Article 1: Environment and Natural Resources Finance
Overview
This article contains the biennial appropriations
for the Pollution Control Agency (PCA), Department of Natural Resources (DNR),
Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), Metropolitan Council parks and
trails, the Minnesota Conservation Corps, the Zoological Board, and the
Science Museum of Minnesota, and includes related policy and other statutory
changes.
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Summary of appropriations.
Summarizes the total appropriations by fund.
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Environment and natural
resources appropriations. Technical.
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Pollution Control Agency.
Subd. 1. Total
appropriation. Provides the total appropriation for the PCA. Requires the
agency’s budget to be displayed on its Web site and requires the agency to
have air, water, and solid waste accounts to track revenues and expenditures.
Requires the agency to submit a report on environmental assessment
worksheets. States that rules adopted by the agency regarding fees are
effective retroactively on July 1, 2009. Requires grant recipients to provide
information on the expenditure of grant funds on their Web site and provide
information to the agency to be displayed on the agency’s Web site.
Subd. 2. Water.
Provides appropriations for water related activities. Requires the
commissioner to submit a report on the effectiveness of enforcement actions
in preventing water pollution. Requires the commissioner to continue
rulemaking to better align water permit fee revenue with the cost of issuing
the permits in the coming fiscal years.
Subd. 3. Air.
Provides appropriations for air program activities and requires the agency to
report the level of fine particulate matter in the state’s air compared to
the standards recommended by the Particulate Matter Review Panel of the
Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee in
June of 2005. Requires the commissioner to continue rulemaking to better
align air quality permit fee revenue with the cost of issuing the permits in
the coming fiscal years.
Subd. 4. Land.
Provides appropriations for land program activities. Requires the
commissioner to report on activities related to the new composting
competitive grant program established in this article.
Subd. 5. Environmental
Assistance and Cross-Media. Provides appropriations for the environmental
assistance and cross-media activities.
Subd. 6. Administrative
support. Provides appropriations for administrative support of the
agency.
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Natural Resources.
Subd. 1. Total appropriation. Provides the total appropriation for the DNR.
Requires people conducting restorations to use vegetation or sow seed only of
ecotypes native to the state. Requires the department’s budget to be
displayed on its Web site. Requires
grant recipients to provide information on the expenditure of grant funds on
their Web site and provide information to the department to be displayed on
the department’s Web site.
Subd. 2. Land and mineral resources
management. Provides appropriations for the
lands and minerals division.
Subd. 3. Water resources management. Provides appropriations for the waters division,
requires the commissioner to submit a report on the long-term protection of
the state’s surface water and groundwater, and requires the commissioner to design
a groundwater monitoring network.
Subd. 4. Forest management. Provides appropriations for the forestry
division.
Subd. 5. Parks and trails management. Provides appropriations for the parks and trails
division.
Subd. 6. Fish and wildlife management. Provides appropriations for fish and wildlife
management.
Subd. 7. Ecological services. Provides appropriations for ecological services.
Requires the commissioner to submit a report on the expected outcomes and
goals for merging the ecological services and waters divisions and prohibits
the commissioner from merging the divisions until the commissioner presents
the report to the legislature.
Subd. 8. Enforcement. Provides appropriations for the enforcement
division and requires the commissioner to publicize opportunities for
conservation officer employment and recruit officers from biological sciences
departments.
Subd. 9. Operations support. Provides appropriations for administrative support
of the department and an appropriation for zoos from the lottery-in-lieu
funds.
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Board of Water and Soil Resources. Provides appropriations for BWSR. Requires people
conducting restorations to use vegetation or sow seed only of ecotypes native
to the state. Requires grant recipients to provide information on the
expenditure of grant funds on their Web site and provide information to the board
to be displayed on the board’s Web site.
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Metropolitan Council.
Provides appropriations for metropolitan regional parks and trails.
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Minnesota Conservation Corps. Provides appropriations for the Minnesota Conservation Corps through
an agreement with the commissioner of natural resources.
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Zoological Board. Provides
an appropriation for the Zoological Board.
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Science Museum of Minnesota. Provides an appropriation for the Science Museum of Minnesota.
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10
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Citation authority.
Amends § 84.0835, subd. 3. Allows a
citation to be issued for violations of the new nonresident ATV trail pass
requirements established under this article.
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Gift card and certificate sales; receipts, transfers;
appropriation. Adds § 84.0854. Permits
the DNR to sell gift cards and certificates and advertise their availability.
Provides for the disposition of the revenue collected.
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Fees; disposition. Amends
§ 84.415, subd. 5. States that application fees
collected by the DNR for licenses for utility crossings over public lands and
waters must be deposited in the general fund, and that the new supplemental
application and monitoring fee established in the next section is to be deposited
in the land management account and appropriated to the commissioner to cover
the costs of issuing and monitoring utility licenses.
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Supplemental application fee and monitoring fee. Adds § 84.415, subd.
6. Establishes a supplemental application fee for utility crossing licenses
of $1,500 for a public water crossing license and $4,500 for a public lands
crossing license.
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Conveyance of interests in lands to state and federal
governments. Amends § 84.63. Establishes an application fee of $2,000
and a monitoring fee for certain easements in order to cover the costs for
reviewing and preparing the easements and for monitoring the easement.
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15
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Road easements across state lands. Amends § 84.631. Establishes
an additional monitoring fee for road easements in order to cover the costs
for reviewing and preparing the easements and for monitoring the easement.
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Conveyance of unneeded state easements. Amends § 84.632.
Establishes an application fee for an easement release in order to cover the
costs for reviewing and preparing for the release of the easement.
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Exemptions. Amends §
84.922, subd. 1a. Exempts ATVs with a new nonresident all-terrain vehicle
pass from the registration requirements that apply if the vehicle is operated
on state and grant-in-aid trails.
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Nonresident all-terrain vehicle state trail pass. Adds § 84.9275.
Subd. 1. Pass required; fee. Prohibits a nonresident from operating an ATV on
a state or grant-in-aid trail unless carrying an ATV state trail pass.
Establishes a $20 annual fee for the pass (valid from April 1 to March 31).
Requires the proceeds from the fee to be deposited in the ATV account, except
for the commission received by the commissioner from the electronic licensing
system which must be used for grants-in-aid to counties and municipalities
for ATV organizations to construct and maintain ATV trails and use areas.
Provides an exception from the trail pass requirements for federal, state, or
other ATVs, or those being operated only on a portion of a trail that is
owned by the person operating the ATV or that person’s spouse, child, or
parent.
Subd. 2. License agents. Allows the commissioner to appoint agents to
issue the trail passes and allows the commissioner to revoke the appointment
and adopt additional rules for accounting and handling the passes. Requires
an agent to observe those rules and promptly deposit and remit all money to
the commissioner.
Subd. 3. Issuance of passes. Requires the commissioner and the agents to
issue the passes and requires that the passes be available through the
electronic licensing system.
Subd. 4. Agents fee. Allows an issuing fee of $1 to be charged and
allows the seller of the pass to retain the issuing fee. Requires issuing
fees collected by the commissioner to be deposited in the ATV account and
retained for operation of the electronic licensing system.
Subd. 5. Duplicate passes. Requires the commissioner and agents to issue
replacement passes for lost or destroyed passes for a fee of $2 and an
issuing fee of $.50.
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Receipts. Amends § 84D.15, subd. 2. Requires
the commissioner of finance to transfer $725,000 from the water recreation
account to the invasive species account in fiscal years 2010 and 2011.
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Easements for ingress and egress. Amends § 85.015, subd.
1b. Establishes an application fee for easements over trail right of ways in
order to cover the costs for reviewing and preparing the easement.
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Free entrance; totally and permanently disabled
veterans. Amends § 85.053, subd. 10. Allows free entrance to state
parks to any veteran with a total and permanent service-connected disability.
Currently, this is available to residents only.
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Issuance. Amends § 85.46, subd. 3. Technical clarifications as a
result of the new commercial annual horse trail pass established in the next
section. States that the section is effective January 1, 2010.
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Pass fees. Amends § 85.46, subd. 4. Establishes a commercial annual
horse trail pass that may be purchased for $200 which includes 15 passes.
Allows the purchase of additional or individual passes for $20. The pass may
be used in lieu of the existing horse trail pass that is required of a person
leading, riding, or driving a horse on state trails and other areas. States
that the section is effective January 1, 2010.
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Duplicate horse trail passes. Amends § 85.46, subd. 7. Technical clarification as a result of the
new commercial annual horse trail pass established in the previous section.
States that the section is effective January 1, 2010.
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25
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Prohibition on sales of
outdoor recreation system lands for certain purposes. Adds § 86A.055. Prohibits a
state agency from selling land that is classified as a unit of the outdoor
recreation system for anticipated savings to the general fund.
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Land management account.
Amends § 92.685.
Technical additions necessary as part of the new easement fees established in
this article.
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Prohibition against mining without permit; application
for permit. Amends § 93.481, subd. 1. Establishes the following
application fees for new permits to mine: $25,000 for a taconite mining
operation; $50,000 for a nonferrous metallic minerals operation; $10,000 for
a scram mining operation; and $5,000 for a peat operation.
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Term of permit; amendment. Amends § 93.481, subd.
3. Establishes a permit amendment application fee that is ten percent of the
applicable application fee for a new permit.
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Assignment. Amends § 93.481, subd. 5. Establishes a permit
assignment/transfer application fee that is ten percent of the applicable
application fee for a new permit.
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Mining administration account. Amends § 93.481, subd.
7. Makes technical changes in response to the new mining fees established in
the next section and states that interest accrued in the account used for
mining fee revenues stays in the account until appropriated.
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Reclamation fees.
Amends § 93.482.
Subd. 1. Annual permit to mine fee. Establishes the following annual permit to mine
fees: $60,000 for a taconite mining operation; $75,000 for a nonferrous
metallic minerals mining; $5,000 for a scram mining operation; and $1,000 for
a peat mine. The amount of the fee is half the applicable amount if the mine
had no production in the previous calendar year.
Subd. 2. Supplemental application fee
for taconite and nonferrous metallic minerals mining operation. Establishes a supplemental application fee for
taconite and nonferrous mining operations to cover the costs of reviewing the
application and preparing the permit.
Subd. 3. Reclamation fee on taconite
iron ore produced. Establishes a reclamation
fee to be paid by owners of taconite mined in the state of $.0075 per ton of
taconite iron ore mined.
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Additional restrictions on
riparian land. Amends §
94.342, subd. 3. Allows for exchanges of riparian state-administered (Class
A) land for other state-administered (Class A) land without regard as to
whether the second parcel of land is riparian.
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Deer, bear, and lifetime licenses. Amends § 97A.075, subd.
1. Modifies statutory appropriation language for emergency deer and wild
cervidae health management to remove an obsolete provision.
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34
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Water use permit processing
fee. Amends §
103G.271, subd. 6. Increases the water use permit processing fee for
large water users and increases the summer water surcharge from $20 to $30
per million gallons.
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Permit application fees. Amends § 103G.301, subd.
2. Clarifies that water permit fees are subject to the requirements of § 16A.1285 (which requires fees and other charges
to neither significantly over recover nor under recover costs, including
overhead costs, involved in providing the services). Makes permanent a
temporary statutory appropriation of the fees collected for large volumes
(more than 100 million gallons a year).
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Field inspection fees.
Amends § 103G.301, subd. 3. States
that field inspection fees for water permits must be credited to an account
in the natural resources fund and are appropriated to the commissioner.
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37
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Regulation of storm water discharges. Amends § 115.03, subd.
5c. Requires the PCA to develop standards or other tools to enable and
promote low impact development and other storm water management techniques
and provides a definition of “low impact development” for purposes of the
section.
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Enforcement funding.
Amends § 115.073. Removes a cap on
the amount of money that must be deposited in the environmental fund that is
recovered by the state through the enforcement of chapters 115, 115A, and
116.
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39
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License fee. Amends § 115.56, subd. 4. Raises the license fee for
licenses to install or service individual sewage treatment systems from $100
to $200 and caps the annual fee at $400 for businesses with multiple
licenses.
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40
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Fees. Amends § 115.77, subd. 1. Removes statutory fee amounts
for water supply system operator and wastewater operator examinations and
certifications and requires the commissioner to collect fees in amounts
necessary to cover the reasonable costs of reviewing applications and issuing
certifications.
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41
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Creation
of account; appropriations. Amends § 115A.1314, subd. 2. Allows the PCA commissioner to
determine refund amounts to manufacturers participating in the electronic
waste recycling program (rather than the commissioner of revenue) and extends
the statutory appropriation of the funds collected under the program to the
commissioner of the PCA from 2009 to 2011.
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Distribution;
formula. Amends § 115A.557, subd. 1.
Provides that when statewide Select Committee on Recycling and the
Environment (SCORE) grant funding increases above 2001 levels, the increase
is allocated to individual counties based on population. SCORE grants
support recycling and waste reduction programs.
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43
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Composting competitive grant
program. Adds § 115A.559.
Subd. 1. Grant program established. Establishes a program to provide
grants to political subdivisions to compost waste. Requires the commissioner
to actively recruit participants and requires each grant to have an
educational component.
Subd. 2. Application. Requires the PCA commissioner to develop an
application form and procedures; grant awards are determined by the
commissioner.
Subd. 3. Priorities. Requires grants to be awarded to projects that
provide the highest public benefits if applications exceed available funds
and requires projects to be locally administered, have measured outcomes and
include at least one of three listed priority elements.
Subd. 4. Cancellation of grant. States that grants awarded that are
not used within four years must be cancelled.
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44
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Yard waste prohibition. Amends § 115A.931. As of January 1,
2010, prohibits placing yard waste or source-separated compostable materials
generated in a metropolitan county in a plastic bag delivered to a transfer
station or compost facility, unless the plastic bag is compostable based on
specified standards stated in the bill. Exempts plastic bags that are
used to deliver waste, but are immediately emptied and removed. Exempts
residents of cities of the first class that have an organized collection
system for source separated compostable materials from compliance with this provision
until January 2013.
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45
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Feedlot permits; conditions;
county grants. Amends §
116.0711. Codifies the language for the county feedlot grants from 2005 law
(Minnesota Laws 2005, First Special Session chapter 1, article 2, section 2,
subdivision 2).
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46
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Training and certification programs. Amends § 116.41, subd.
2. Requires the PCA to collect fees
in amounts necessary to cover the costs of training programs.
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47
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Definitions.
Adds § 116.9401. (e) "Chemical of high concern" means a
chemical identified by an authoritative governmental entity on the basis of
credible scientific evidence as being known or suspected with a high degree
of probability to:
(1)
harm the normal development of a fetus or child or cause other developmental
toxicity;
(2) cause cancer, genetic damage, or reproductive harm;
(3) disrupt the endocrine or hormone system;
(4) damage the nervous or
immune system, or organs, or cause other systemic
toxicity; or
(5) be persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic.
(m) “Priority chemical” means a
chemical of high concern that is contained in a product offered for sale in
Minnesota and that meets the requirements established in section 49.
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48
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Identification of chemicals
of high concern. Adds §
116.9402. Requires the Department of Health (“department”), after
consulting with the PCA, to identify chemicals of high concern by July 1,
2010. Allows the department to add or remove chemicals from the
list. Specifies lists of chemicals from several sources that the
department must consider. Chemicals listed by another state as harmful
to human health may also be considered for inclusion as chemicals of high
concern.
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49
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Identification of priority
chemicals. Adds § 116.9403. Requires
the department to publish a list of priority chemicals by February 1, 2011,
and establishes criteria for designating a chemical of high concern a
priority chemical, including that the chemical:
·
has been identified by the federal
Environmental Protection Agency as a high- production volume chemical
(1 million pounds annually); and
·
has been found in humans, indoor air,
drinking water, or elsewhere in the home environment.
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50
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Applicability. Adds § 116.9405. Exempts certain products
and actors from the provisions of this article, including:
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used products, motor vehicles or
watercraft or their parts, except for detachable car seats;
·
priority chemicals present in
combustible fuels or generated solely as combustion by-products;
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consumer electronics products; and
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retailers, unless acting knowingly to
sell a prohibited product.
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51
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Donations to the state. Adds § 116.9406.
Allows the commissioner to accept donations or grants to carry out activities
of sections 47 to 50.
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52
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Participation in interstate
chemicals clearinghouse. Adds §
116.9407. Authorizes the agency to participate in an interstate
chemicals clearinghouse to promote safer chemicals in consumer products.
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53
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Costs. Amends § 116C.834, subd. 1. Strikes language
exempting fees charged to generators of low-level radioactive waste to
support the cost of activities of the state under the Midwest Interstate
Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact from the requirements of section 16A.1285,
thus making the fees subject to the prohibition on undercollection or
overcollection.
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54
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Greenhouse gas emissions
reporting. Adds § 216H.021.
Subd.
1. Commissioner to establish reporting system and maintain inventory. Requires the commissioner of the Pollution Control
Agency to establish a system for reporting and maintaining an inventory of
greenhouse gas emissions. Current Minnesota Statutes, section 216H.02
establishes goals for reducing these emissions.
Subd.
2. Reporting system design. Requires
that a reporting system be designed to coordinate with other regional or
federal reporting and inventory systems, to the extent practicable. Specifies
sources that must report emissions, including those whose annual CO2 equivalent
emissions exceed a threshold established by the commissioner at a level
between 10,000 and 25,000 tons. Requires that the commissioner consider
requiring reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels and
from natural gas combustion that are not included in reporting from
stationary sources. Directs that if the commissioner determines these should
not be included in the initial reporting system, the reasons for that
decision be reported to chairs of legislative committees with jurisdiction
over energy and environmental policy. Requires a facility reporting
emissions under this section to maintain data used to create the reports for
at least five years.
Subd.
3. Rules. Authorizes the commissioner to
adopt rules for purposes of this section.
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55
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High-GWP greenhouse gas. Amends § 216H.10, subd. 7. Modifies
the definition of “high GWP greenhouse gas to include nitrous trifluoride and
any other gas the PCA determines, by rule, to have a high global warming
potential.
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56
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High-GWP greenhouse gas
reporting. Amends § 216H.11. Raises the threshold for high-GWP greenhouse
gas reporting requirements from 500 to 10,000 metric tons, and specifies that
it applies to a person who purchases such an amount for use or retail sale in
the state. Authorizes the commissioner to adopt rules to establish different
reporting requirements. Specifies that joining a regional or national
greenhouse gas registry that includes verification of the emission data
satisfies the reporting requirement under this section.
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57
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Standards for labeling
plastic bags. Amends § 325E.046.
Subd.
1. Biodegradable label. Prohibits, after
January 1, 2010, the manufacture or sale in Minnesota of a plastic bag
labeled “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or labeled in any way that implies
that the plastic bag will decompose, unless a scientifically based standard
for biodegradability is developed and the plastic bag is certified as meeting
that standard.
Subd.
2. Compostable label. Similar to
previous subdivision, but applies to items labeled as “compostable.”
Requires that the bag meet a specified American Society for Testing and
Materials standard and be so labeled.
Subd.
3. Enforcement; civil penalty; injunctive relief. Provides that a manufacturer, distributor, or
wholesaler who willfully violates this section is subject to a civil penalty
of $100 per violation, up to $5,000, and may be enjoined from such
violations. Permits the attorney general to enforce subdivision 1,
including acceptance of an assurance of discontinuance, as permitted in
section 8.31, subdivision 2b.
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58
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Waste management by Hennepin
County. Amends § 383B.236. Permits Hennepin County to use money in the
county solid and hazardous waste fund received from the sale of energy and
recovered materials for program expenses of the Department of Environmental
Services or its successor.
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59
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Sale of state land. Amends Laws 2005, ch. 156, art. 2, § 45, as amended.
Extends the deadline until the end of the next biennium the requirement for
selling state land for anticipated savings to the general fund.
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60
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Land and mineral resources management. Amends Laws 2007, ch. 57, art. 1, § 4, subd. 2.
Extends the availability of an appropriation from 2007 for the DNR’s land
records management system.
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61
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Fish and Wildlife Management. Amends Laws 2008, ch. 363, art. 5, § 4, subd. 7. Removes a
requirement that funds for a shooting sports facility be used for a facility
at the Vermillion Highlands WMA, and requires the funds to be used for a
facility in the seven county metropolitan area.
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62
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SCORE reporting. Authorizes an abbreviated SCORE report due on April 1,
2010. Establishes a working group to re-examine SCORE reporting requirements
and recommend changes that ensure consistent estimation methods are used and that
reduce the cost of reporting, including, possibly, the use of multicounty
reporting. Recommendations are to be made to the legislature by January
15, 2010.
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63
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Priority chemicals reports. Requires the agency to report to the legislature by
January 15, 2010, regarding its plans to implement sections 47 to 52 and the progress being
made in other jurisdictions to identify and reduce the use of high priority
chemicals in children’s products. Requires the agency to report to the
legislature by December 15, 2010, on mechanisms used in other jurisdictions to
reduce and phase out the use of high priority chemicals in children’s
products and to promote the use of safer alternatives. The report must also
recommend incentives for firms to design products using the principles of green
chemistry and life-cycle analysis.
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64
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Reorganization prohibition;
Environmental Quality Board. Prohibits
the commissioner of administration from reorganizing the Environmental
Quality Board within another agency before July 1, 2011.
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65
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Environmental review streamlining report. Requires the commissioner of the PCA to submit a
report to the legislature on options to streamline the environmental review
process by January 15, 2010. Requires the commissioner to consult with state
agencies, local government units, and business, agriculture and environmental
advocacy organizations with an interest in environmental review. Requires the
report to include options that reduce the amount of time required and the
costs of environmental review, while maintaining air, land, and water quality
standards.
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66
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Compensation of governor’s staff. Prohibits the DNR, PCA, and BWSR from using funds
appropriated in this article or statutory or open appropriations to directly
or indirectly pay for the compensation of staff in the governor’s office.
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67
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Fish consumption advisories. Requires the commissioner of natural resources to work in cooperation
with the commissioner of health to ensure that fish consumption advisories
are displayed in at least four different languages.
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68
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Carbon sequestration forestry report. Requires the Minnesota Forest Resources Council
to review the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group’s recommendation to
increase carbon sequestration in forests by planting one million trees and
submit a report to the legislature by January 15, 2010. Requires the report
to include recommendations on implementation and analysis of the number of
acres available for tree planting, the types of native species best suited,
the availability of planting stock, and the costs.
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69
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Repealer. Repeals
Laws 2008, ch. 363, art. 5, § 30 (existing mining fees to be replaced by fees
established in this article).
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Article 2: Energy Finance
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1
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Summary of
Appropriations. Summarizes
appropriations by fund and year.
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2
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Energy finance appropriation. Technical explanation of terms.
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3
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Department of Commerce. Specifies general purposes for which the
appropriations may be used.
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4
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Public Utilities Commission. Summarizes appropriations by year.
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5
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General powers. Amends § 45.027, subdivision 1. Permits
the commissioner of commerce to assess entities the department regulates for
the costs of investigations ordered by the commissioner. Specifies how
the costs of the investigation are to be determined. Requires the
commissioner to deposit the money collected into the general fund. This
section applies to the department’s regulation of insurance companies,
financial institutions, and various related occupations, but does not apply
to the energy-related duties of the department. Does not apply to
individuals licensed as insurance agents or real estate brokers or sales
persons if the investigation results in no finding of a violation of law.
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6
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Fees other than examination fees. Amends § 60A.14,
subdivision 1. Increases the filing fees charged by the commerce department
to insurance companies for filing property and casualty insurance policy
forms, premium rates, and compliance certifications with the department for
review. This includes auto and homeowner’s policy forms. The
reference to compliance certifications involves a procedure permitted since
2005 for auto and homeowner’s insurance, in which an insurer or rate service
organization files a certification with the department certifying that a
specific new policy form or premium rate complies with all Minnesota laws,
and the insurer may then use the policy form or premium rate immediately upon
filing the certification. This section of the bill does not affect the
use of this “file-and-use” system; it just increases the filing fee for using
it. These filing fees are deposited in the general fund.
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7
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Minnesota Green Enterprise Assistance. Adds §
116J.438. Directs the commissioner of employment and economic development,
in consultation with the commissioner of commerce, to coordinate state agency
collaboration on green enterprise and green economy projects in order to
expedite the delivery of grants, awarding of licenses and permits, etc.
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8
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Assessing all public
utilities. Amends § 216B.62, subdivision 3.
Strikes language regarding assessments for the alternative engineering
activity (which provides technical assistance to further conservation and
renewable energy projects), which are assessed as specified under section 11,
below.
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9
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Objections. Amends § 216B.62, subdivision 4. Provides that the current administrative treatment for
utility objections regarding assessments applies to the newly codified
assessments in section 11, below.
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10
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Assessing cooperatives and
municipals. Amends § 216B.62, subdivision 5.
Strikes language regarding assessments for the alternative engineering
activity (which provides technical assistance to further conservation and
renewable energy projects) for cooperatives and municipal utilities.
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Assessing all utilities. Adds § 216B.62, subdivision 7. Authorizes the department of commerce to assess public
and municipal utilities and cooperative electric associations for all
activities under chapter 216C.
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Bulk installation of solar
photovoltaic panels on school buildings; feasibility study and report. Requires the director of the Office of Energy Security,
in conjunction with the commissioner of education, to study the technical and
economic feasibility of installing solar photovoltaic panels on school
buildings, and report the results to the legislature by January 15, 2010.
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Appropriations;
cancellations. Cancels and
re-appropriates money from several funds for green enterprise assistance and
renewable energy purposes.
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