2007 Minnesota Statutes

473.516 WASTE FACILITIES; SEWAGE SLUDGE DISPOSAL.
    Subdivision 1. Acquisition and operation. Without limiting the grant or enumeration of
any of the powers conferred on the council under sections 473.501 to 473.549, the council shall
have the specific power to acquire by purchase, lease, condemnation, gift or grant any real or
personal property, positive and negative easements and water and air rights, and it may construct,
enlarge, improve, replace, repair, maintain and operate waste facilities in the metropolitan area
deemed to be necessary or convenient in connection with the processing or disposal of waste
resulting from sewage treatment, and the council may contract for the maintenance and operation
of such waste facilities, subject to the bidding requirements of section 473.523. The council may
accept for processing waste derived from outside the metropolitan area in the state, as well as
waste derived from within the metropolitan area, and may fix and collect fees and charges for the
acceptance of waste as the council determines to be reasonable.
    Subd. 2. General requirements. With respect to its activities under this section, the council
shall be subject to and comply with the applicable provisions of this chapter. Property acquired
by the council under this section shall be subject to the provisions of section 473.545. Any site
or facility owned or operated for or by the council shall conform to the policy plan adopted
under section 473.149. The council shall contract with private persons for the construction,
maintenance, and operation of waste facilities, subject to the bidding requirements of section
473.523, where the facilities are adequate and available for use and competitive with other means
of providing the same service.
    Subd. 3. Local restrictions. Counties and local units of government may impose conditions
respecting the construction, operation, inspection, monitoring, and maintenance of a waste facility
of the council and conditions respecting the sale, gift, delivery, storage, use, and disposal of
sewage sludge of the council on private property as a soil conditioner or amendment, but only
in the manner and only to the extent authorized and approved by the council and the Pollution
Control Agency as being consistent with the establishment and use of the council's waste facilities
and the disposal of the council's sewage sludge on private property in accordance with the
council's plan, adopted under Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 473.153, and agency permits and
rules. Counties may exercise the enforcement powers granted under section 473.811, subdivision
5c , in the manner and to the extent authorized and approved in accordance with this subdivision.
    Subd. 4. Technical monitoring; sewage sludge disposal. Each sewage sludge disposal
facility of the council, or site used for the disposal of sewage sludge of the council, shall be
required to have an agency permit issued pursuant to agency rules for permitting sewage sludge
disposal facilities and sites. Each permit shall require a regular monitoring and testing program to
be carried out by the council. A regular inspection program shall be conducted by the agency or a
county under contract to the agency. The council shall reimburse the agency quarterly for the
cost of the program, and the amounts reimbursed are hereby appropriated to the agency for the
purposes of the program. The council shall attempt to the greatest practical extent to provide a
sludge quality that permits desired nutrient loadings and minimizes elements not essential for
plant growth when sludge is disposed of on private property as a soil conditioner or amendment.
The council shall provide recipients with information on the facility generating the sludge and the
content of the sludge taken from its various treatment facilities.
    Subd. 5. Sludge ash contracts. Notwithstanding section 473.523, the council may enter into
a negotiated contract with a private person to use the sludge ash generated by the council in a
manufacturing process. The contract may not exceed 30 years.
History: 1976 c 179 s 10; 1980 c 564 art 10 s 5; 1981 c 352 s 39; 1986 c 425 s 38; 1986
c 460 s 42; 1993 c 13 art 2 s 11; 1994 c 628 art 3 s 161-165; 1995 c 247 art 2 s 26; 1996 c
305 art 1 s 104