2007 Minnesota Statutes

115A.64 PROCEDURE FOR ESTABLISHMENT AND ALTERATION.
    Subdivision 1. Local petition. Waste districts shall be established and their powers and
boundaries defined or altered by the commissioner only after petition requesting the action jointly
submitted by the governing bodies of petitioners comprising at least one-half of the counties
partly or wholly within the district. A petition for alteration shall include a resolution by the board
of directors of the district approving the alteration.
    Subd. 2. Petition contents. (a) A petition requesting establishment or alteration of a
waste district must contain the information the commissioner may require, including at least
the following:
(1) the name of the proposed district;
(2) a description of the territory and political subdivisions within and the boundaries of the
proposed district or alteration thereto, along with a map showing the district or alteration;
(3) resolutions of support for the district, as proposed to the commissioner, from the
governing body of each of the petitioning counties;
(4) a statement of the reason, necessity, and purpose for the district, plus a general description
of the solid waste management improvements and facilities contemplated for the district showing
how its activities will accomplish the purpose of the district and the purposes for waste resource
districts stated in sections 115A.62 to 115A.72;
(5) articles of incorporation stating:
(i) the powers of the district consistent with sections 115A.62 to 115A.72, including a
statement of powers proposed pursuant to sections 115A.70, 115A.71, and 115A.715; and
(ii) provisions for representation and election of the board of directors of the district.
(b) After the petition has been filed, no petitioner may withdraw from it except with the
written consent of all other petitioners for the district.
    Subd. 3. Local review and comment. At least 60 days before submitting the petition to
the commissioner, the petitioners shall publish notice of the petition in newspapers of general
circulation in the proposed district and shall cause a copy of the petition to be served upon
the agency, the governing body of each political subdivision which is wholly or partly within
the proposed district or is affected by the proposed alteration and each regional development
commission affected by the proposed district or alteration. Each entity receiving service shall
have 60 days within which to comment to the petitioners on the petition and the proposed district
or alteration. Proof of service, along with any comments received, shall be attached to the petition
when it is submitted to the commissioner.
    Subd. 4. Review procedures. Upon receipt of the petition, the commissioner shall determine
whether the petition conforms in form and substance to the requirements of law and rule. If the
petition does not conform to the requirements, the commissioner shall return it immediately
to the petitioners with a statement describing the deficiencies and the amendments necessary
to rectify them. If the petition does conform to the requirements, and if comments have been
received objecting to the establishment or alteration of the district as proposed, the commissioner
shall request the Office of Administrative Hearings to conduct a hearing on the petition. The
hearing shall be conducted in the proposed district in the manner provided in chapter 14 for
contested cases. If no comments have been received objecting to the establishment of the district
as proposed, the commissioner may proceed to grant or deny the petition without the necessity
of conducting a contested case hearing. If the petition conforms to the requirements of law and
rule, the commissioner shall also immediately submit the petition to the solid waste and the
technical advisory councils for review and recommendation and shall prepare a report containing
recommendations on the disposition of the petition. The commissioner's report shall contain at
least the commissioner's findings and conclusions on whether the proposed boundaries, purposes,
powers, and management plans of the district or alteration thereto serve the purposes of waste
resource districts, are appropriately related to the waste generation, collection, processing, and
disposal patterns in the area, and are generally consistent with the purposes of the agency's
regulatory program.
    Subd. 5. Corrections allowed. No petition submitted by the requisite number of counties
shall be void or dismissed on account of defects exposed in the hearing documents or report. The
commissioner shall permit the petition to be amended in form and substance to conform to the
facts by correcting any errors in the description of the territory or any other defects.
    Subd. 6. Order. After considering the reports of the administrative law judge, if a contested
case hearing has been held, and the recommendations of the advisory councils, the commissioner
shall make a final decision on the petition. If the commissioner finds and determines that the
establishment or alteration of a district as proposed in the petition would not be in the public
interest and would not serve the purposes of sections 115A.62 to 115A.72, the commissioner
shall give notice to the petitioners of intent to deny the petition. If a contested case hearing
has not been held, the petitioners may request a hearing within 30 days of the notice of intent
to deny the petition. The request shall be granted. Following the hearing and the report of the
administrative law judge, the commissioner shall make a final decision on the petition and
mail a copy of the decision to the governing body of each affected political subdivision. If the
commissioner finds and determines that the establishment or alteration of a district as proposed in
the petition would be in the public interest and would serve the purposes of sections 115A.62 to
115A.72, the commissioner shall, by order, establish the district, define its boundaries, and give
it a corporate name by which, in all proceedings, it shall thereafter be known. The order shall
include articles of incorporation stating the powers of the district and the location of its registered
office. Upon the filing of a certified copy of the order of the commissioner with the secretary of
state, the district shall become a political subdivision of the state and a public corporation, with
the authority, power, and duties prescribed in sections 115A.62 to 115A.72 and the order of the
commissioner. At the time of filing, a copy of the order shall be mailed by the commissioner to
the governing body of each political subdivision wholly or partly within the district or affected by
the alteration of the district.
History: 1980 c 564 art 8 s 3; 1980 c 615 s 60; 1982 c 424 s 130; 1984 c 640 s 32; 1986 c
444; 1987 c 186 s 15; 1989 c 335 art 1 s 269; 1991 c 337 s 27; 1994 c 639 art 5 s 3; 1Sp2005
c 1 art 2 s 161