonds or interest thereon or expenses incident
thereto or for other specific purposes.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 21

115.36 EFFECT OF DISTRICT ORDINANCES AND FACILITIES.
In any case where an ordinance is enacted or a regulation adopted by a district board relating
to the same subject matter and applicable in the same area as an existing ordinance or regulation
of a related governmental subdivision for the district, the district ordinance or regulation, to the
extent of its application, shall supersede the ordinance or regulation of the related governmental
subdivision. In any case where an area within a district is served for any district purpose by a
system, works, or facilities of the district, no system, works, or facilities shall be constructed,
maintained, or operated for the same purpose in the same area by any related governmental
subdivision or other public agency except as approved by the district board.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 22

115.37 APPLICATION.
The provisions of sections 115.18 to 115.37 shall not abridge or supersede any provision of
sections 115.01 to 115.09, or any authority of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency or the state
commissioner of health, but shall be subject and supplementary thereto. Districts and members of
district boards shall be subject to the authority of the agency and shall have no power or authority
to abate or control pollution which is permitted by and in accord with any classification of waters,
standards of water quality, or permit established, fixed, or issued by the agency.
History: Ex1961 c 20 s 23; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1987 c 384 art 2 s 1

MUNICIPAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL

115.41 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Applicability. The definitions given in this section shall obtain for the
purposes of sections 115.41 to 115.54, except as otherwise expressly provided or indicated by
the context.
    Subd. 2. Additional terms. The definitions given in section 115.01 shall govern for the
purposes of sections 115.41 to 115.54, except as otherwise expressly provided or indicated by
the context.
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1969 c 9 s 20]
    Subd. 4.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 6]
    Subd. 4. Agency. "Agency" means the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
    Subd. 5.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 2]
    Subd. 5. Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of administration.
    Subd. 6.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 4]
    Subd. 6. Municipality. "Municipality" means a city, sanitary district, or other governmental
subdivision or public corporation.
History: 1963 c 874 s 1; 1969 c 9 s 19; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1994 c 465 art 1 s 5,6

115.42 POLICY; LONG-RANGE PLAN; PURPOSE.
It is the policy of the state to provide for the prevention, control, and abatement of pollution
of all waters of the state, so far as feasible and practical, in furtherance of conservation of such
waters and protection of the public health and in furtherance of the development of the economic
welfare of the state. The agency shall prepare a long-range plan and program for the effectuation
of said policy, and shall make a report of progress thereon to the legislature by November 15 of
each even numbered year, with recommendations for action in furtherance of such program
during the ensuing biennium. It is the purpose of sections 115.41 to 115.54 to safeguard the
waters of the state from pollution by: (a) preventing any new pollution; and (b) abating pollution
existing when sections 115.41 to 115.54 become effective, under a program consistent with the
declaration of policy above stated.
History: 1963 c 874 s 4; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1974 c 406 s 63; 1994 c 465 art 1 s 7

115.425 NONINGESTED SOURCE PHOSPHORUS REDUCTION GOAL.
The state goal for reducing phosphorus from noningested sources entering municipal
wastewater treatment systems is at least a 50 percent reduction based on the timeline for reduction
developed by the commissioner under Laws 2003, chapter 128, article 1, section 166, and a
reasonable estimate of the amount of phosphorus from noningested sources entering municipal
wastewater treatment systems in calendar year 2003.
History: 2003 c 128 art 1 s 122

115.43 POWERS.
    Subdivision 1. Scope. In addition to the other powers prescribed by law, the agency shall
have the powers and duties prescribed in this section. In exercising all such powers the agency
shall give due consideration to the establishment, maintenance, operation and expansion of
business, commerce, trade, industry, traffic and other economic factors and other material matters
affecting the feasibility and practicability of any proposed action, including, but not limited to, the
burden on a municipality of any tax which may result therefrom and shall take or provide for such
action as may be reasonable, feasible and practical under the circumstances.
    Subd. 2. Rules. Acting within the scope of the policy and purposes of sections 115.41 to
115.54, the agency may adopt, promulgate, amend, or rescind rules in the manner provided by
law, as may be necessary or proper to carry into effect the provisions of sections 115.41 to 115.54.
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1973 c 374 s 22]
History: 1963 c 874 s 5; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1969 c 931 s 7; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1994 c 465 art 1 s 8

115.44 CLASSIFICATION OF WATERS; STANDARDS OF QUALITY AND PURITY.
    Subdivision 1. Variable factors. It is recognized that, due to variable factors, no single
standard of quality and purity of the waters is applicable to all waters of the state or to different
segments of the same waters.
    Subd. 2. Classification and standards. In order to attain the objectives of sections 115.41
to 115.54, the agency after proper study, and after conducting public hearing upon due notice,
shall, as soon as practicable, group the designated waters of the state into classes, and adopt
classifications and standards of purity and quality therefor. Such classification shall be made in
accordance with considerations of best usage in the interest of the public and with regard to the
considerations mentioned in subdivision 3 hereof.
    Subd. 3. Adoption of classification. In adopting the classification of waters and the standards
of purity and quality above mentioned, the agency shall give consideration to:
(a) the size, depth, surface area covered, volume, direction and rate of flow, stream gradient
and temperature of the water;
(b) the character of the district bordering said waters and its peculiar suitability for the
particular uses, and with a view to conserving the value of the same and encouraging the
most appropriate use of lands bordering said waters, for residential, agricultural, industrial, or
recreational purposes;
(c) the uses which have been made, are being made, or may be made of said waters for
transportation, domestic and industrial consumption, bathing, fishing and fish culture, fire
prevention, the disposal of sewage, industrial wastes and other wastes or other uses within this
state, and, at the discretion of the agency, any such uses in another state on interstate waters
flowing through or originating in this state;
(d) the extent of present defilement or fouling of said waters which has already occurred or
resulted from past discharges therein;
(e) the need for standards for effluent from disposal systems entering waters of the state;
(f) such other considerations as the agency deems proper.
    Subd. 4. Standards. The agency, after proper study, and in accordance with chapter 14, shall
adopt and design standards of quality and purity for each classification necessary for the public
use or benefit contemplated by the classification. The standards shall prescribe what qualities and
properties of water indicate a polluted condition of the waters of the state which is actually or
potentially deleterious, harmful, detrimental, or injurious to the public health, safety, or welfare; to
terrestrial or aquatic life or to its growth and propagation; or to the use of the waters for domestic,
commercial and industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other reasonable purposes, with respect to
the various classes established pursuant to subdivision 2. The standards may also contain other
provisions that the agency deems proper. Wherever practicable and advisable, the agency shall
establish standards for effluent of disposal systems entering classified waters.
    Subd. 5. Factors. (a) In establishing such standards, consideration should be given to the
following factors:
(1) the extent, if any, to which floating solids may be permitted in the water;
(2) the extent to which suspended solids, colloids or a combination of solids with other
substances suspended in water, may be permitted;
(3) the extent to which organism of the coliform group (intestinal bacilli) or any other
bacteriological organisms may be permitted in the water;
(4) the extent of the oxygen demand which may be permitted in the receiving waters;
(5) such other chemical or biological properties necessary for the attainment of the objectives
of this chapter and, with respect to pollution of the waters of the state, chapter 116.
(b) Wherever deemed practicable and advisable by the agency, standards specifying the
quality and purity, or maximum permissible pollutional content, of effluent entering waters of
the state may be established without respect to water quality standards; provided, however, that
whenever the owner or operator of any point source, after opportunity for public hearing, can
demonstrate to the satisfaction of the agency that any effluent limitation proposed for the control
of the heat component of any discharge from such source will require effluent limitations more
stringent than necessary to assure the protection and propagation of a balanced, indigenous
population of fish and wildlife in and on the body of water into which the discharge is to be made,
the agency may impose an effluent limitation for such plan, with respect to the heat component of
such discharge, taking into account the interaction of such heat component with other pollutants,
that will assure the protection and propagation of a balanced, indigenous population of fish
and wildlife in and on that body of water; and provided further that notwithstanding any other
provision of this chapter and, with respect to the pollution of the waters of the state, chapter 116,
any point source of a discharge having a heat component, the modification of which point source
is commenced after May 20, 1973, and which, as modified, meets applicable effluent limitations,
and which effluent limitations will assure protection and propagation of a balanced, indigenous
population of fish and wildlife in or on the water into which the discharge is made, shall not
be subject to any more stringent effluent limitation with respect to the heat component of its
discharge during a ten year period beginning on the date of completion of such modification or
during the period of depreciation or amortization of such facility for the purpose of section 167 or
169, or both, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, whichever period ends first.
    Subd. 6. Modification of standards. The adoption, alteration, or modification of the
standards of quality and purity in subdivision 4 shall be made by the agency in accordance with
chapter 14.
    Subd. 7. Rule notices. For rules authorized under this section, the notices required to be
mailed under sections 14.14, subdivision 1a, and 14.22 must also be mailed to the governing body
of each municipality bordering or through which the waters for which standards are sought
to be adopted flow.
    Subd. 8. Waiver. If the agency finds in order to comply with the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act or any other federal law or rule or regulation promulgated thereunder that it is
impracticable to comply with the requirements of this section in classifying waters or adopting
standards or in meeting any of the requirements thereof, compliance with the requirements of
such section are waived to the extent necessary to enable the agency to comply with federal laws
and rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. The agency may classify waters and adopt
criteria and standards in such form and based upon such evidence as it may deem necessary and
sufficient for the purposes of meeting requirements of such federal laws, notwithstanding any
provisions in this chapter or any other state law to the contrary. In the event waters are classified
and criteria and standards are adopted to meet the requirements of federal law, the agency shall
thereafter proceed to otherwise comply with the provisions of this section which were waived as
rapidly as is practicable. This authority shall extend to proceedings pending before the agency on
May 20, 1973.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision 4, wherever advisable and practicable the
agency may establish standards for effluent or disposal systems discharging into waters of the
state regardless of whether such waters are or are not classified.
History: 1963 c 874 s 6; 1967 c 203 s 1; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1969 c 931 s 8,9; 1973 c 374 s
15,16; 1993 c 180 s 1-3; 1994 c 465 art 1 s 9

115.445 NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.
Before the Pollution Control Agency may issue a permit for a new wastewater treatment
system that requires a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit or a state disposal
system permit, and before construction of the system may begin, the following requirements
must be met:
(1) the project proposer must provide notice to other political subdivisions as required by
section 116.182, subdivision 3a, unless section 116.182, subdivision 3a, does not apply to the
project; and
(2) the agency shall evaluate wastewater treatment alternatives to the proposed project that
are included in the facilities plan, and any comments received on the facilities plan, considering
environmental and cost factors, and shall make the information available to the public and may
make written findings regarding its evaluation.
History: 2000 c 492 art 1 s 42

115.447 TRACKING REPORT FOR NEW WASTEWATER FACILITIES.
    Subdivision 1. Annual report required. The Pollution Control Agency shall annually
prepare a report tracking the location and capacity of each new wastewater treatment system
requiring a national pollutant discharge elimination system or state disposal system permit built
after May 1, 2000. The report shall also include the name of the owner, primary engineering
firm that designed the facilities, the primary contractor that constructed the facilities, and any
management company, other than the owner, that manages the facilities.
The annual report must also provide the total number of new systems built after that date.
The commissioner shall submit the report to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over
environmental policy and finance, and publish the report on the agency's Web site, by February
1 of each year.
    Subd. 2. New facilities not meeting permit requirements. (a) The report required under
subdivision 1 shall include the information required in paragraphs (b) and (c) for the first five
years of operation of a new facility.
(b) For national pollutant discharge elimination system permitted facilities, provide a list
of reported effluent violations that occurred during each calendar year. This list should include
the effluent parameter violated; the violation date; and, if available, any known information
regarding the causes of the reported limit violations.
(c) For state disposal system permitted facilities, provide a summary of conditions at the
facilities which pose an imminent threat to public health and safety as defined in rules of the
Pollution Control Agency, or a list of reported limit violations that occurred during each calendar
year. This list should include the parameter violated; violation date; and, if available, any known
information regarding the causes of the reported public health risk or limit violations.
History: 2000 c 492 art 1 s 43; 2006 c 244 s 1

115.449 PUBLIC WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES PROPOSAL
REQUIREMENTS.
A proposal for design services for a public wastewater treatment facility requiring a national
pollutant discharge elimination system or state disposal system permit shall include a description
of the treatment alternatives the engineer will evaluate and provide a range of all annual operation
and maintenance costs of operating the facility for the first five years of operation.
History: 2006 c 244 s 2

115.45 COMPLIANCE.
    Subdivision 1. Compliance. It is the duty of every person affected to comply with the
provisions of sections 115.01 to 115.09 and 115.41 to 115.54, comprising the State Water
Pollution Control Act, as now in force or hereafter amended, and all rules, orders, and permits
adopted or issued by the agency thereunder, and to do and perform all acts and things within that
person's power required to effectuate, carry out, and accomplish the purposes of such provisions,
rules, orders, and permits.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1973 c 374 s 22]
History: 1963 c 874 s 7; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1969 c 931 s 10; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444;
1994 c 465 art 1 s 10

115.46 TAXATION BY MUNICIPALITY.
    Subdivision 1. Limitation does not apply. Any taxes, special assessments, levied or to
be levied, and any bonds or other evidences of indebtedness issued or to be issued for the
construction, installation, maintenance, or operation by a municipality of any disposal system or
part thereof, shall not be subject to any limitation and shall be excluded in computing amounts
subject to any limitation on tax levies, special assessments, bonded indebtedness or other
indebtedness and the governing or managing body and the proper officers of the municipality
concerned shall have the power and, to comply with any order of the agency, it shall be their duty
to levy such taxes and special assessments and issue such bonds and take such other lawful actions
as may be appropriate and necessary to provide funds to meet the cost of such construction or
work, notwithstanding any such limit and without any election or referendum therefor. A recital in
any bond, tax levy, or assessment that the same is issued or made for the purposes of a disposal
system or any part thereof ordered by the agency and is not subject to any provisions of law
prescribing limits or requiring an election or referendum therefor shall be prima facie evidence
thereof and that all requirements of law relating thereto have been complied with. In any suit,
action, or proceedings involving the validity or enforceability of any bonds of a municipality or the
security therefor, any such bond reciting in substance that it has been issued by the municipality to
aid in financing a sewage disposal system or part thereof, shall be conclusively deemed to have
been issued for such purpose, and in compliance with all requirements of the law relating thereto.
    Subd. 2. Tax in anticipation of need. For the same purposes as the purposes for which a tax
may be levied under subdivision 1, a municipality may levy taxes in anticipation of need and the
provision of subdivision 1 shall be applicable so far as appropriate to any such anticipatory levy.
If such a tax is levied in anticipation of need, the purpose must be specified in the resolution of the
governing body directing the levy, and proceeds of the tax must be used only for that purpose, and
until used the proceeds shall be retained in a separate fund or invested as surplus in a sinking
fund may be invested under section 118A.04.
History: 1963 c 874 s 8; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1996 c 399 art 2 s 12

115.47 [Repealed, 1973 c 374 s 22]

115.48 ASSUMPTION OF POWER BY AGENCY.
    Subdivision 1. Agency may assume power. In lieu of enforcement action as provided by
section 115.071, the agency, in case of failure by any municipality or its governing or managing
body or officers to comply with any order of the agency for the construction, installation,
maintenance, or operation of a disposal system or part thereof, may by resolution assume the
powers of the legislative authority of the municipality and confer on the commissioner the
powers of the administrative officers of the municipality relating to the construction, installation,
maintenance, or operation of a disposal system, or part thereof, or issuing bonds and levying taxes
therefor, after holding a hearing on the case as provided by Minnesota Statutes 1961, sections
115.03 and 115.05, upon notice specifying the particulars of the alleged failure to comply with the
order and the powers proposed to be assumed for the purpose of remedying such failure. The
resolution shall include or have attached thereto a copy of the order, shall set forth the findings of
the agency as to failure of compliance therewith after the hearing thereon, and shall set forth the
powers assumed and determine the action to be taken. Certified copies of the resolution and order
shall be transmitted by the secretary of the agency to the commissioner and to the clerk or other
recording officer of the municipality concerned. The resolution and order and certified copies
thereof shall be prima facie evidence that the order is reasonable and valid, that all requirements
of law relating thereto and to the hearing thereon have been complied with by the agency, that the
municipality and its governing or managing body and officers have failed to comply with the order
as set forth in the resolution, and that the powers so assumed are vested in the agency and the
commissioner as therein set forth. Thereupon the agency and the commissioner shall have charge
of the case, and all other proceedings for enforcement of the order shall be suspended until the
authority of the commissioner in the case has been terminated as hereinafter provided. At this stage
of the case there is a right of judicial review, and the resolution and attached order shall be deemed
a final order for the purpose of judicial review, but failure at this stage to seek judicial review does
not preclude judicial relief at a subsequent stage where, and in a manner, otherwise appropriate.
    Subd. 2. Powers vest in agency. Upon the assumption of powers as provided in subdivision
1, all the powers of the municipality and its governing or managing body and officers with respect
to the subject matter of the order shall thereby be forthwith transferred to and vested in the agency
and the commissioner, and they shall thereafter exercise the same in the name of the municipality
or its governing or managing body or officers, as the case may require, until terminated as
hereinafter provided. Such powers shall include, without limitation, the power to levy taxes, to
certify such taxes for collection, to levy assessments on benefited property, to prescribe service
or use charges, to borrow money, to issue bonds, to employ necessary assistance, to acquire
necessary real or personal property, to let contracts or otherwise provide for the doing of work or
the construction, installation, maintenance, or operation of facilities, and to do and perform for the
municipality or its governing or managing body or officers all other acts and things required to
effectuate, carry out, and accomplish the purposes of the order and which might have been done
or performed by the municipality or its governing or managing body or officers. The exercise of
any and all such powers by the agency and the commissioner shall have like force and effect as if
the same had been exercised by the municipality or by its governing or managing body or officers.
All such acts or things done or performed by the agency or the commissioner shall be prima facie
lawful and valid, and it shall be presumed that all requirements of law or charter relating thereto
have been complied with. Any bond pursuant to this section in the hands of a holder in good faith
and for value reciting that such bond is issued for the purposes of a disposal system, or part
thereof, pursuant to the order of the agency under this section shall be conclusively deemed to
have been issued for such purpose and in compliance with all requirements of law relating thereto
and shall be a valid and binding instrument enforceable against the municipality in accordance
with its terms. The impact on a municipality of taxes or special assessments which are likely to
result from compliance with an order made under section 115.43, subdivision 3, clause (1),
weighed against the urgency of the need for compliance in the light of public health and the
policy and purposes of sections 115.41 to 115.53 shall be a relevant consideration in any judicial
inquiry into the reasonableness of the order.
    Subd. 3. Municipal provisions apply. Except as otherwise provided herein, all proceedings
of the agency or the commissioner under subdivision 2 shall be governed by the laws or charter
provisions governing like proceedings of the governing or managing body or administrative
officers of the municipality, so far as applicable, and they shall have like powers and duties with
respect thereto as the governing or managing body, the mayor or other presiding officer, the clerk
or other recording officer, and any other officer of the municipality having authority in the matter,
respectively. In any case where the governing or managing body of the municipality is required to
act by motion, resolution, or ordinance, the adoption thereof by resolution or order of the agency
shall have like force and effect as adoption by the governing or managing body and approval by
the mayor or other presiding officer of the municipality, if required.
    Subd. 4. Reinstatement of municipal powers. If at any time while the agency and the
commissioner have charge of a case as provided in this section, the governing or managing body
or the officers or the municipality concerned shall offer to exercise their powers and perform their
duties with respect to the subject matter in accordance with the order of the agency, the agency
may by order, of which certified copies shall be transmitted to the secretary of the agency and to
the clerk or other recording officer of the municipality, reinstate such powers to the extent and
subject to any conditions specified in the order, and the governing or managing body or officers
of the municipality may thereupon exercise such powers accordingly. Such reinstatement may
be revoked by the agency by order in like manner in case it shall determine that the affected
powers have not been properly or effectively exercised by the governing or managing body
or the officers of the municipality.
    Subd. 5. Agency action no longer necessary. If, at any time while the agency and the
commissioner have charge of a case hereunder, the agency shall determine that the further
exercise of the powers of the municipality assumed in the case will not be feasible or will not be
the most effective procedure for accomplishing the purposes of the agency's order involved, it
may by order so declare. Certified copies of the order shall be transmitted by the secretary of the
agency to the commissioner and the clerk or other recording officer of the municipality concerned.
Thereupon the powers assumed shall be revested in the municipality, and the agency may proceed
with the enforcement of its order in such manner as may be authorized by law.
History: 1963 c 874 s 10; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1976 c 2 s 51

115.49 COOPERATION BETWEEN MUNICIPALITIES; CONTRACTS.
    Subdivision 1. Generally. If the agency determines after a hearing on the subject matter
that cooperation between two or more municipalities is necessary to provide for areawide waste
management and treatment, in accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as
amended, or to prevent, control, or abate pollution, it may adopt a resolution so declaring and
determining whether it will be feasible to secure such cooperation by contract between the
municipalities concerned.
    Subd. 2. Procedure by contract. If the agency determines that procedure by contract will
be feasible it may issue an order so declaring, setting forth the general purposes and terms
of a proposed contract under any applicable law, determining, among other things, which of
the municipalities concerned shall have charge of any facilities constructed, and directing the
municipalities concerned to formulate and execute such contract within such time as the agency
may specify in the order, but not less than 90 days from the date of mailing copies of the order
to the clerks or other recording officers of such municipalities or service thereof upon them. If
a contract approved by the agency as sufficient for the purposes set forth in the order is not
made within the time therein specified, the agency may refer the case to the commissioner as
provided in section 115.48. Thereupon and thereby all the appropriate contractual powers of each
municipality concerned and its governing or managing body and officers shall be transferred to
and vested in the commissioner. The commissioner may then formulate a contract in accordance
with the agency's order, with necessary counterparts, and execute the same in the name of each
municipality concerned, with like force and effect as if executed by their officers as provided by
law or charter. An executed counterpart of the contract shall be delivered or sent by certified mail
by the commissioner to the clerk or other recording officer of each municipality concerned, and
the contract shall thereupon take effect and be binding on such municipalities.
    Subd. 2a. Extension of service. If a determination or order is made by the Pollution
Control Agency under this section that cooperation by contract is necessary and feasible
between a municipality and an unincorporated area located outside the existing corporate limits
of a municipality, the municipality being required to provide or extend through a contract a
governmental service to an unincorporated area, during the statutory 90-day period provided in
this section to formulate a contract, may in the alternative to formulating a service contract to
provide or extend the service, declare the unincorporated area as described in the Pollution Control
Agency's determination letter or order annexed to the municipality under section 414.0335.
    Subd. 3. Contract may be changed. Any contract for disposal of sewage, industrial wastes,
or other wastes or for the construction, maintenance, or operation of any facilities therefor
heretofore or hereafter executed between two or more municipalities may be renegotiated,
reviewed, and revised or modified with respect to rates or charges or any other provision by
agreement of the parties to the contract, any provision of law, charter, or the contract to the
contrary notwithstanding.
    Subd. 4. New rates and charges. Any municipality which is a party to a contract for any of
the purposes specified in subdivision 3, and which operates a plant for the disposal of sewage,
industrial wastes, or other wastes, may, upon written notice to the other party or parties, fix new
rates and charges for the service performed under the contract, notwithstanding any provision of
law, charter, or the contract to the contrary. Any other party or parties to such a contract with a
municipality which operates such a plant may, upon written notice to such municipality, demand
that new rates and charges be fixed for service performed under the contract, notwithstanding any
provision of law, charter, or the contract to the contrary. Whenever notice is given as provided
herein, it shall be the duty of the municipality operating the plant for the disposal of sewage,
industrial wastes, or other wastes to hold a hearing for the determination of proper rates and
charges. A valid notice given under this subdivision of a demand to fix new rates and charges
as to any contract precludes another such notice by any party as to that contract for a period of
five years from the time of the notice, or the time of dismissal of proceedings under a notice, or
the time of determination of rates and charges by the affected agencies or by judgment, as the
case may be, whichever of these events is last, but there may always be a contract change under
subdivision 3; provided there can be no such demand as of right within the first five years of a
contract. A municipality which may be affected by determination of new rates and charges in such
a proceeding may participate in the proceeding as an interested third party by filing a notice of
its intention to so participate with the clerk of the municipality to which the original notice was
directed. If any party to the contract involved in the proceeding initiated by notice of demand for
new rates and charges is dissatisfied with the rates and charges as set in the proceeding it may
within 30 days after such determination by written notice given to the other party or parties
elect to submit the matters in dispute to a board of arbitration which shall be created as follows:
The municipality making such written election shall in such written election appoint a referee;
the other municipality shall within ten days after such election and appointment also appoint a
referee; the two referees shall appoint a third referee, or if they fail for ten days to do so, unless
the municipalities mutually extend the time for them to do so the district court of a judicial
district which is mutually agreeable to the municipalities shall make the appointment of the third
referee. A decision of the majority of the board shall be a decision of the board. Each municipality
shall pay the compensation of the referee appointed by it, and one-half of the compensation of
the third referee, such compensation to be at the rate usually charged by such person for services
in the person's profession or occupation. The hearing initiated by the notice of demand to fix
new rates and charges and all proceedings in connection therewith shall be in conformity with
sections 14.57 to 14.62 and the municipality conducting the hearing is an agency as such term
is used in such sections. Any party to the contract aggrieved by the decision or order made in
conformity with such provisions shall be entitled to judicial review in the district court in the
county in which such decision or order was made and in the manner provided in subdivision 5.
The new rates and charges established by the agency upon the initial demand will continue until
the proper rates and charges are finally determined, notwithstanding submission to arbitration
or judicial review, but the order or judgment which finally determines legality will provide for
adjustment of overpayment or underpayment, if any, during the period after the new rates and
charges were initially fixed.
All records of any municipality relating to such rates and charges shall be available at all
reasonable times for examination by any municipality.
    Subd. 5. Appeals. Any party to the contract aggrieved by a decision or order shall be entitled
to judicial review by serving a petition for review upon the municipality making the decision or
order, and filing it with proof of service in the office of the court administrator within 30 days
after the decision or order has been made and the parties notified of it. The petition shall state the
nature of the petitioner's interest, and the ground or grounds upon which the petitioner contends
the decision or order should be reversed or modified. The petition may be amended by leave of
court, though the time for serving it has expired.
Within 20 days after service of the petition for review, the municipality shall serve upon
the petitioner an answer stating its position with reference to the reversal or modification of the
order or decision under review. The answer, with proof of service, shall be filed with the clerk
of the district court within ten days after service. No further pleadings shall be necessary. The
review shall be noticed for trial as in the case of a civil action and shall take precedence over
other civil cases for trial.
The institution of the proceeding for review shall not stay enforcement of the order or
decision, but the court may order a stay upon such terms as it deems proper.
Within 30 days after service of the petition for review upon the municipality, or within such
further time as the court may allow, the municipality shall transmit to the court the original or a
certified copy of the entire record of the proceedings in which the order or decision under review
was made. By stipulation of the parties to the review proceeding, the record may be shortened
by eliminating any portion of it. The record may be typewritten or printed and the exhibits may
be typewritten, photostated or otherwise reproduced, or upon motion of any party, or by order
of the court, the original exhibits shall accompany the record. The court may require or permit
substantial corrections or additions to the record when deemed desirable.
If, before the date set for trial, an application is made to the court for leave to present
additional evidence on the issues in the case, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that
the additional evidence is material, the court may order that the additional evidence be taken
upon terms the court deems proper.
The review shall be conducted by the court without a jury. The court may affirm, reverse or
modify the order or decision if the substantial rights of the petitioner have been prejudiced as a
result of the order or decision being:
(1) contrary to constitutional rights or privileges;
(2) in excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the agency, or affected by other
error of law;
(3) made or promulgated upon unlawful procedure;
(4) unsupported by substantial evidence in view of the entire record as submitted; or
(5) arbitrary or capricious.
Any party may appeal from the final judgment of the district court as in other civil cases.
No party to the review in any court is entitled to recover costs, attorney's fees, witness fees,
or any other disbursement.
    Subd. 6. Rates and charges to be reasonable. All rates and charges shall be reasonable and
shall be sufficient to compensate for all costs of devoting the sewage disposal plant, equipment,
its collector system, and personnel to the accomplishment of the purpose of the service to be
rendered but shall not include profit. When the sewer system of any municipality or any part
thereof is devoted to the use of another municipality, all charges for such use shall be reasonable
and shall be sufficient to compensate for all costs of such use, but shall not include profit.
    Subd. 7. Agreement by parties. Nothing in subdivision 4 shall preclude the fixing of rates
and charges by agreement of the parties under subdivision 3.
    Subd. 8. Remanding to agency. Any case referred to the commissioner under this section
may be remanded to the agency as provided in section 115.48, subdivision 5.
    Subd. 9. Reform or termination of contract. Any contract ordered by the agency pursuant
to this section may be reformed or terminated upon: (1) mutual agreement among all parties to
the contract as exhibited by a joint written application to the agency, and approval thereof by the
agency; or (2) unilateral application to the agency by certified mail by any party to such a contract,
with a copy thereof served by certified mail upon all other parties to the contract, and subsequent
order of reformation or termination of the agreement by the agency. The applicant may in its
application for reformation or termination seek other relief in addition to said order of reformation
or termination, including, but not limited to, an order directing the refund by the municipality
operating the disposal system of overpayments made by the municipality being served during the
life of the contract, or the further payment by the municipality being served to the municipality
operating the disposal system made necessary by the inadequacy of payments made by the
municipality being served to the municipality operating the disposal system during the life of
the contract. In the event of a unilateral application to the agency, the agency may, after 30 days
written notice, hold a public hearing for the purpose of hearing evidence relating to the application.
Pursuant to an application under this subdivision, the agency may enter its order reforming or
terminating the contract, ordering a refundment of overpayment or payment of underpayment, as
aforesaid, or granting any further relief that is reasonable under the circumstances. Any party
aggrieved by the agency's decision may thereafter appeal to district court from the agency's order.
History: 1963 c 874 s 11; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1973 c 374 s 17,18; 1978 c 674 s 60; 1982 c 424
s 130; 1983 c 247 s 50; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 1990 c 426 art 1 s 14; 1997 c
202 art 5 s 1; 2001 c 7 s 27

115.50 TOWNS, POWERS TO ACT.
For the purposes of carrying out the policy and purposes of sections 115.01 to 115.09 and
115.41 to 115.54, there is hereby conferred upon all towns of this state the power and authority to
construct, install, acquire, maintain and operate disposal systems and parts thereof, and to levy
taxes, and special assessments, to issue bonds and to do all other things necessary or convenient
for such construction, installation, acquisition, maintenance and operation in the same manner and
extent and subject to the same limitations as statutory cities.
History: 1963 c 874 s 12; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1994 c 465 art 1 s 11

115.51 ENFORCEMENT OF CONTRACTS BETWEEN MUNICIPALITIES.
The provisions of any contract between two or more municipalities for any purpose relating to
the prevention, control, or abatement of pollution, whether now in force or hereafter consummated
as provided in section 115.49 or otherwise, may be enforced by action to compel performance
brought by any municipality which is a party to the contract or by the attorney general in the name
of the state at the request of the agency. In any such action the court shall have like powers as
provided in section 115.071, subdivision 5, for enforcement of an order of the agency.
History: 1963 c 874 s 13; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1976 c 2 s 52

115.52 SEVERABILITY.
The provisions of sections 115.41 to 115.54 shall be severable and the invalidity of any
section or subdivision or part thereof shall not make void any other section or subdivision
or part thereof.
History: 1963 c 874 s 14; 1994 c 465 art 1 s 12

115.53 MODIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OR STANDARDS.
In any case where the agency has heretofore adopted and established a classification or
standards for any waters as then provided by law, the agency, at any hearing held pursuant to the
provisions of this section for the purpose of modification, alteration, or amendment of such
classification or standards or the adoption and establishment of any classification or standards for
the same waters or any part thereof as required by sections 115.41 to 115.54, may receive and
consider for any such purpose any testimony received at such previous hearing, as reported in
the stenographic transcript thereof, and any exhibits received at such previous hearing, which
are relevant, with like force and effect and subject to like objections, if any, as if such testimony
or exhibits had been produced at the hearing hereunder, together with any further testimony or
exhibits which may be submitted and received at the hearing hereunder.
History: 1963 c 874 s 15; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1994 c 465 art 1 s 13

115.54 [Repealed, 2007 c 133 art 2 s 13]

INDIVIDUAL AND ALTERNATIVE DISCHARGING

SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEMS

115.55 INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEMS.
    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 Individual Sewage Treatment
Systems established under the individual 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 individual sewage treatment system rules, as
required in subdivision 2; or
    (2) in areas not subject to the ordinances described in clause (1), the individual sewage
treatment system rules.
    (d) "City" means a statutory or home rule charter city.
    (e) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency.
    (f) "Dwelling" means a building or place used or intended to be used by human occupants as
a single-family or two-family unit.
    (g) "Individual 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.
    (h) "Individual sewage treatment system professional" means an inspector, installer, site
evaluator or designer, or pumper.
    (i) "Individual sewage treatment system rules" means rules adopted by the agency
that establish minimum standards and criteria for the design, location, installation, use, and
maintenance of individual sewage treatment systems.
    (j) "Inspector" means a person who inspects individual sewage treatment systems for
compliance with the applicable requirements.
    (k) "Installer" means a person who constructs or repairs individual sewage treatment systems.
    (l) "Local unit of government" means a township, city, or county.
    (m) "Performance-based system" means a system that is designed specifically for a site and
the environmental conditions on that site and designed to adequately protect the public health
and the environment and provide 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 wastewater.
    (n) "Pumper" means a person who maintains components of individual sewage treatment
systems including, but not limited to, septic, aerobic, and holding tanks.
    (o) "Seasonal dwelling" means a dwelling that is occupied or used for less than 180 days
per year and less than 120 consecutive days.
    (p) "Septic system tank" means any covered receptacle designed, constructed, and installed
as part of an individual sewage treatment system.
    (q) "Site evaluator or designer" means a person who:
    (1) investigates soils and site characteristics to determine suitability, limitations, and sizing
requirements; and
    (2) designs individual sewage treatment systems.
    (r) "Straight-pipe system" means a sewage disposal system that includes toilet waste and
transports raw or partially settled sewage directly to a lake, a stream, a drainage system, or
ground surface.
    Subd. 2. Local ordinances. (a) All counties must adopt ordinances that comply with
revisions to the individual sewage treatment system rules within two years of the final adoption by
the agency. County ordinances must apply to all areas of the county other than cities or towns
that have adopted ordinances that comply with this section and are as strict as the applicable
county ordinances.
    (b) A copy of each ordinance adopted under this subdivision must be submitted to the
commissioner upon adoption.
    (c) A local unit of government must make available to the public upon request a written list
of any differences between its ordinances and rules adopted under this section.
    Subd. 3. Rules. (a) The agency shall adopt rules containing minimum standards and criteria
for the design, location, installation, use, and maintenance of individual sewage treatment
systems. The rules must include:
    (1) how the agency will ensure compliance under subdivision 2;
    (2) how local units of government shall enforce ordinances under subdivision 2, including
requirements for permits and inspection programs;
    (3) how the advisory committee will participate in review and implementation of the rules;
    (4) provisions for nonstandard systems and performance-based systems;
    (5) provisions for handling and disposal of effluent;
    (6) provisions for system abandonment; and
    (7) procedures for variances, including the consideration of variances based on cost and
variances that take into account proximity of a system to other systems.
    (b) The agency shall consult with the advisory committee before adopting rules under this
subdivision.
    (c) Notwithstanding the repeal of the agency rule under which the commissioner has
established a list of warrantied individual sewage treatment systems, the warranties for all systems
so listed as of the effective date of the repeal shall continue to be valid for the remainder of
the warranty period.
    (d) The rules required in paragraph (a) must also address the following:
    (1) a definition of redoximorphic features and other criteria that can be used by system
designers and inspectors;
    (2) direction on the interpretation of observed soil features that may be redoximorphic and
their relation to zones of seasonal saturation; and
    (3) procedures on how to resolve professional disagreements on seasonally saturated soils.
These rules must be in place by March 31, 2006.
    Subd. 4. Compliance with rules required; enforcement. (a) A person who designs, installs,
alters, repairs, maintains, pumps, or inspects all or part of an individual sewage treatment system
shall comply with the applicable requirements.
(b) Local units of government may enforce, under section 115.071, subdivisions 3 and 4,
ordinances that are applicable requirements.
    Subd. 5. Inspection. (a) An inspection shall be required for all new construction or
replacement of a system to determine compliance with agency rule or local standards. The manner
and timing of inspection may be determined by the applicable local ordinance. The inspection
requirement may be satisfied by a review by the designated local official of video, electronic,
photographic, or other evidence of compliance provided by the installer.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision 5b, paragraph (b), a local unit of government may
not issue a building permit or variance for the addition of a bedroom on property served by
a system unless the system is in compliance with the applicable requirements, as evidenced
by a certificate of compliance issued by a licensed inspector or site evaluator or designer. A
local unit of government may temporarily waive the certificate of compliance requirement for a
building permit or variance for which application is made during the period from November 1
to April 30, provided that an inspection of the system is performed by the following June 1 and
the applicant submits a certificate of compliance by the following September 30. This paragraph
does not apply if the local unit of government does not have an ordinance requiring a building
permit to add a bedroom.
(c) A certificate of compliance for an existing system is valid for three years from the date of
issuance unless the local unit of government finds evidence of an imminent threat to public health
or safety requiring removal and abatement under section 145A.04, subdivision 8.
(d) A certificate of compliance for a new system is valid for five years from the date of
issuance unless the local unit of government finds evidence of an imminent threat to public health
or safety requiring removal and abatement under section 145A.04, subdivision 8.
(e) A licensed inspector who inspects an existing system may subsequently design and
install a new system for that property, provided the inspector is licensed to install individual
sewage treatment systems.
(f) No system professional may use the professional's position with government, either as an
employee or a contractor, to solicit business for the professional's private system enterprise.
    Subd. 5a. Inspection criteria for existing systems. (a) An inspection of an existing system
must evaluate the criteria in paragraphs (b) to (j).
(b) If the inspector finds one or more of the following conditions:
(1) sewage discharge to surface water;
(2) sewage discharge to ground surface;
(3) sewage backup; or
(4) any other situation with the potential to immediately and adversely affect or threaten
public health or safety,
then the system constitutes an imminent threat to public health or safety and, if not repaired, must
be upgraded, replaced, or its use discontinued within ten months of receipt of the notice described
in subdivision 5b, or within a shorter period of time if required by local ordinance.
(c) An existing system that has none of the conditions in paragraph (b), and has at least
two feet of soil separation need not be upgraded, repaired, replaced, or its use discontinued,
notwithstanding any local ordinance that is more restrictive.
(d) Paragraph (c) does not apply to systems in shoreland areas regulated under sections
103F.201 to 103F.221, wellhead protection areas as defined in section 103I.005, or those used in
connection with food, beverage, and lodging establishments regulated under chapter 157.
(e) If the local unit of government with jurisdiction over the system has adopted an ordinance
containing local standards pursuant to subdivision 7, the existing system must comply with the
ordinance. If the system does not comply with the ordinance, it must be upgraded, replaced, or its
use discontinued according to the ordinance.
(f) If a seepage pit, drywell, cesspool, or leaching pit exists and the local unit of government
with jurisdiction over the system has not adopted local standards to the contrary, the system
is failing and must be upgraded, replaced, or its use discontinued within the time required
by subdivision 3 or local ordinance.
(g) If the system fails to provide sufficient groundwater protection, then the local unit of
government or its agent shall order that the system be upgraded, replaced, or its use discontinued
within the time required by rule or the local ordinance.
(h) The authority to find a threat to public health under section 145A.04, subdivision 8, is in
addition to the authority to make a finding under paragraphs (b) to (d).
(i) Local inspectors must use the standard inspection form provided by the agency. The
inspection information required by local ordinance may be included as an attachment to the
standard form. The following language must appear on the standard form: "If an existing system
is not failing as defined in law, and has at least two feet of design soil separation, then the
system need not be upgraded, repaired, replaced, or its use discontinued, notwithstanding any
local ordinance that is more strict. This does not apply to systems in shoreland areas, wellhead
protection areas, or those used in connection with food, beverage, and lodging establishments as
defined in law."
(j) For the purposes of this subdivision, an "existing system" means a functioning system
installed prior to April 1, 1996.
    Subd. 5b. Compliance notice. (a) If a system inspected under subdivision 5 is required to be
upgraded, replaced, or its use discontinued under subdivision 5a, the inspector or site evaluator or
designer must issue a notice of noncompliance to the property owner and must provide a copy of
the notice to the unit of government with jurisdiction. The notice of noncompliance must specify
why the system must be upgraded, replaced, or its use discontinued. A local unit of government
must specify the upgrade time period in its ordinance.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision 5a, paragraphs (b) to (d), if a system installed between
May 27, 1989, and January 23, 1996, does not comply with applicable requirements, the property
owner has five years from the date of the bedroom building permit to bring the system into
compliance.
    Subd. 6. Disclosure of individual sewage treatment system to buyer. (a) Before signing
an agreement to sell or transfer real property, the seller or transferor must disclose in writing to
the buyer or transferee information on how sewage generated at the property is managed. The
disclosure must be made by delivering a statement to the buyer or transferee that either:
(1) the sewage goes to a facility permitted by the agency; or
(2) the sewage does not go to a permitted facility, is therefore subject to applicable
requirements, and describes the system in use, including the legal description of the property, the
county in which the property is located, and a map drawn from available information showing
the location of the system on the property to the extent practicable. If the seller or transferor has
knowledge that an abandoned individual sewage treatment system exists on the property, the
disclosure must include a map showing its location. In the disclosure statement the seller or
transferor must indicate whether the individual sewage treatment system is in use and, to the
seller's or transferor's knowledge, in compliance with applicable sewage treatment laws and rules.
(b) Unless the buyer or transferee and seller or transferor agree to the contrary in writing
before the closing of the sale, a seller or transferor who fails to disclose the existence or known
status of an individual sewage treatment system at the time of sale, and who knew or had reason to
know of the existence or known status of the system, is liable to the buyer or transferee for costs
relating to bringing the system into compliance with the individual sewage treatment system rules
and for reasonable attorney fees for collection of costs from the seller or transferor. An action
under this subdivision must be commenced within two years after the date on which the buyer or
transferee closed the purchase or transfer of the real property where the system is located.
    Subd. 7. Local standards. (a) Existing systems. Counties may adopt by ordinance local
standards that are less restrictive than the agency's rules in order to define an acceptable existing
system. The local standards may include soil separation, soil classification, vegetation, system
use, localized well placement and construction, localized density of systems and wells, extent of
area to be covered by local standards, groundwater flow patterns, and existing natural or artificial
drainage systems. The local standards and criteria shall be submitted to the commissioner for
comment prior to adoption to demonstrate that, based on local circumstances in that jurisdiction,
they adequately protect public health and the environment.
(b) New or replacement systems. Counties, after providing documentation of conditions
listed in this paragraph to the commissioner, may adopt by ordinance local standards that are less
restrictive than the agency's rules for new system construction or replacement in areas of sustained
and projected low population density where conditions render conformance to applicable
requirements difficult or otherwise inappropriate. Documentation may include a map delineating
the area of the county to be served by the local standards, a description of the hardship that
would result from strict adherence to the agency's rules, and evidence of sustained and projected
low population density. The local standards must protect human health and the environment
and be based on considerations that may include, but need not be limited to, soil separation,
soil classification, vegetation, system use, localized well placement and construction, localized
density of systems and wells, extent of area to be covered by local standards, groundwater flow
patterns, and existing natural or artificial drainage systems. The local standards must provide
cost-effective and long-term treatment alternatives. The draft ordinance incorporating the local
standards must be submitted with justification to the commissioner 30 days before adoption
for review and comment.
(c) New or replacement systems; local ordinances. A local unit of government may adopt
and enforce ordinances or rules affecting new or replacement individual sewage treatment systems
that are more restrictive than the agency's rules. A local unit of government may not adopt or
enforce an ordinance or rule if its effect is to prevent or delay recording with the county recorder
or registrar of titles of a deed or other instrument that is otherwise entitled to be recorded.
(d) Local standards; conflict with state law. Local standards adopted under paragraph (a)
or (b) must not conflict with any requirements under other state laws or rules or local ordinances,
including, but not limited to, requirements for:
(1) systems in shoreland areas, regulated under sections 103F.201 to 103F.221;
(2) well construction and location, regulated under chapter 103I; and
(3) systems used in connection with food, beverage, and lodging establishments, regulated
under chapter 157.
The local standards must include references to applicable requirements under other state laws or
rules or local ordinances.
    Subd. 8.[Repealed, 1Sp2001 c 2 s 162]
    Subd. 9. Warrantied systems. (a) An individual sewage treatment system may be installed
provided that it meets all local ordinance requirements and provided the requirements of
paragraphs (b) to (e) are met.
(b) The manufacturer shall provide to the commissioner:
(1) documentation that the manufacturer's system was designated by the agency as a
warrantied system as of June 30, 2001, or the system is a modified version of the system that was
designated as a warrantied system and meets the size requirements or other requirements that
were the basis for the previous warrantied system classification; or
(2) documentation showing that a minimum of 50 of the manufacturer's systems have
been installed and operated and are under normal use across all major soil classifications for
a minimum of three years.
(c) For each system that meets the requirements of paragraph (b), clause (1) or (2), the
manufacturer must provide to the commissioner:
(1) documentation that the system manufacturer or designer will provide full warranty
effective for at least five years from the time of installation, covering design, labor, and material
costs to remedy failure to meet performance expectations for systems used and installed in
accordance with the manufacturer's or designer's instructions; and
(2) a commonly accepted financial assurance document or documentation of the
manufacturer's or designer's financial ability to cover potential replacement and upgrades
necessitated by failure of the system to meet the performance expectations for the duration of
the warranty period.
(d) The manufacturer shall reimburse the agency an amount of $2,000 for staff services
needed to review the information submitted pursuant to paragraphs (b) and (c). Reimbursements
accepted by the agency shall be deposited in the environmental fund and are appropriated to the
agency for the purpose of reviewing information submitted. Reimbursement by the manufacturer
shall precede, not be contingent upon, and shall not affect the agency's decision on whether the
submittal meets the requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c).
(e) The manufacturer shall provide to the local unit of government reasonable assurance
of performance of the manufacturer's system, engineering design of the manufacturer's system,
a monitoring plan that will be provided to system owners, and a mitigation plan that will be
provided to system owners describing actions to be taken if the system fails.
(f) The commissioner may prohibit an individual sewage treatment system from qualifying
for installation under this subdivision upon a finding of fraud, system failure, failure to meet
warranty conditions, or failure to meet the requirements of this subdivision or other matters that
fail to meet with the intent and purpose of this subdivision. Prohibition of installation of a system
by the commissioner does not alter or end warranty obligations for systems already installed.
    Subd. 10. System classification. The agency is not required to add, remove, or reclassify
individual sewage treatment system technologies, designs, or system components through
rulemaking or pursuant to existing rules until July 1, 2003. The agency is not required to review,
assess, advise, or make regulatory determinations on an individual sewage treatment system
technology, design, or system component during this period. Chambered systems, as defined in
Minnesota Rules, part 7080.0020, that are installed before July 1, 2003, with smaller than standard
soil sizing, but which otherwise conform with Minnesota Rules, part 7080.0178, are not required
to have flow measuring devices installed and monitored unless required by local ordinance.
    Subd. 11. Straight-pipe systems; noncompliance. An inspector who discovers the existence
of a straight-pipe system shall issue a noncompliance notice to the owner of the straight-pipe
system and forward a copy of the notice to the agency. The notice must state that the owner must
replace or discontinue the use of the straight-pipe system within ten months of receiving the
notice. If the owner does not replace or discontinue the use of the straight-pipe system within ten
months after the notice was received, the owner of the straight-pipe system shall be subject to
an administrative penalty of $500 per month of noncompliance beyond the ten-month period.
Administrative penalty orders may be issued for violations under this subdivision, as provided in
section 116.072. One-half of the proceeds collected from an administrative penalty order issued
for violating this subdivision shall be remitted to the local unit of government with jurisdiction
over the noncompliant straight-pipe system.
    Subd. 12. Advisory committee; county individual sewage treatment system management
plan. (a) A county may adopt an individual sewage treatment system management plan that
describes how the county plans on carrying out individual sewage treatment system needs. The
commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall form an advisory committee to determine
what the plans should address. The advisory committee shall be made up of representatives of
the Association of Minnesota Counties, Pollution Control Agency, Board of Water and Soil
Resources, Department of Health, and other public agencies or local units of government that
have an interest in individual sewage treatment systems.
    (b) The advisory committee shall advise the agency on the standards, management,
monitoring, and reporting requirements for performance-based systems.
History: 1994 c 617 s 1; 1995 c 233 art 1 s 5; 1996 c 427 s 1; 1997 c 235 s 1-7; 1997 c 251
s 17; 3Sp1997 c 3 s 12; 1998 c 401 s 40; 1999 c 231 s 130; 2000 c 320 s 1; 1Sp2001 c 2 s 121;
2002 c 293 s 1; 2002 c 382 art 1 s 1; 2003 c 128 art 1 s 123; 2004 c 248 s 1; 2004 c 249 s 1;
1Sp2005 c 1 art 2 s 126; 2006 c 224 s 1,2; 2007 c 13 art 1 s 6; 2007 c 57 art 1 s 136-139

115.551 TANK FEE.
(a) An installer shall pay a fee of $25 for each septic system tank installed in the previous
calendar year. The fees required under this section must be paid to the commissioner by January
30 of each year. The revenue derived from the fee imposed under this section shall be deposited in
the environmental fund and is exempt from section 16A.1285.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), for the purposes of performance-based individual sewage
treatment systems, the tank fee is limited to $25 per household system installation.
History: 2003 c 128 art 1 s 124; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 2 s 127

115.56 MANDATORY LICENSING PROGRAM.
    Subdivision 1. Rules. (a) Pursuant to section 115.03, subdivision 1, by January 1, 1996, the
agency shall adopt rules containing standards of licensure applicable to all individual sewage
treatment system professionals.
The rules must include but are not limited to:
(1) training requirements that include both classroom and fieldwork components;
(2) examination content requirements and testing procedures;
(3) continuing education requirements;
(4) equivalent experience provisions;
(5) bonding and insurance requirements;
(6) schedules for submitting fees; and
(7) license revocation and suspension and other enforcement requirements.
(b) The agency shall consult with the advisory committee before proposing any rules under
this subdivision.
    Subd. 2. License required. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), after March 31, 1996, a
person may not design, install, maintain, pump, or inspect an individual sewage treatment system
without a license issued by the commissioner.
    (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 has passed the examination
described in paragraph (d) or a similar examination;
    (2) an individual who constructs an individual sewage treatment system on land that is owned
or leased by the individual and functions solely as the individual's dwelling or seasonal dwelling;
    (3) a farmer who pumps and disposes of sewage waste from individual 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 person licensed under this section in
connection with the design, installation, maintenance, pumping, or inspection of an individual
sewage treatment system at the direction and under the personal supervision of a person licensed
under this section.
    A person constructing an individual sewage treatment system under clause (2) must consult
with a site evaluator or designer before beginning construction. 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.
    (c) The commissioner, in conjunction with the University of Minnesota Extension Service or
another higher education institution, shall ensure adequate training exists for individual sewage
treatment system professionals.
    (d) The commissioner shall conduct examinations to test the knowledge of applicants for
licensing and shall issue documentation of licensing.
    (e) Licenses may be issued only upon successful completion of the required examination and
submission of proof of sufficient experience, proof of general liability insurance, and a corporate
surety bond in the amount of at least $10,000.
    (f) Notwithstanding paragraph (e), the examination and proof of experience are not required
for an individual sewage treatment system professional who, on the effective date of the rules
adopted under subdivision 1, holds a certification attained by examination and experience under a
voluntary certification program administered by the agency.
    (g) Local units of government may not require additional local licenses for individual
sewage treatment system professionals.
    (h) A pumper whose annual gross revenue from pumping systems is $9,000 or less and
whose gross revenue from pumping systems during the year ending May 11, 1994, was at least
$1,000 is not subject to training requirements in rules adopted under subdivision 1, except for any
training required for initial licensure.
    (i) Until December 31, 2010, no other professional license is required to:
    (1) design, install, maintain, or inspect an individual sewage treatment system with a flow of
10,000 gallons of water per day or less if the system designer, installer, maintainer, or inspector
is licensed under this subdivision and the local unit of government has not adopted additional
requirements; and
    (2) operate an individual sewage treatment system with a flow of 10,000 gallons of water per
day or less if the system operator is licensed as a system designer, installer, maintainer, or inspector
under this subdivision and the local unit of government has not adopted additional requirements.
    Subd. 2a. Temporary license. The agency may issue, for a fee of $100, a temporary license
for an activity listed in subdivision 1, paragraph (a), to a person who:
(1) has submitted to the agency proof of sufficient experience, as determined by the agency,
in the activity for which the license is sought; and
(2) has completed training under a voluntary certification program administered by the
agency.
A temporary license issued under this subdivision is effective until August 15, 1996.
    Subd. 3. Enforcement. (a) The commissioner may deny, suspend, or revoke a license,
or use any lesser remedy against an individual sewage treatment system professional, for any
of the following reasons:
(1) failure to meet the requirements for a license;
(2) incompetence, negligence, or inappropriate conduct in the performance of the duties of
an individual sewage treatment system professional;
(3) failure to comply with applicable requirements; or
(4) submission of false or misleading information or credentials in order to obtain or renew
a license.
(b) Upon receiving a signed written complaint that alleges the existence of a ground for
enforcement action against a person under paragraph (a), the commissioner shall initiate an
investigation. Revocation, suspension, or other enforcement action may not be taken before
written notice is given to the person and an opportunity is provided for a contested case hearing
complying with the provisions of chapter 14.
    Subd. 4. License fee. The fee for a license required under subdivision 2 is $100 per year.
Revenue from the fees must be credited to the environmental fund and is exempt from section
16A.1285.
History: 1994 c 617 s 2; 1995 c 233 art 1 s 6; 1996 c 427 s 2,3; 2003 c 128 art 2 s 4;
2007 c 131 art 1 s 73

115.57 INDIVIDUAL SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM OR WATER WELL LOAN
PROGRAM.
    Subdivision 1. Purpose. The legislature finds that a need exists to provide for the creation
of a public loan program that assists property owners to finance the site evaluation, design,
installation, repair, and replacement of individual sewage treatment systems and to finance the
sealing and replacement of wells on privately owned property. Such a public loan program
promotes the public health and welfare by furthering the policy of the state of Minnesota to
prevent, reduce, and eliminate water pollution. The legislature declares that the actions required to
establish and implement a public loan program for the purposes stated in this section are a public
purpose and that the execution and financing of such a program is a public purpose.
    Subd. 2. Definitions. (a) The terms defined in this subdivision and section 115.55,
subdivision 1 , apply to this section.
(b) "Improvement" means the site evaluation, design, installation, repair, or replacement of
an individual sewage treatment system or sealing or replacement of a well.
(c) "Municipality" means a township, city, county, or any other governmental subdivision
of the state responsible by law for the prevention, control, and abatement of water pollution in
any area of the state.
(d) "Property owner" means the owner or owners as recorded on the tax roll of the county
where the real property on which the individual sewage treatment system or well is installed,
repaired, or replaced is located.
(e) "Well" means a well as defined in section 103I.005, subdivision 21:
(1) that is required to be sealed under section 103I.301, subdivision 1; or
(2) the relocation of which is necessary for compliance with applicable requirements as
defined in section 115.55, subdivision 1.
    Subd. 3. Authority. A municipality may, individually or cooperatively with other
municipalities, establish an individual sewage treatment system or well loan program, or both, for
the purpose of providing loans to property owners for the site evaluation, design, installation,
repair, or replacement of individual sewage treatment systems or for the sealing or replacement
of wells on privately owned property. The governing body of a municipality shall provide for
the operation and administration of the program by ordinance. A municipality may appoint an
administrator to operate the program.
    Subd. 4. Limitations. Loans may not be used to facilitate new building construction. As
used in this subdivision, "facilitate new building construction" includes increasing capacity of
an individual sewage treatment system beyond what is reasonably required to serve existing
buildings and lots in existing recorded plats.
    Subd. 5. Financing. A municipality may issue bonds in accordance with chapter 475 to
finance the program, except that an election is not required and the obligations are not subject
to the general limit on net debt for the municipality. Financing may also be provided by issuing
certificates of indebtedness, securing loans, or transferring available funds that the municipality is
not obligated by law to use for some other purpose. Funds procured for the individual sewage
treatment system or well loan program shall be dedicated to the program.
    Subd. 6. Assessments. (a) An amount loaned under the program, including accruing interest,
shall be a lien against the real property for which the improvement was made and shall be assessed
against the property or properties benefited unless the amount is prepaid. An amount loaned under
the program and assessed against the property shall be a priority lien only against subsequent liens.
(b) Upon issuing a loan, the municipality shall provide the property owner a notice that states
the following information:
(1) the amount to be specially assessed against the property;
(2) the right of the property owner to prepay the entire assessment;
(3) the public official to whom prepayment must be made;
(4) the time within which prepayment must be made without the assessment of interest;
(5) the rate of interest to be accrued if the assessment is not prepaid within the required
time period; and
(6) the period of the assessment.
(c) The municipality shall, by ordinance, provide for a right of property owners to prepay the
assessment and may establish such other assessment procedures as determined necessary and
consistent with the provisions of this section.
    Subd. 7. Ordinances; construction standards. A municipality may not establish an
individual sewage treatment system loan program unless ordinances in compliance with section
115.55 are in full force and effect. All repairs and improvements made to individual sewage
treatment systems under this section shall be performed by a licensed individual sewage treatment
system professional and shall comply with section 115.55 and other applicable requirements. All
improvements to wells under this section must be made by a well contractor or a limited well
contractor, as appropriate, licensed under chapter 103I.
    Subd. 8. Dissolution. The governing body of a municipality may dissolve the program
by ordinance. The ordinance shall provide for the collection of all outstanding assessments,
repayment of any remaining indebtedness incurred to finance the program, and the final
distribution of any money remaining in the loan fund.
History: 1996 c 427 s 4; 1997 c 235 s 8

115.58 ALTERNATIVE DISCHARGING SEWAGE SYSTEMS; GENERAL PERMITS.
    Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to this section.
(b) "Alternative discharging sewage system" means a sewage treatment system serving one or
more dwellings and other establishments that discharges less than 10,000 gallons of water per day
and uses any treatment and disposal methods other than subsurface soil treatment and disposal.
(c) "Permit" means a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit or state disposal
system permit granted to any person for the installation, ownership, management, or control of
alternative discharging sewage systems whose operations, emissions, activities, discharges, or
facilities are the same or substantially similar.
(d) "Water quality cooperative" means an association of persons organized under chapter
308A to install, own, manage, and control individual sewage treatment systems or alternative
discharging sewage systems and provide water quality treatment and management services for its
members within a defined geographical area.
(e) "Water quality treatment and management services" means the monitoring and control
of alternative discharging sewage systems to eliminate or reduce water pollution from point
and nonpoint sources; the management, use, reuse, recycling, or reclamation of land, water, or
wastewater for water supply; geothermal heating and cooling; fire protection; irrigation; drainage;
open space or green belt preservation; storm water management and control; flood management
and control or other purposes that are part of a comprehensive plan to reduce, prevent, or
eliminate water pollution.
    Subd. 2. Areawide permit. The agency may issue an areawide permit for alternative
discharging sewage systems where:
(1) the systems meet all applicable federal and state standards for treatment and discharge
of sewage effluents by the agency;
(2) the systems are part of a water quality treatment and management plan to prevent,
eliminate, or reduce water pollution within a defined geographic area;
(3) the systems are owned or controlled by a water quality cooperative; and
(4) the water quality cooperative has a service agreement with a local unit of government to
provide water quality treatment and management services for the area under section 471A.03.
    Subd. 3. Local ordinance exemption. Any system which is permitted under subdivision 2 is
exempt from the requirements of any local ordinance adopted to conform with section 115.55 if the
system complies with the applicable standards for discharges and treatment of sewage effluents.
History: 1997 c 216 s 94; 1998 c 254 art 1 s 23

115.59 ADVANCED TREATMENT SYSTEMS.
    Subdivision 1. Definitions. The definitions in this subdivision apply to sections 115.59
and 115.60.
(a) "Agency" means the Pollution Control Agency.
(b) "Biodigester and water reclamation systems" or "system" means a residential wastewater
treatment system that separately collects and segregates greywater from blackwater to be
mechanically or biologically treated for reclamation and safe consumptive use or discharge above
or below the surface of the ground.
(c) "Blackwater" means sewage from toilets, urinals, and any drains equipped with garbage
grinders.
(d) "Greywater" means sewage that does not contain toilet wastes or waste from garbage
grinders.
(e) "Sewage" means waste produced by toilets, bathing, laundry, or culinary operations, or
the floor drains associated with these sources. Household cleaners in sewage are restricted to
amounts normally used for domestic purposes.
    Subd. 2. Biodigester and water reclamation system requirements. Biodigester and water
reclamation systems must meet the following requirements:
(1) all waste that includes any blackwater must be treated as blackwater and must not be
discharged for reuse;
(2) wastewater may only be treated as greywater when a plumbing network separately
collects and segregates greywater from blackwater;
(3) the two waste streams of greywater and blackwater must be treated to the following
standards:
(i) for greywater reuse within the facility, the effluent quality from the system must be within
the health risk limits as determined by Minnesota Rules, chapter 4717;
(ii) for greywater discharge outside the residence above ground level, the effluent quality
from the system shall meet or exceed standards for the receiving water as set forth in Minnesota
Rules, chapter 7050; and
(iii) residuals from blackwater must be treated to levels described in Code of Federal
Regulations, title 40, part 503;
(4) residuals from blackwater treatment must be disposed of in accordance with local and
federal requirements and state guidelines for septage; and
(5) toilets that do not contain a standard integral water trap must have a water-sealed
mechanical valve.
    Subd. 3. Expiration. This section expires May 1, 2014.
History: 2004 c 248 s 2

115.60 PILOT PROGRAM FOR ALTERNATIVE SEPTIC SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY.
    Subdivision 1. Manufacturer's certification. (a) Under the authority of the Pollution Control
Agency, with consultation from the Department of Health, a manufacturer of new wastewater
treatment technologies must submit accredited third-party testing documentation to the agency
certifying that biodigester and wastewater reclamation systems, as designed and installed, will
meet the applicable state standards for above or below surface discharge or potable water.
(b) A manufacturer of biodigester and water reclamation systems technology must provide
training approved by the commissioner of the agency to provide certification for persons in the
state to properly install, maintain, operate, and monitor systems. An entity that would provide
monitoring, installation, maintenance, or operational services must not be a part of certifying
system capacities for the commissioner.
(c) A manufacturer shall reimburse the agency an amount not to exceed $4,000 for staff
services needed to review the information submitted pursuant to the certification request.
Reimbursements accepted by the agency must be deposited in the environmental fund and are
appropriated to the agency for the purpose of reviewing information submitted. The agency shall
reimburse the Department of Health for consultation related costs.
    Subd. 2. Requirements for manufacturer or consumer participation. (a) Only trained
and certified persons may install, operate, repair, maintain, and monitor a biodigester and water
reclamation system.
(b) Systems must be monitored by an entity other than the owner.
(c) Annual monitoring and maintenance reports must be submitted to the commissioners of
health and the agency and the local regulatory authority.
(d) Independent documentation of system performance must be reported on a form provided
by the agency.
    Subd. 3. Approval requirements. (a) Permitting of biodigester and water reclamation
systems are subject to any local government requirements for installation and use subject to the
commissioner's approval.
(b) Any subsurface discharge of treated effluent from any system must be in accordance with
environmental standards contained in Minnesota Rules, part 7080.0179, and is regulated under
the requirements of sections 115.55 and 115.56.
(c) Any surface discharge of treated effluent from a system must be in accordance with
environmental standards contained in Minnesota Rules, part 7080.0030, and be operated under a
permit issued by the agency. The agency may issue either individual or general permits to regulate
the surface discharges from biodigester and water reclamation systems.
(d) Any reuse of treated effluent from a system must be in accordance with state standards
established for potable well water.
    Subd. 4. Exemption. Biodigester and water reclamation systems are exempt from all state
and local requirements pertaining to Minnesota Rules, chapter 4715, until May 1, 2014.
    Subd. 5. Expiration. This section expires May 1, 2014.
History: 2004 c 248 s 3

REGIONAL SANITARY SEWER DISTRICTS

115.61 AUTHORITY OF DISTRICT.
A sanitary sewer district, when created as contemplated by sections 115.61 to 115.67, shall
be a municipal corporation and governmental subdivision of the state, responsible for acquiring,
constructing, improving, extending, operating, and maintaining facilities for the collection,
treatment, and disposal of sewage and industrial and other wastes received from the sewer systems
of all municipalities within its corporate limits, for the purpose of preventing pollution of public
waters in excess of such reasonable standards of purity and quality as may be established by state
regulatory agencies pursuant to law. For this purpose it shall have perpetual succession; may sue
and be sued; may acquire real and personal property, including easements, within or outside its
corporate limits, by purchase, gift, devise, condemnation, lease, or otherwise, which property,
while held, used, or occupied by it, shall be exempt from taxation; may manage, control, sell,
convey, lease, and otherwise dispose of such property; may make contracts, borrow money, issue
bonds, levy taxes and special assessments, and establish and collect charges for services furnished
or made available; and may exercise all powers granted any municipality by chapters 117, 412,
429, and 475, sections 471.59, 444.075, and 115.46, and, without limitation by the foregoing, all
municipal power necessary or expedient to accomplish said purpose, whether or not necessarily
implied from any power herein expressly granted.
History: 1965 c 895 s 1

115.62 BOARD; MEMBERSHIP; TERM; QUORUM; OFFICERS; COMPENSATION.
All powers of the district shall be exercised by or under authority of resolutions of its board
of directors, consisting of one member appointed by the governing body of each municipality
situated wholly or partly within its corporate limits, who may but need not be a member of
that governing body. The term of each member shall extend to January 1 in the year following
appointment, or until a successor is appointed and qualified, or until the member's earlier death,
disability, or absence of more than 90 days from the member's municipality. Any resolution may
be passed by a majority of the votes cast thereon at a meeting attended by a majority of the
members of the board, unless a larger majority or further notice is required by its bylaws, which
shall be adopted or amended only by the vote of a majority of all members of the board. The
board shall elect a president and vice-president at its first meeting in each year, to serve until the
following January 1 or until their respective successors are selected and qualify. Each member of
the board shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expense in the performance of the member's
duty and may receive compensation in an amount determined by the board to be reasonable, not
exceeding $25 per day or part thereof for each meeting and not exceeding $1,000 in any one year.
History: 1965 c 895 s 2; 1986 c 444

115.63 MANAGER, AUTHORITY; EMPLOYEES.
The chief executive officer of the district shall be a manager who shall be chosen by the board
of directors and hold office on the same basis, possess the same qualifications, and have the same
powers and duties with reference to the management of the affairs of the district, as the manager
of a statutory city under sections 412.641 to 412.751, except that all appointments of subordinate
officers and employees and all employment of professional consultants shall be subject to
approval by the board. The district shall comply with the provisions of chapter 353 to permit
membership of the manager and all employees in the Public Employees Retirement Association.
History: 1965 c 895 s 3; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7

115.64 ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.
The acquisition and use of real and personal property by a district created as herein
contemplated shall not be subject to restriction or control by any other local government or
authority, except by the exercise of police powers under section 169.04.
History: 1965 c 895 s 4

115.65 PURPOSE; DUTIES OF DISTRICT; ANNEXATION OF TERRITORY.
Sanitary sewer districts may be created by or under authority of laws referring to sections
115.61 to 115.67 and enumerating the cities or towns, or portions thereof, which are or may be
included therein. The purpose of sections 115.61 to 115.67 is to provide a method by which
municipalities in a drainage area designated by law may join together to prevent water pollution
in excess of reasonable standards in that area. Each district created as contemplated herein shall
be responsible for planning collection, treatment, and disposal facilities for all municipalities
in its drainage area, whether or not initially included within its boundaries. Any municipality,
by resolution adopted by a majority of all members of its governing body, may request the
annexation of all or part of its territory to the district, and the annexation shall become effective
when approved by resolution adopted by a majority of all members of the board of directors of
the district with the approval of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, or by order of the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency made under authority of Laws 1963, chapter 874. Nothing in
sections 115.61 to 115.67 shall be construed as abrogating any statutory authority or responsibility
of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. All territory annexed shall be subject to taxation by
the district like other property within its boundaries for the support of its facilities and for the
payment of principal and interest thereafter becoming due on its indebtedness, whether authorized
or incurred before or after the annexation.
History: 1965 c 895 s 5; 1969 c 9 s 21; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7

115.66 SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of sections 115.61 to 115.67 or the application thereof to any person
or circumstances is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications of sections 115.61 to 115.67 which can be given effect without the invalid provision
or application, and to this end the provisions of sections 115.61 to 115.67 and the various
applications thereof are declared to be severable.
History: 1965 c 895 s 6

115.67 CITATION.
Sections 115.61 to 115.67 may be cited as the "Regional Sanitary Sewer District Law."
History: 1965 c 895 s 7

WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS, WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES, AND

CERTIFICATION OF OPERATORS

115.71 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Applicability. As used in sections 115.71 to 115.77, the terms defined in
this section have the meanings given them.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1995 c 180 s 16]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1995 c 180 s 16]
    Subd. 3a.[Repealed, 1995 c 180 s 16]
    Subd. 4. Council. "Council" means the Water and Wastewater Treatment Operators Advisory
Council established by section 115.741.
    Subd. 4a. Population equivalent. "Population equivalent" means a number determined by
dividing a daily pound load of five-day, 20-degree-centigrade carbonaceous biochemical oxygen
demand (CBOD) of raw sewage by 0.17.
    Subd. 5.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 9]
    Subd. 5. Wastewater certificate. "Wastewater certificate" means a certificate of competency
issued by the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency stating that the wastewater
treatment facility operator has met the requirements for the specified operator classification of
the certification program.
    Subd. 6.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 5]
    Subd. 6. Wastewater treatment facility. "Wastewater treatment facility" means any plant,
disposal field, lagoon, or other works not specifically mentioned herein, installed for the purpose
of collecting, pumping, treating, stabilizing or disposing of sewage, as defined in section 115.01,
subdivision 17 , which is actually used or intended for use by the public or by any considerable
number of persons.
    Subd. 7.[Repealed, 1991 c 202 s 42]
    Subd. 8.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 6]
    Subd. 8. Wastewater treatment facility operator. "Wastewater treatment facility operator"
means a person who has direct responsibility for the operation of or operates a wastewater
treatment facility.
    Subd. 9.MS 1991 Supp [Renumbered subd 10]
    Subd. 9. Water certificate. "Water certificate" means a certificate of competency issued by
the commissioner of health stating that the water supply system operator has met the requirements
for the specified operator classification of the certification program.
    Subd. 9a. Water supply system. "Water supply system" means a community or nontransient
noncommunity water system as defined in Code of Federal Regulations, title 40, section 141.2, as
amended.
    Subd. 10.MS 1990 [Renumbered subd 8]
    Subd. 10. Water supply system operator. "Water supply system operator" means a person
who has direct responsibility for the operation of or operates a water supply system or such parts
of the system as would affect the quality and safety of the water.
History: 1971 c 828 s 1; 1975 c 271 s 4; 1976 c 149 s 21; 1977 c 66 s 9; 1977 c 305 s 45;
1987 c 186 s 15; 1991 c 202 s 2,3; 1995 c 180 s 1-6; 1999 c 66 s 1,2

115.72 RULES.
    Subdivision 1. Classification. (a) The commissioner of health shall jointly with the agency
adopt rules relating to the classification of all water supply systems actually used or intended
for use by the public.
(b) The Pollution Control Agency shall jointly with the commissioner of health adopt rules
relating to the classification of all wastewater treatment facilities actually used or intended for
use by the public or by any considerable number of persons.
(c) The classes described in paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be based on the degree of hazard to
public health, the type of unit process, the loading of the plant, and the population served or the
population equivalent of the sewage handled.
    Subd. 2. Certification qualifications. The commissioner of health and the agency shall
jointly adopt rules relating to the certification qualifications for each classification of water supply
system operators and wastewater facility operators, respectively. The rules must provide for at
least one annual examination for each class of certificate and must include, but are not limited to:
(1) education requirements;
(2) education substitution provisions;
(3) experience requirements;
(4) experience substitution provisions;
(5) examination content requirements, testing procedures, and criteria for passing;
(6) certificate renewal requirements;
(7) schedules for submitting applications and fees; and
(8) reinstatement requirements for expired, suspended, or revoked certificates.
The advisory council must be consulted before any rules are proposed under this subdivision.
History: 1971 c 828 s 2; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1987 c 186 s 15; 1995 c 180 s 7

115.73 CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.
A person may not operate a water supply system or wastewater treatment facility unless the
system or facility maintains at least one person that:
(1) is certified in a class equal to or higher than the class of the system or facility; and
(2) has full and active responsibility for the daily on-site operation of the system or facility,
or of a portion of the system or facility if an additional operator or operators with appropriate
certification are responsible for the remaining portions.
History: 1971 c 828 s 3; 1976 c 149 s 62 subd 6; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1987 c 186 s 15; 1995
c 180 s 8

115.74 [Repealed, 1995 c 180 s 16]

115.741 ADVISORY COUNCIL ON WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS AND WASTEWATER
TREATMENT FACILITIES.
    Subdivision 1. Purpose; membership. The Advisory Council on Water Supply Systems
and Wastewater Treatment Facilities shall advise the commissioners of health and the Pollution
Control Agency regarding classification of water supply systems and wastewater treatment
facilities, qualifications and competency evaluation of water supply system operators and
wastewater treatment facility operators, and additional laws, rules, and procedures that may
be desirable for regulating the operation of water supply systems and of wastewater treatment
facilities. The advisory council is composed of 11 voting members, of whom:
(1) one member must be from the Department of Health, Division of Environmental Health,
appointed by the commissioner of health;
(2) one member must be from the Pollution Control Agency appointed by the commissioner
of the Pollution Control Agency;
(3) three members must be certified water supply system operators, appointed by the
commissioner of health, one of whom must represent a nonmunicipal community or nontransient
noncommunity water supply system;
(4) three members must be certified wastewater treatment facility operators, appointed by the
commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency;
(5) one member must be a representative from an organization representing municipalities,
appointed by the commissioner of health with the concurrence of the commissioner of the
Pollution Control Agency; and
(6) two members must be members of the public who are not associated with water supply
systems or wastewater treatment facilities. One must be appointed by the commissioner of health
and the other by the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency. Consideration should be
given to one of these members being a representative of academia knowledgeable in water or
wastewater matters.
    Subd. 2. Geographic representation. At least one of the water supply system operators and
at least one of the wastewater treatment facility operators must be from outside the seven-county
metropolitan area and one wastewater operator must come from the Metropolitan Council.
    Subd. 3. Terms; compensation. The terms of the appointed members and the compensation
and removal of all members are governed by section 15.059.
    Subd. 4. Officers. When new members are appointed to the council, a chair must be elected
at the next council meeting. The Department of Health representative shall serve as secretary
of the council.
History: 1995 c 180 s 9; 1999 c 66 s 3-5; 2000 c 260 s 95

115.75 OPERATOR CERTIFICATES.
    Subdivision 1. Issuance. The commissioners of health and the Pollution Control Agency
shall issue certificates to water supply system operators and wastewater treatment facility
operators, respectively, who meet the requirements of the rules adopted under section 115.72.
Each certificate must indicate the classification of the system or facility which the operator is
qualified to operate.
    Subd. 2. Display. Certificates must be prominently displayed in the office of the operator or
other appropriate place on the premises of the plant or treatment facility.
    Subd. 3. Validity. Certificates are valid for a period of three years unless revoked or
suspended by the commissioner of health or the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency
prior to that time. Certificates may be renewed upon application to the appropriate commissioner.
    Subd. 4. Denial, refusal to renew, revocation, and suspension. The commissioner of health
and the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency may deny, refuse to renew, revoke, or
suspend the certification of a water supply system operator or a wastewater treatment facility
operator, respectively, in accordance with section 144.99, subdivisions 8 to 10.
    Subd. 5. Expiration. The certificates of operators who terminate their employment at a water
supply system or wastewater treatment facility will remain valid for the unexpired term of the
certificate. Operators whose certificates expire under this section may be issued new certificates of
a like classification provided appropriate proof of competency is submitted to the appropriate
commissioner. Successful completion of an examination may be required.
    Subd. 6. Records. The commissioner of health shall maintain records relating to certification
of water supply system operators, and the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall
maintain records relating to certification of wastewater treatment facility operators.
History: 1971 c 828 s 5; 1976 c 149 s 62 subd 6; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1986 c 444; 1987 c
186 s 15; 1995 c 180 s 10

115.76 RECIPROCITY.
The commissioner of health, in the case of water supply system operators, and the
commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency, in the case of wastewater treatment facility
operators, upon application, may issue certificates without examination, in a comparable
classification to any person who holds a certificate in any state, territory, or possession of the
United States or any country, providing the requirements for certification of operators under
which the person's certificate was issued do not conflict with the provisions of sections 115.71
to 115.77 and are of a standard not lower than that specified by rules adopted under sections
115.71 to 115.77.
History: 1971 c 828 s 6; 1976 c 149 s 62 subd 6; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1987 c
186 s 15; 1995 c 180 s 11

115.77 FEES.
    Subdivision 1. Fees established. The following fees are established for the purposes
indicated:
(1) application for examination, $32;
(2) issuance of certificate, $23;
(3) reexamination resulting from failure to pass an examination, $32;
(4) renewal of certificate, $23;
(5) replacement certificate, $10; and
(6) reinstatement or reciprocity certificate, $40.
    Subd. 2. Payment of fees. All fees established in subdivision 1 must be paid to the
commissioner of health, in the case of water supply system operators, and to the commissioner of
the Pollution Control Agency, in the case of wastewater treatment facility operators. The fees
received must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the special revenue fund.
History: 1971 c 828 s 7; 1976 c 149 s 62 subd 6; 1995 c 180 s 12; 2003 c 112 art 2 s 50

115.78 [Repealed, 1995 c 180 s 16]

115.79 [Repealed, 1995 c 180 s 16]

115.80 [Repealed, 1995 c 180 s 16]

115.81 [Repealed, 1973 c 374 s 22]

115.82 [Repealed, 1995 c 180 s 16]

115.83 [Expired]