2006 Minnesota Statutes

115A.411 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT POLICY; CONSOLIDATED REPORT.
    Subdivision 1. Authority; purpose. The commissioner shall prepare and adopt a report
on solid waste management policy. The report must be submitted by the commissioner to the
senate and house committees having jurisdiction over environment and natural resources and
environment and natural resources finance by December 1 of each odd-numbered year and
shall include reports required under sections 115A.55, subdivision 4, paragraph (b); 115A.551,
subdivision 4 ; 115A.557, subdivision 4; 473.149, subdivision 6; 473.846; and 473.848,
subdivision 4 .
    Subd. 2. Contents. (a) The report must also include:
(1) a summary of the current status of solid waste management, including the amount of
solid waste generated, the manner in which it is collected, processed, and disposed, the extent
of separation, recycling, reuse, and recovery of solid waste, and the facilities available or under
development to manage the waste;
(2) an evaluation of the extent and effectiveness of implementation and an assessment
of progress in accomplishing state policies, goals, and objectives, including those listed in
paragraph (b);
(3) identification of issues requiring further research, study, and action, the appropriate scope
of the research, study, or action, the state agency or political subdivision that should implement
the research, study, or action, and a schedule for completion of the activity; and
(4) recommendations for establishing or modifying state solid waste management policies,
authorities, and programs.
(b) Beginning in 1997, and every sixth year thereafter, the report shall be expanded to
include the metropolitan area solid waste policy plan required in section 473.149, subdivision
1 , and strategies for the agency to advance the goals of this chapter, to manage waste as a
resource, to further reduce the need for expenditures on resource recovery and disposal facilities,
and to further reduce long-term environmental and financial liabilities. The expanded report
must include strategies for:
(1) achieving the maximum feasible reduction in waste generation;
(2) encouraging manufacturers to design products that eliminate or reduce the adverse
environmental impacts of resource extraction, manufacturing, use, and waste processing and
disposal;
(3) educating businesses, public entities, and other consumers about the need to consider
the potential environmental and financial impacts of purchasing products that may create a
liability or that may be expensive to recycle or manage as waste, due to the presence of toxic
or hazardous components;
(4) eliminating or reducing toxic or hazardous components in compost from municipal solid
waste composting facilities, in ash from municipal solid waste incinerators, and in leachate and
air emissions from municipal solid waste landfills, in order to reduce the potential liability of
waste generators, facility owners and operators, and taxpayers;
(5) encouraging the source separation of materials to the extent practicable, so that the
materials are most appropriately managed and to ensure that resources that can be reused or
recycled are not disposed of or destroyed; and
(6) maximizing the efficiency of the waste management system by managing waste and
recyclables close to the point of generation, taking into account the characteristics of the resources
to be recovered from the waste and the type and capacity of local facilities.
History: 1987 c 348 s 14; 1989 c 335 art 1 s 269; 1991 c 337 s 14; 1992 c 593 art 1 s 12;
1995 c 247 art 1 s 7; 1996 c 470 s 27; 1999 c 73 s 2; 1Sp2005 c 1 art 2 s 161