2006 Minnesota Statutes

297H.06 EXEMPTIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Certain surcharges or fees. The amount of a surcharge, fee, or charge
established pursuant to section 115A.919, 115A.921, 115A.923, 400.08, 473.811, or 473.843 is
exempt from the solid waste management tax. The exemption does not apply to the tax imposed
on market price under section 297H.02, subdivision 1, paragraphs (b) and (c), or section 297H.03,
subdivision 1 , paragraphs (b) and (c).
    Subd. 2. Materials. The tax is not imposed upon charges to generators of mixed municipal
solid waste or upon the volume of nonmixed municipal solid waste for waste management
services to manage the following materials:
(1) mixed municipal solid waste and nonmixed municipal solid waste generated outside of
Minnesota;
(2) recyclable materials that are separated for recycling by the generator, collected separately
from other waste, and recycled, to the extent the price of the service for handling recyclable
material is separately itemized;
(3) recyclable nonmixed municipal solid waste that is separated for recycling by the
generator, collected separately from other waste, delivered to a waste facility for the purpose
of recycling, and recycled;
(4) industrial waste, when it is transported to a facility owned and operated by the same
person that generated it;
(5) mixed municipal solid waste from a recycling facility that separates or processes
recyclable materials and reduces the volume of the waste by at least 85 percent, provided that
the exempted waste is managed separately from other waste;
(6) recyclable materials that are separated from mixed municipal solid waste by the
generator, collected and delivered to a waste facility that recycles at least 85 percent of its waste,
and are collected with mixed municipal solid waste that is segregated in leakproof bags, provided
that the mixed municipal solid waste does not exceed five percent of the total weight of the
materials delivered to the facility and is ultimately delivered to a waste facility identified as a
preferred waste management facility in county solid waste plans under section 115A.46;
(7) source-separated compostable waste, if the waste is delivered to a facility exempted
as described in this clause. To initially qualify for an exemption, a facility must apply for an
exemption in its application for a new or amended solid waste permit to the Pollution Control
Agency. The first time a facility applies to the agency it must certify in its application that it will
comply with the criteria in items (i) to (v) and the commissioner of the agency shall so certify to
the commissioner of revenue who must grant the exemption. For each subsequent calendar year,
by October 1 of the preceding year, the facility must apply to the agency for certification to renew
its exemption for the following year. The application must be filed according to the procedures of,
and contain the information required by, the agency. The commissioner of revenue shall grant
the exemption if the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency finds and certifies to the
commissioner of revenue that based on an evaluation of the composition of incoming waste and
residuals and the quality and use of the product:
(i) generators separate materials at the source;
(ii) the separation is performed in a manner appropriate to the technology specific to the
facility that:
(A) maximizes the quality of the product;
(B) minimizes the toxicity and quantity of residuals; and
(C) provides an opportunity for significant improvement in the environmental efficiency
of the operation;
(iii) the operator of the facility educates generators, in coordination with each county using
the facility, about separating the waste to maximize the quality of the waste stream for technology
specific to the facility;
(iv) process residuals do not exceed 15 percent of the weight of the total material delivered
to the facility; and
(v) the final product is accepted for use;
(8) waste and waste by-products for which the tax has been paid; and
(9) daily cover for landfills that has been approved in writing by the Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency.
    Subd. 3. Construction debris in a disaster area. The tax is not imposed on construction
debris generated from repair and demolition activities caused by a disaster occurring in a
presidentially declared disaster area, provided that the construction debris is disposed of in a waste
management facility designated by the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency. To be
exempt, the debris must be disposed of within 18 months following the presidential declaration.
History: 1997 c 231 art 13 s 11; 1999 c 243 art 7 s 12; 1Sp2001 c 5 art 13 s 9; 2002 c 377
art 12 s 13; 2003 c 127 art 14 s 10