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Ice arena air bill revised

Published (4/22/2010)
By Lauren Radomski
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A revised proposal on how to ensure safe air quality in Minnesota’s indoor ice arenas is gaining little headway with arena managers.

Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul) sponsors HF3512, which would set new licensing, equipment and air monitoring standards for arenas and their operators. Hansen introduced the bill after one of his constituents, a longtime figure skater, was diagnosed with chronic carbon monoxide poisoning, a condition she attributed to emissions from ice maintenance equipment.

Under the bill, arenas would need to be licensed by the Department of Health beginning in 2011, with lower licensing fees for arenas using electric ice maintenance equipment. A certified arena operator would need to be on the premises whenever an arena is open, and non-electric equipment without a three-way catalytic converter or equivalent device would be prohibited. By 2015, arenas would need to exclusively use electric equipment, contain a continuous air monitoring device or meet criteria for an exemption from the department.

The issue has been marked by high emotions on all sides, similar to past debates on pool and bleacher safety, Hansen told the House Cultural and Outdoor Resources Finance Division April 21.

“They’re all new things that people didn’t think about and we just took for granted, but … we did come to some ways of dealing with things differently,” he said.

The Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission would prefer the department finish its rulemaking on air quality standards before lawmakers take action of the topic, said Joel Carlson, a member of the MASC board. The department began reviewing its 1977 standard before Hansen’s bill was introduced.

Division members did not take any action on the bill, but may revisit it next week. A companion, SF3175, sponsored by Sen. Ellen Anderson (DFL-St. Paul), was laid over by the Senate Health and Human Services Budget Division April 13.

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