Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1994, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 585-S.F.No. 1788
An act relating to waste management; applying
government waste reduction requirements to
compilations of game and fish laws; clarifying the
state's waste management goals; adding heat pumps to
the definition of major appliances; requiring public
education on reuse; authorizing larger capital
assistance grants to resource recovery projects under
certain circumstances; listing preferences for use of
packaging; establishing enforcement of the authority
of certain counties to inspect records of certain
facilities; clarifying management of waste antifreeze
and motor oil filters; establishing a process for
resolution of disputes related to toxics in packaging
and requiring a report; clarifying the prohibition on
toxics in products and providing for exemptions;
authorizing the issuance of field citations;
prohibiting the venting of CFCs; requiring and
authorizing training and certification of appliance
recyclers and servicers respectively; removing the
federal government from the definition of commercial
transporter of medical waste; requiring medical waste
management plans to contain information regarding
mailing of sharps; banning sale of apparel containing
mercury switches; modifying requirements for county
service contracts; authorizing private ownership of
solid waste facilities; permitting counties and local
governments to impose certain conditions on disposal
of unprocessed solid waste; authorizing counties to
require record keeping; expanding the restriction on
disposal of unprocessed waste from the metropolitan
area; requiring reports; providing penalties and
remedies; amending Minnesota Statutes 1992, sections
97A.051, subdivision 1; 115A.02; 115A.03, subdivision
17a; 115A.072, subdivision 4; 115A.5501, subdivisions
1, 2, and by adding subdivisions; 115A.554; 115A.557,
subdivision 3; 115A.87; 115A.882, subdivision 3, and
by adding a subdivision; 115A.9157, subdivisions 4 and
5; 115A.918, subdivision 1, and by adding a
subdivision; 115A.919, subdivision 3; 115A.921,
subdivision 1; 115A.9301, by adding a subdivision;
115A.95; 115A.9561, subdivision 2; 115A.965,
subdivision 6, and by adding a subdivision; 116.07,
subdivision 4h; 116.731, by adding a subdivision;
116.76, subdivision 4; 116.92, subdivision 8; 473.803,
by adding a subdivision; 473.811, subdivisions 5 and
5a; 473.843, subdivision 1; 473.844, subdivision 1a;
473.845, subdivision 3; and 473.848, subdivisions 1
and 5; Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, sections
115A.54, subdivision 2a; 115A.5501, subdivision 3;
115A.916; 115A.929; 115A.9651; 115A.981, subdivision
3; 116.79, subdivision 1; 400.04, subdivision 4;
473.149, subdivision 6; and 473.846; proposing coding
for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 115A; 116;
and 473; repealing Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement,
section 115A.542.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 97A.051,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [COMPILATION OF LAWS.] As soon as
practicable after each legislative session, the commissioner,
with the cooperation of the attorney general and the revisor of
statutes, shall assemble the current laws and permanent rules
relating to wild animals and index the laws and rules properly.
This compilation shall be printed in pamphlet form of pocket
size, and 50 copies distributed to each senator, 25 copies to
each representative, and ten copies shall be distributed to each
county auditor. Section 3.195 governs distribution of copies to
members of the legislature. Up to 10,000 additional copies may
be printed for general distribution.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.02, is
amended to read:
115A.02 [LEGISLATIVE DECLARATION OF POLICY; PURPOSES.]
(a) It is the goal of this chapter to improve protect the
state's land, air, water, and other natural resources and the
public health by improving waste management in the state to
serve the following purposes:
(1) Reduction in the amount and toxicity of waste
generated;
(2) Separation and recovery of materials and energy from
waste;
(3) Reduction in indiscriminate dependence on disposal of
waste;
(4) Coordination of solid waste management among political
subdivisions; and
(5) Orderly and deliberate development and financial
security of waste facilities including disposal facilities.
(b) The waste management goal of the state is to foster an
integrated waste management system in a manner appropriate to
the characteristics of the waste stream and thereby protect the
state's land, air, water, and other natural resources and the
public health. The following waste management practices are in
order of preference:
(1) waste reduction and reuse;
(2) waste recycling;
(3) composting of yard waste and food waste;
(4) resource recovery through mixed municipal solid waste
composting or incineration; and
(5) land disposal.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.03,
subdivision 17a, is amended to read:
Subd. 17a. [MAJOR APPLIANCES.] "Major appliances" means
clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, hot water heaters,
residential heat pumps, furnaces, garbage disposals, trash
compactors, conventional and microwave ovens, ranges and stoves,
air conditioners, dehumidifiers, refrigerators, and freezers.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.072,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [EDUCATION, PROMOTION, AND PROCUREMENT.] The
office shall include waste reduction and reuse, including
packaging reduction and reuse, as an element of its program of
public education on waste management required under this
section. The waste reduction and reuse education program must
include dissemination of information and may include an award
program for model waste reduction and reuse efforts. Waste
reduction and reuse educational efforts must also include
provision of information about and promotion of the model
procurement program developed by the commissioner of
administration under section 115A.15, subdivision 7, or any
other model procurement program that results in significant
waste reduction and reuse.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
115A.54, subdivision 2a, is amended to read:
Subd. 2a. [SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PROJECTS.] (a) The
director shall provide technical and financial assistance for
the acquisition and betterment of solid waste management
projects as provided in this subdivision and section 115A.52.
Money appropriated for the purposes of this subdivision must be
distributed as grants.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), a project may
receive grant assistance up to 25 percent of the capital cost of
the project or $2,000,000, whichever is less, except that
projects constructed as a result of intercounty cooperative
agreements may receive (1) grant assistance up to 25 percent of
the capital cost of the project; or (2) $2,000,000 times the
number of participating counties, whichever is less.
(c) A recycling project or a project to compost or
cocompost waste may receive grant assistance up to 50 percent of
the capital cost of the project or $2,000,000, whichever is
less, except that projects completed as a result of intercounty
cooperative agreements may receive (1) grant assistance up to 50
percent of the capital cost of the project; or (2) $2,000,000
times the number of participating counties, whichever is
less. The following projects may also receive grant assistance
in the amounts specified in this paragraph:
(1) a project to improve control of or reduce air emissions
at an existing resource recovery facility; and
(2) a project to substantially increase the recovery of
materials or energy, substantially reduce the amount or toxicity
of waste processing residuals, or expand the capacity of an
existing resource recovery facility to meet the resource
recovery needs of an expanded region if each county from which
waste is or would be received has achieved a recycling rate in
excess of the goals in section 115A.551, and is implementing
aggressive waste reduction and household hazardous waste
management programs.
(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (e), the director may award
grants for transfer stations that will initially transfer waste
to landfills if the transfer stations are part of a planned
resource recovery project, the county where the planned resource
recovery facility will be located has a comprehensive solid
waste management plan approved by the director, and the solid
waste management plan proposes the development of the resource
recovery facility. If the proposed resource recovery facility
is not in place and operating within eight years of the date of
the grant award, the recipient shall repay the grant amount to
the state.
(e) Projects without resource recovery are not eligible for
assistance.
(f) In addition to any assistance received under paragraph
(b) or (c), a project may receive grant assistance for the cost
of tests necessary to determine the appropriate pollution
control equipment for the project or the environmental effects
of the use of any product or material produced by the project.
(g) In addition to the application requirements of section
115A.51, an application for a project serving eligible
jurisdictions in only a single county must demonstrate that
cooperation with jurisdictions in other counties to develop the
project is not needed or not feasible. Each application must
also demonstrate that the project is not financially prudent
without the state assistance, because of the applicant's
financial capacity and the problems inherent in the waste
management situation in the area, particularly transportation
distances and limited waste supply and markets for resources
recovered.
(h) For the purposes of this subdivision, a "project" means
a processing facility, together with any transfer stations,
transmission facilities, and other related and appurtenant
facilities primarily serving the processing facility. The
director shall adopt rules for the program by July 1, 1985.
(i) Notwithstanding anything in this subdivision to the
contrary, a project to construct a new mixed municipal solid
waste transfer station that has an enforceable commitment of at
least ten years, or of sufficient length to retire bonds sold
for the facility, to serve an existing resource recovery
facility may receive grant assistance up to 75 percent of the
capital cost of the project if addition of the transfer station
will increase substantially the geographical area served by the
resource recovery facility and the ability of the resource
recovery facility to operate more efficiently on a regional
basis and the facility meets the criteria in paragraph (c), the
second clause (2). A transfer station eligible for assistance
under this paragraph is not eligible for assistance under any
other paragraph of this subdivision.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.5501,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [STATEWIDE WASTE PACKAGING REDUCTION GOAL.]
It is the goal of the state that there be a minimum 25 percent
statewide per capita reduction in the amount of discarded
packaging delivered to solid waste composting, incineration,
refuse derived fuel and disposal facilities by December 31,
1995, based on a reasonable estimate of the amount of packaging
that was delivered to solid waste composting, incineration, and
disposal facilities in calendar year 1992.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.5501,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [MEASUREMENT; PROCEDURES.] To measure the overall
percentage of packaging in the statewide solid waste stream, the
commissioner and the chair of the metropolitan council, in
consultation with the director, shall each conduct an annual
four-season solid waste composition study in the nonmetropolitan
and metropolitan areas respectively or shall develop an
alternative method that is as statistically reliable as a waste
composition study to measure the percentage of packaging in the
waste stream.
Beginning in 1993, the chair of the council shall submit
the results from the metropolitan area to the commissioner by
March 1 of each year. The commissioner shall average the
nonmetropolitan and metropolitan results and submit the
statewide percentage, along with a statistically reliable margin
of error, to the director by April 1 of each year. The director
shall report the information to the legislative commission on
waste management by July 1 of each year. The 1994 report must
include a discussion of the reliability of data gathered under
this subdivision and the methodology used to determine a
statistically reliable margin of error.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
115A.5501, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [FACILITY COOPERATION AND REPORTS.] The owner or
operator of a solid waste composting, incineration, refuse
derived fuel or disposal facility shall allow access upon
reasonable notice to authorized office, agency, or metropolitan
council staff for the purpose of conducting waste composition
studies or otherwise assessing the amount of total packaging in
the waste delivered to the facility under this section.
Beginning in 1993, by February 1 of each year the owner or
operator of a facility governed by this subdivision shall submit
a report to the commissioner, on a form prescribed by the
commissioner, specifying the total amount of solid waste
received by the facility between January 1 and December 31 of
the previous year. The commissioner shall calculate the total
amount of solid waste delivered to solid waste facilities from
the reports received from the facility owners or operators and
shall report the aggregate amount to the director by April 1 of
each year. The commissioner shall assess a nonforgivable
administrative penalty under section 116.072 of $500 plus any
forgivable amount necessary to enforce this subdivision on any
owner or operator who fails to submit a report required by this
subdivision.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.5501, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. [RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER REDUCTION GOALS.] If
the goal in subdivision 1 is met, the director shall include in
the report required in subdivision 4 recommendations for
appropriate goals for further reducing the amount of discarded
packaging delivered to facilities. The report must include an
analysis of the costs of further reductions.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.5501, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 6. [DEFINITION.] For the purposes of this section,
"facility" means a composting, incineration, refuse-derived
fuel, or disposal facility that accepts mixed municipal solid
waste or construction waste.
Sec. 11. [115A.5502] [PACKAGING PRACTICES; PREFERENCES;
GOALS.]
Packaging forms a substantial portion of solid waste and
contributes to environmental degradation and the costs of
managing solid waste. It is imperative to reduce the amount and
toxicity of packaging that must be managed as solid waste. In
order to achieve significant reduction of packaging in solid
waste and to assist packagers and others to meet the packaging
reduction goal in section 115A.5501, the goal of the state is
that items be distributed without any packaging where feasible
and, only when necessary to protect health and safety or product
integrity, with the minimal amount of packaging possible. The
following categories of packaging are listed in order of
preference for use by all persons who find it necessary to
package items for distribution or use in the state:
(1) minimal packaging that contains no intentionally
introduced toxic materials and that is designed to be and
actually is reused for its original purpose at least five times;
(2) minimal packaging that contains no intentionally
introduced toxic materials, that is recyclable, and is regularly
collected through recycling collection programs available to at
least 75 percent of the residents of the state;
(3) minimal packaging that does not comply with clauses (1)
and (2) because it is required under federal or state law and
for which there does not exist a commercially feasible
alternative that does comply with clauses (1) and (2);
(4) packaging that contains no intentionally introduced
toxic materials but does not comply with clauses (1) to (3); and
(5) all other packaging.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.554, is
amended to read:
115A.554 [AUTHORITY OF SANITARY DISTRICTS.]
A sanitary district with the authority to regulate solid
waste has the authority authorities and duty duties of
counties within the district's boundary for purposes of sections
115A.46, subdivision 4; 115A.48; 115A.551; 115A.552; 115A.553;
115A.919; 115A.929; 115A.93; 115A.96, subdivision 6; 115A.961;
115A.991; 375.18, subdivision 14; and 400.08, subdivision 5
except subdivision 4, paragraph (b); 400.16; and 400.161.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.557,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE MONEY.] (a) To be
eligible to receive money distributed by the office under this
section, a county shall within one year of October 4, 1989:
(1) create a separate account in its general fund to credit
the money; and
(2) set up accounting procedures to ensure that money in
the separate account is spent only for the purposes in
subdivision 2.
(b) In each following year, each county shall also:
(1) have in place an approved solid waste management plan
or master plan including a recycling implementation strategy
under section 115A.551, subdivision 7, or 473.803, subdivision
1e, and a household hazardous waste management plan under
section 115A.96, subdivision 6, by the dates specified in those
provisions;
(2) submit a report by March April 1 of each year to the
office detailing how the money was spent and the resulting gains
achieved in solid waste management practices during the previous
calendar year; and
(3) provide evidence to the office that local revenue equal
to 25 percent of the money sought for distribution under this
section will be spent for the purposes in subdivision 2.
(c) The office shall withhold all or part of the funds to
be distributed to a county under this section if the county
fails to comply with this subdivision and subdivision 2.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.87, is
amended to read:
115A.87 [JUDICIAL REVIEW; ATTORNEY GENERAL TO PROVIDE
COUNSEL.]
An action challenging a designation must be brought within
60 days of the approval of the designation by the reviewing
authority. The action is subject to section 562.02.
In any action challenging a designation ordinance or the
implementation of a designation ordinance, the person bringing
the challenge shall notify the attorney general. The attorney
general may intervene in any administrative or court action to
represent the state's interest in designation of solid waste,
and, on request of a county whose designation ordinance has been
challenged, provide legal representation for the county in any
administrative or court action related to the challenge.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.882,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [INSPECTION.] A person authorized by a county in
which a designation ordinance is effective may, anywhere in the
state:
(1) upon presentation of identification and without a
search warrant, inspect or copy the records required to be kept
on a waste collection vehicle under subdivision 2 and inspect
the waste on the vehicle at the time of deposit of the waste at
a facility;
(2) when reasonable notice under the circumstances has been
given, upon presentation of identification and without a search
warrant, inspect or copy the records of an owner or operator of
a solid waste facility that are required to be maintained under
subdivision 2;
(3) request, in writing, copies of records of a solid waste
collector that indicate the type, origin, and weight or, if
applicable, the volume of waste collected, the identity of the
facility at which the waste was deposited, and the date of
deposit at the facility; and
(4) upon presentation of identification and without a
search warrant, inspect or copy that portion of the business
records of a waste collector necessary to comply with clause (3)
at the central record-keeping location of the waste collector
only if the collector fails to provide copies of the records
within 15 days of receipt of a written request for them, unless
the time has been extended by agreement of the parties.
Records or information received, inspected, or copied by a
county under this section are classified as nonpublic data as
defined in section 13.02, subdivision 9, and may be used by the
county solely for enforcement of a designation ordinance. A
waste collector or the owner or operator of a waste facility
shall maintain business records needed to comply with this
section for two years.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.882, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4. [CIVIL ENFORCEMENT; VENUE.] (a) A person who
fails to comply with this section is subject to:
(1) an action to compel performance or to restrain or
enjoin any activity that interferes with the requirement to keep
records in subdivision 2 or the requirement to allow timely
entry and inspection in subdivision 3;
(2) damages caused by the failure to keep records or by
refusal to allow timely entry or inspection;
(3) a civil penalty payable to the county seeking
enforcement of up to $10,000 per day for each day of refusal to
allow timely entry or inspection; or
(4) any or all of the above.
(b) A county in which a designation ordinance is in effect
may enforce this section by commencing an action in district
court in the county in which the facility is located or in the
county in which the designation ordinance is in effect. The
court may compel performance in any manner deemed appropriate by
the court, including, but not limited to, issuance of an order
to show cause, a temporary restraining order, or an injunction.
In addition, the court may order payment of damages or a civil
penalty or both. In an action brought by a county to enforce
this section in which the county substantially prevails, the
court may order payment by the defendant of the county's costs
and disbursements, including reasonable attorney fees.
Sec. 17. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.9157,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [PILOT PROJECTS.] By April 15, 1992,
manufacturers whose rechargeable batteries or products powered
by rechargeable batteries are sold in this state shall implement
pilot projects for the collection and proper management of all
rechargeable batteries and the participating manufacturers'
products powered by nonremovable rechargeable batteries.
Manufacturers may act as a group or through a representative
organization. The pilot projects must run for a minimum of 18
months and be designed to collect sufficient statewide data for
the design and implementation of permanent collection and
management programs that may be reasonably expected to collect
at least 90 percent of waste rechargeable batteries and the
participating manufacturers' products powered by rechargeable
batteries that are generated in the state.
By December 1, 1991, the manufacturers or their
representative organization shall submit plans for the projects
to the legislative commission. At least every six months during
the pilot projects the manufacturers shall submit progress
reports to the commission. The commission shall review the
plans and progress reports.
By November 1, 1993, the manufacturers or their
representative organization shall report to the legislative
commission the final results of the projects and plans for
implementation of permanent programs. The commission shall
review the final results and plans.
By October 1, 1994, and by October 1, 1995, each
manufacturer or a representative organization shall submit to
the commission additional reports that detail progress made
toward implementing permanent management programs. The October
1, 1995, report must include a description of the programs
implemented under subdivision 5. These progress reports must
include the estimated amount of rechargeable batteries subject
to this section sold in the state by each manufacturer and the
amount of batteries each collected during the previous year. A
representative organization may report amounts in aggregate for
all the members of the organization.
Sec. 18. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.9157,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS.] By April
15, 1994 September 20, 1995, the manufacturers or their
representative organization shall implement permanent programs,
based on the results of the pilot projects required in
subdivision 4, that may be reasonably expected to collect 90
percent of the waste rechargeable batteries and the
participating manufacturers' products powered by rechargeable
batteries that are generated in the state. The batteries and
products collected must be recycled or otherwise managed or
disposed of properly.
In every odd-numbered year after 1995, each manufacturer or
a representative organization shall provide information to the
commission that specifies at least the estimated amount of
rechargeable batteries subject to this section sold in the state
by each manufacturer and the amount of batteries each collected
during the previous two years. A representative organization
may report the amounts in aggregate for all the members of the
organization.
Sec. 19. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
115A.916, is amended to read:
115A.916 [MOTOR AND VEHICLE FLUIDS AND FILTERS;
PROHIBITIONS.]
(a) A person may not knowingly place motor oil, brake
fluid, power steering fluid, transmission fluid, motor oil
filters, or antifreeze:
(1) in solid waste or in a solid waste management facility
other than a recycling facility or a household hazardous waste
collection facility;
(2) in or on the land, unless approved by the agency; or
(3) in or on the waters of the state or in a stormwater or
wastewater collection or treatment system.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "antifreeze" does not
include small amounts of antifreeze contained in water used to
flush the cooling system of a vehicle after the antifreeze has
been drained and does not include deicer that has been used on
the exterior of a vehicle.
(c) This section does not apply to antifreeze placed in a
wastewater collection system that includes a publicly or
privately owned treatment works that is permitted by the agency
until July 1, 1995 December 31, 1996.
(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), motor oil filters and
portions of motor oil filters may be processed at a permitted
mixed municipal solid waste resource recovery facility that
directly burns the waste if:
(1) the facility is subject to an industrial waste
management plan that addresses management of motor oil filters
and the owner or operator of the facility can demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the commissioner that the facility is in
compliance with that plan;
(2) the facility recovers ferrous metal after incineration
for recycling as part of its operation; and
(3) the motor oil filters are collected separately from
mixed municipal solid waste and are not combined with it except
for the purpose of incinerating the waste.
Sec. 20. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.918,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [SCOPE.] The definitions in this section
apply to this section and sections 115A.919 and 115A.921 to
115A.929.
Sec. 21. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.918, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 2a. [EQUIVALENT.] For mixed municipal solid waste,
the measure of "equivalent" or "equivalent cubic yards of waste"
is 3.33 cubic yards per ton of waste.
Sec. 22. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.919,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [EXEMPTIONS.] (a) Waste residue from recycling
facilities at which recyclable materials are separated or
processed for the purpose of recycling, or from energy and
resource recovery facilities at which solid waste is processed
for the purpose of extracting, reducing, converting to energy,
or otherwise separating and preparing solid waste for reuse
shall be exempt from any fee imposed by a county under this
section if there is at least an 85 percent volume reduction in
the solid waste processed. Before any fee is reduced, the
verification procedures of section 473.843, subdivision 1,
paragraph (c), must be followed and submitted to the appropriate
county, except that for facilities operating outside of the
metropolitan area the commissioner shall prescribe procedures
for verifying the required 85 percent volume reduction.
(b) A facility permitted for the disposal of construction
debris is exempt from 25 percent of a fee imposed under
subdivision 1 if the facility has implemented a recycling
program approved by the county and 25 percent if the facility
contains a liner and leachate collection system approved by the
agency.
Sec. 23. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.921,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [MIXED MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.] A city or
town may impose a fee, not to exceed $1 per cubic yard of waste,
or its equivalent, on operators of facilities for the disposal
of mixed municipal solid waste located within the city or town.
The revenue from the fees must be credited to the city or town
general fund. Revenue produced by 25 cents of the fee must be
used only for purposes of landfill abatement or for purposes of
mitigating and compensating for the local risks, costs, and
other adverse effects of facilities. Revenue produced by the
balance of the fee may be used for any general fund purpose.
Waste residue from recycling facilities at which recyclable
materials are separated or processed for the purpose of
recycling, or from energy and resource recovery facilities at
which solid waste is processed for the purpose of extracting,
reducing, converting to energy, or otherwise separating and
preparing solid waste for reuse shall be exempt from the fee
imposed by a city or town under this section if there is at
least an 85 percent volume reduction in the solid waste
processed. Before any fee is reduced, the verification
procedures of section 473.843, subdivision 1, paragraph (c),
must be followed and submitted to the appropriate city or town,
except that for facilities operating outside of the metropolitan
area the commissioner shall prescribe procedures for verifying
the required 85 percent volume reduction.
Sec. 24. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
115A.929, is amended to read:
115A.929 [FEES; ACCOUNTING.]
Each local government unit political subdivision that
provides for solid waste management shall account for all
revenue collected from waste management fees, together with
interest earned on revenue from the fees, separately from other
revenue collected by the local government unit political
subdivision and shall report revenue collected from the fees and
use of the revenue separately from other revenue and use of
revenue in any required financial report or audit. For the
purposes of this section, "waste management fees" means:
(1) all fees, charges, and surcharges collected under
sections 115A.919, 115A.921, and 115A.923;
(2) all tipping fees collected at waste management
facilities owned or operated by the local government unit
political subdivision;
(3) all charges imposed by the local government unit
political subdivision for waste collection and management
services; and
(4) any other fees, charges, or surcharges imposed on waste
or for the purpose of waste management, whether collected
directly from generators or indirectly through property taxes or
as part of utility or other charges for services provided by the
local government unit political subdivision.
Sec. 25. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.9301, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 3. [ALTERNATIVE.] A local government unit may
satisfy the requirements of this section by establishing at
least three price categories for collection of household mixed
municipal solid waste to include, for households that generate
small volumes of waste, a waste collection unit that is smaller
than and priced lower than for other generators if the local
government unit:
(1) operates or contracts for the operation of a
residential recycling program that collects more categories of
recyclable materials than required in section 115A.552;
(2) has a residential participation rate in its recycling
programs of at least 70 percent or in excess of the
participation rate for the county in which it is located,
whichever is greater;
(3) is located in a county that has exceeded the recycling
goals in section 115A.551; and
(4) generates, by all waste generators in the city, an
amount of mixed municipal solid waste that is managed by
incineration, production of refuse-derived fuel, mixed municipal
solid waste composting, or disposal that is no greater, in
proportion to the total amount of waste managed as listed above
by all waste generators in the county in which the city is
located, than it was for calendar year 1993.
Sec. 26. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.95, is
amended to read:
115A.95 [RECYCLABLE MATERIALS.]
A disposal facility or a resource recovery facility that is
composting waste, burning waste, or converting waste to energy
or to materials for combustion, and is owned or operated by a
public agency or supported by public funds or by obligations
issued by a public agency, may not accept source-separated
recyclable materials, and a solid waste collector or transporter
may not deliver source-separated recyclable materials to such a
facility, except for recycling or transfer to a recycler, unless
the director determines that no other person is willing to
accept the recyclable materials.
Sec. 27. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.9561,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [RECYCLING REQUIRED.] Major appliances must be
recycled or reused. Each county shall ensure that its residents
households have the opportunity to recycle used major
appliances. For the purposes of this section, recycling
includes:
(1) the removal of capacitors that may contain PCBs;
(2) the removal of ballasts that may contain PCBs;
(3) the removal of chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant gas; and
(4) the recycling or reuse of the metals, including mercury.
Sec. 28. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.965,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [RULES IMPLEMENTATION; DISPUTE RESOLUTION.] In
lieu of adopting rules to implement this section, the
commissioner of the pollution control agency, in consultation
with the director of the office of waste management, shall adopt
rules to implement this section shall seek membership in the
toxics in packaging clearinghouse administered by the source
reduction task force of the Coalition of Northeastern Governors
for the purposes of implementation of this section and resolving
issues and disputes that arise in connection with it. The
commissioner shall seek a recommendation from the clearinghouse
prior to making a decision on an issue or dispute of first
impression and shall implement the recommendation unless the
commissioner specifically finds that the recommended
determination is not in the state's best interest. A package
for which a request for exemption has been submitted to the
commissioner is not subject to enforcement action pending the
commissioner's determination.
Sec. 29. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 115A.965, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 7. [REPORT.] By September 1 of each odd-numbered
year, the commissioner shall prepare and submit to the
legislative commission a report to include:
(1) enforcement actions taken by the commissioner under
this section for the reporting period; and
(2) issues and disputes that have arisen under this
section, the recommendations made by the toxics in packaging
clearinghouse for resolution of those issues and disputes, and
how those issues and disputes were finally resolved by the
commissioner.
Sec. 30. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
115A.9651, is amended to read:
115A.9651 [TOXICS IN SPECIFIED PRODUCTS; ENFORCEMENT.]
Subdivision 1. [PROHIBITION.] After July 1, 1994, (a) No
person may deliberately introduce lead, cadmium, mercury, or
hexavalent chromium into distribute for sale or use in this
state any ink, dye, pigment, paint, or fungicide that is
intended for use or for sale in this state manufactured after
September 1, 1994, into which lead, cadmium, mercury, or
hexavalent chromium has been intentionally introduced.
Until July 1, 1997, this section does not apply to
electrodeposition primer coating or primer coating used on
aircraft, porcelain enamel coatings, medical devices, hexavalent
chromium in the form of chromine acid when processed at a
temperature of at least 750 degrees Fahrenheit, or ink used for
computer identification markings.
(b) For the purposes of this subdivision, "intentionally
introduce" means to deliberately use a metal listed in paragraph
(a) as an element during manufacture or distribution of an item
listed in paragraph (a). Intentional introduction does not
include the incidental presence of any of the prohibited
elements.
(c) The concentration of a listed metal in an item listed
in paragraph (a) may not exceed 100 parts per million.
Subd. 2. [TEMPORARY EXEMPTION.] (a) An item listed in
subdivision 1 is exempt from this section until July 1, 1997, if
the manufacturer of the item submits to the commissioner a
written request for an exemption by August 1, 1994. The request
must include at least:
(1) an explanation of why compliance is not technically
feasible at the time of the request;
(2) how the manufacturer will comply by July 1, 1997; and
(3) the name, address, and telephone number of a person the
commissioner can contact for further information.
(b) By September 1, 1994, a person who uses an item listed
in subdivision 1, into which one of the listed metals has been
intentionally introduced, may submit, on behalf of the
manufacturer, a request for temporary exemption only if the
manufacturer fails to submit an exemption request as provided in
paragraph (a). The request must include:
(1) an explanation of why the person must continue to use
the item and a discussion of potential alternatives;
(2) an explanation of why it is not technically feasible at
the time of the request to formulate or manufacture the item
without intentionally introducing a listed metal;
(3) that the person will seek alternatives to using the
item by July 1, 1997, if it still contains an intentionally
introduced listed metal; and
(4) the name, address, and telephone number of a person the
commissioner can contact for further information.
(c) A person who submits a request for temporary exemption
under paragraph (b) may submit a request for a temporary
exemption after September 1, 1994, for an item that the person
will use as an alternative to the item for which the request was
originally made as long as the new item has a total
concentration level of all the listed metals that is
significantly less than in the original item. An exemption
under this paragraph expires July 1, 1997, and the person who
requests it must submit the progress description required in
paragraph (e).
(d) By October 1, 1994, and annually thereafter if requests
are received under paragraph (c), the commissioner shall submit
to the legislative commission on waste management a list of
manufacturers and persons that have requested an exemption under
this subdivision and the items for which exemptions were sought,
along with copies of the requests.
(e) By July 1, 1996, each manufacturer on the list shall
submit to the commissioner a description of the progress the
manufacturer has made toward compliance with subdivision 1, and
the date compliance has been achieved or the date on or before
July 1, 1997, by which the manufacturer anticipates achieving
compliance. By July 1, 1996, each person who has requested an
exemption under paragraph (b) or (c) shall submit to the
commissioner:
(1) a description of progress made to eliminate the listed
metal or metals from the item or progress made by the person to
find a replacement item that does not contain an intentionally
introduced listed metal; and
(2) the date or anticipated date the item is or will be
free of intentionally introduced metals or the date the person
has stopped or will stop using the item.
By October 1, 1996, the commissioner shall submit to the
legislative commission a summary of the progress made by the
manufacturers and other persons and any recommendations for
appropriate legislative or other action to ensure that products
are not distributed in the state after July 1, 1997, that
violate subdivision 1.
Subd. 3. [APPLICATION; ENFORCEMENT.] (a) This section does
not apply to art supplies.
(b) This section may be enforced under sections 115.071 and
116.072. The attorney general or the commissioner of the agency
shall coordinate enforcement of this section with the director
of the office.
Sec. 31. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
115A.981, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [REPORT.] (a) The commissioner shall report to
the legislative commission on waste management by July 1 of each
odd-numbered year on the economic status and outlook of the
state's solid waste management sector including an estimate of
the extent to which prices for solid waste management paid by
consumers reflect costs related to environmental and public
health protection, including a discussion of how prices are
publicly and privately subsidized and how identified costs of
waste management are not reflected in the prices.
(b) In preparing the report, the commissioner shall:
(1) consult with the director; the metropolitan council;
local government units; solid waste collectors, transporters,
and processors; owners and operators of solid waste facilities;
and other interested persons;
(2) consider and analyze information received under
subdivision 2 and information available under section 115A.929;
and
(3) analyze information gathered and comments received
relating to the most recent solid waste management policy report
prepared under section 115A.411.
The commissioner shall also recommend any legislation
necessary to ensure adequate and reliable information needed for
preparation of the report.
(c) The report must also include:
(1) statewide and facility by facility estimates of the
total potential costs and liabilities associated with solid
waste disposal facilities for closure and postclosure care,
response costs under chapter 115B, and any other potential
costs, liabilities, or financial responsibilities;
(2) statewide and facility by facility requirements for
proof of financial responsibility under section 116.07,
subdivision 4h, and how each facility is meeting those
requirements.
Sec. 32. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 116.07,
subdivision 4h, is amended to read:
Subd. 4h. [FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY RULES.] (a) The agency
shall adopt rules requiring the operator or owner of a solid
waste disposal facility to submit to the agency proof of the
operator's or owner's financial capability to provide reasonable
and necessary response during the operating life of the facility
and for 20 30 years after closure for a mixed municipal solid
waste disposal facility or for a minimum of 20 years after
closure, as determined by agency rules, for any other solid
waste disposal facility, and to provide for the closure of the
facility and postclosure care required under agency rules.
Proof of financial responsibility is required of the operator or
owner of a facility receiving an original permit or a permit for
expansion after adoption of the rules. Within 180 days of the
effective date of the rules or by July 1, 1987, whichever is
later, proof of financial responsibility is required of an
operator or owner of a facility with a remaining capacity of
more than five years or 500,000 cubic yards that is in operation
at the time the rules are adopted. Compliance with the rules
and the requirements of paragraph (b) is a condition of
obtaining or retaining a permit to operate the facility.
(b) A municipality, as defined in section 475.51,
subdivision 2, including a sanitary district, that owns or
operates a solid waste disposal facility that was in operation
on May 15, 1989, may meet its financial responsibility for all
or a portion of the contingency action portion of the reasonable
and necessary response costs at the facility by pledging its
full faith and credit to meet its responsibility.
The pledge must be made in accordance with the requirements
in chapter 475 for issuing bonds of the municipality, and the
following additional requirements:
(1) The governing body of the municipality shall enact an
ordinance that clearly accepts responsibility for the costs of
contingency action at the facility and that reserves, during the
operating life of the facility and for 20 years the time period
required in paragraph (a) after closure, a portion of the debt
limit of the municipality, as established under section 475.53
or other law, that is equal to the total contingency action
costs.
(2) The municipality shall require that all collectors that
haul to the facility implement a plan for reducing solid waste
by using volume-based pricing, recycling incentives, or other
means.
(3) When a municipality opts to meet a portion of its
financial responsibility by relying on its authority to issue
bonds, it shall also begin setting aside in a dedicated
long-term care trust fund money that will cover a portion of the
potential contingency action costs at the facility, the amount
to be determined by the agency for each facility based on at
least the amount of waste deposited in the disposal facility
each year, and the likelihood and potential timing of conditions
arising at the facility that will necessitate response action.
The agency may not require a municipality to set aside more than
five percent of the total cost in a single year.
(4) A municipality shall have and consistently maintain an
investment grade bond rating as a condition of using bonding
authority to meet financial responsibility under this section.
(5) The municipality shall file with the commissioner of
revenue its consent to have the amount of its contingency action
costs deducted from state aid payments otherwise due the
municipality and paid instead to the environmental response,
compensation, and compliance account created in section 115B.20,
if the municipality fails to conduct the contingency action at
the facility when ordered by the agency. If the agency notifies
the commissioner that the municipality has failed to conduct
contingency action when ordered by the agency, the commissioner
shall deduct the amounts indicated by the agency from the state
aids in accordance with the consent filed with the commissioner.
(6) The municipality shall file with the agency written
proof that it has complied with the requirements of paragraph
(b).
(c) The method for proving financial responsibility under
paragraph (b) may not be applied to a new solid waste disposal
facility or to expansion of an existing facility, unless the
expansion is a vertical expansion. Vertical expansions of
qualifying existing facilities cannot be permitted for a
duration of longer than three years.
Sec. 33. [116.073] [FIELD CITATIONS.]
Subdivision 1. [AUTHORITY TO ISSUE.] Pollution control
agency staff designated by the commissioner and department of
natural resources conservation officers may issue citations to a
person who disposes of solid waste as defined in section 116.06,
subdivision 22, at a location not authorized by law for the
disposal of solid waste without permission of the owner of the
property. A citation issued under this subdivision must include
a requirement that the person cited remove and properly dispose
of or otherwise manage the waste or reimburse any government
agency that has disposed of the waste for the reasonable costs
of disposal.
Subd. 2. [PENALTY AMOUNT.] The citation must impose the
following penalty amounts:
(1) $100 per major appliance, as defined in section
115A.03, subdivision 17a, up to a maximum of $2,000;
(2) $25 per waste tire, as defined in section 115A.90,
subdivision 11, up to a maximum of $2,000;
(3) $25 per lead acid battery governed by section 115A.915,
up to a maximum of $2,000;
(4) $1 per pound of other solid waste or $20 per cubic foot
up to a maximum of $2,000; and
(5) up to $200 for any amount of waste that escapes from a
vehicle used for the transportation of solid waste if, after
receiving actual notice that waste has escaped the vehicle, the
person or company transporting the waste fails to immediately
collect the waste.
Subd. 3. [APPEALS.] Citations may be appealed under the
procedures in section 116.072, subdivision 6, if the person
requests a hearing by notifying the commissioner in writing
within 15 days after receipt of the citation. If a hearing is
not requested within the 15-day period, the citation becomes a
final order not subject to further review.
Subd. 4. [ENFORCEMENT OF FIELD CITATIONS.] Field citations
may be enforced under section 116.072, subdivisions 9 and 10.
Subd. 5. [CUMULATIVE REMEDY.] The authority to issue field
citations is in addition to other remedies available under
statutory or common law, except that the state may not seek
penalties under any other provision of law for the incident
subject to the citation.
Sec. 34. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 116.731, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4a. [VENTING.] A person may not knowingly vent or
otherwise release into the environment any CFC used as a
refrigerant in appliances.
Sec. 35. [116.735] [APPLIANCE RECYCLERS AND SERVICERS;
TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION.]
The agency shall develop standards of competence for
persons who service or recycle appliances that may contain CFCs
and the commissioner may conduct training programs for persons
who service or recycle appliances. A person engaged in the
business of recycling appliances as described in section
115A.9561, subdivision 2, shall, and a person who services
appliances may, obtain from the commissioner a certificate of
competence or equivalent federal certification that has been
approved by the commissioner.
The agency may adopt rules to implement this section.
Sec. 36. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 116.76,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [COMMERCIAL TRANSPORTER.] "Commercial
transporter" means a person, other than the United States
government, who transports infectious or pathological waste for
compensation.
Sec. 37. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
116.79, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [PREPARATION OF MANAGEMENT PLANS.] (a) To
the extent applicable to the facility, a person in charge of a
facility that generates, stores, decontaminates, incinerates, or
disposes of infectious or pathological waste must prepare a
management plan for the infectious or pathological waste handled
by the facility. A person may prepare a common management plan
for all generating facilities owned and operated by the person.
If a single plan is prepared to cover multiple facilities, the
plan must identify common policy and procedures for the
facilities and any management procedures that are facility
specific. The plan must identify each generating facility
covered by the plan. A management plan must list all
physicians, dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists, veterinarians,
certified nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, or
physician assistants, employed by, under contract to, or working
at the generating facilities, except hospitals or laboratories.
A management plan from a hospital must list the number of
licensed beds and from a laboratory must list the number of
generating employees.
(b) The management plan must describe, to the extent the
information is applicable to the facility:
(1) the type of infectious waste and pathological waste
that the person generates or handles;
(2) the segregation, packaging, labeling, collection,
storage, and transportation procedures for the infectious waste
or pathological waste that will be followed;
(3) the decontamination or disposal methods for the
infectious or pathological waste that will be used;
(4) the transporters and disposal facilities that will be
used for the infectious waste;
(5) the steps that will be taken to minimize the exposure
of employees to infectious agents throughout the process of
disposing of infectious or pathological wastes; and
(6) the name of the individual responsible for the
management of the infectious waste or pathological waste.
(c) If the generator mails sharps for storage,
decontamination, or disposal, the plan must specify how the
generator will comply with applicable federal laws and rules.
The plan must also specify the name, address, and telephone
number of the facility to which the sharps are mailed, the name
of the person who receives the sharps at the facility, and the
annual amount mailed to the facility. If the facility to which
the sharps are mailed is not the disposal facility, the plan
must also identify the disposal facility.
(d) The management plan must be kept at the facility.
(d) (e) To the extent applicable to the facility,
management plans must be accompanied by a statement of the
quantity of infectious and pathological waste generated,
decontaminated, stored, incinerated, or disposed of at the
facility during the previous two-year period. Quantities shall
be reported in pounds.
(e) (f) A management plan must be updated at least once
every two years.
Sec. 38. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 116.92,
subdivision 8, is amended to read:
Subd. 8. [BAN; TOYS OR, GAMES, AND APPAREL.] A person may
not sell for resale or at retail in this state a toy or game
that contains mercury, or an item of clothing or wearing apparel
that is exempt from sales tax under section 297A.25, subdivision
8, that contains an electric switch that contains mercury.
Sec. 39. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
400.04, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [MANAGEMENT AND SERVICE CONTRACTS.]
Notwithstanding sections 375.21 and 471.345, a county may enter
into contracts for the construction, installation, maintenance
and operation of property and facilities on private or public
lands and may contract for the furnishing of solid waste
management services upon terms and conditions determined by the
board, with or without advertisement for bids, including the use
of conditional sales contracts and lease-purchase agreements.
If a county contract is let by negotiation, without advertising
for bids, the county shall conduct negotiations and award the
contract using a fair and open procedure and in full compliance
with section 471.705. If an agency permit is required for a
solid waste service, a contract entered into under this
subdivision is not binding until the permit is issued.
Sec. 40. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
473.149, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.] The council shall report
on abatement to the legislative commission on waste management
by July 1 of each year. The report must include an assessment
of whether the objectives of the metropolitan abatement plan
have been met and whether each county and each class of city
within each county have achieved the objectives set for it in
the council's plan. The report must recommend any legislation
that may be required to implement the plan. The report shall
include the reports required by sections 115A.551, subdivision 5
4; 473.846; and 473.848, subdivision 4. If in any year the
council reports that the objectives of the council's abatement
plan have not been met, the council shall evaluate and report on
the need to reassign governmental responsibilities among cities,
counties, and metropolitan agencies to assure implementation and
achievement of the metropolitan and local abatement plans and
objectives.
The report in each even-numbered year must include a report
on the operating, capital, and debt service costs of solid waste
facilities in the metropolitan area; changes in the costs; the
methods used to pay the costs; and the resultant allocation of
costs among users of the facilities and the general public. The
facility costs report must present the cost and financing
analysis in the aggregate and broken down by county and by major
facility.
Sec. 41. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 473.803, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. [ROLE OF PRIVATE SECTOR; COUNTY OVERSIGHT.] A
county may include in its solid waste management master plan and
in its plan for county land disposal abatement a determination
that the private sector will achieve, either in part or in
whole, the goals and requirements of sections 473.149 and
473.803, as long as the county:
(1) retains active oversight over the efforts of the
private sector and monitors performance to ensure compliance
with the law and the goals and standards of the council and the
county as expressed in the metropolitan solid waste management
plan and the county master plan;
(2) continues to meet its responsibilities under the law
for ensuring proper waste management, including, at a minimum,
enforcing waste management law, providing waste education,
promoting waste reduction, and providing its residents the
opportunity to recycle waste materials; and
(3) continues to provide all required reports on the
county's progress in meeting the waste management goals and
standards of this chapter and chapter 115A.
Sec. 42. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 473.811,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [ORDINANCES; SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AND
TRANSPORTATION.] (a) Each metropolitan county may adopt
ordinances governing the collection of solid waste. A county
may adopt, but may not be required to adopt, an ordinance that
requires the separation from mixed municipal waste, by
generators before collection, of materials that can readily be
separated for use or reuse as substitutes for raw materials or
for transformation into a usable soil amendment.
(b) Each local unit of government within the metropolitan
area shall adopt an ordinance governing the collection of solid
waste within its boundaries. If the county within which it is
located has adopted a collection ordinance, the local unit shall
adopt either the county ordinance by reference or a more strict
ordinance. If the county within which it is located has adopted
a separation ordinance, the ordinance applies in all local units
within the county that have failed to meet the local abatement
performance standards, as stated in the most recent annual
county report.
(c) Ordinances of counties and local government units may
establish reasonable conditions respecting but shall not prevent
the transportation of solid waste by a licensed collector
through and between counties and local units, except as required
for the enforcement of any designation of a facility by a county
under chapter 115A or for enforcement of the prohibition on
disposal of unprocessed mixed municipal solid waste under
sections 473.848 and 473.849.
(d) A licensed collector or a metropolitan county or local
government unit may request review by the council of an
ordinance adopted under this subdivision. The council shall
approve or disapprove the ordinance within 60 days of the
submission of a request for review. The ordinance shall remain
in effect unless it is disapproved.
(e) Ordinances of counties and local units of government:
(1) shall provide for the enforcement of any designation of
facilities by the counties under chapter 115A.;
(2) may require waste collectors and transporters to
deliver unprocessed mixed municipal waste generated in the
county to processing facilities; and
(3) may prohibit waste collectors and transporters from
delivering unprocessed mixed municipal solid waste generated in
the county to disposal facilities for final disposal.
(f) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to limit
limits the authority of the local government unit to regulate
and license collectors of solid waste or to require review or
approval by the council for ordinances regulating collection.
Sec. 43. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 473.811,
subdivision 5a, is amended to read:
Subd. 5a. [ORDINANCES; SOLID WASTE FACILITIES.] Each
metropolitan county shall by ordinance establish and from time
to time revise rules, regulations, and standards for solid waste
facilities within the county, relating to location, sanitary
operation, periodic inspection and monitoring, maintenance,
termination and abandonment, and other pertinent matters. The
county ordinance may require facilities accepting mixed
municipal solid waste for disposal to install scales. The
county ordinance may prohibit disposal facilities from accepting
unprocessed mixed municipal solid waste for final disposal. The
county ordinance shall require permits or licenses for solid
waste facilities and shall require that such facilities be
registered with a county office.
Sec. 44. [473.812] [RECORDS; INSPECTION.]
For the purpose of enforcing section 473.811 or ordinances
adopted under that section, a county has the responsibilities
and authorities for record inspection under section 115A.882,
regardless of whether the county has adopted a designation
ordinance under sections 115A.80 to 115A.893.
Sec. 45. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 473.843,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [AMOUNT OF FEE; APPLICATION.] The operator
of a mixed municipal solid waste disposal facility in the
metropolitan area shall pay a fee on solid waste accepted and
disposed at the facility as follows:
(a) A facility that weighs the waste that it accepts must
pay a fee of $2 per cubic yard based on equivalent cubic
yards $6.66 per ton of waste accepted at the entrance of the
facility.
(b) A facility that does not weigh the waste but that
measures the volume of the waste that it accepts must pay a fee
of $2 per cubic yard of waste accepted at the entrance of the
facility. This fee and the tipping fee must be calculated on
the same basis.
(c) Waste residue, from recycling facilities at which
recyclable materials are separated or processed for the purposes
of recycling, or from energy and resource recovery facilities at
which solid waste is processed for the purpose of extracting,
reducing, converting to energy, or otherwise separating and
preparing solid waste for reuse, is exempt from the fee imposed
by this subdivision if there is at least an 85 percent volume
reduction in the solid waste processed. To qualify for
exemption under this clause, waste residue must be brought to a
disposal facility separately. The commissioner of revenue, with
the advice and assistance of the council and the agency, shall
prescribe procedures for determining the amount of waste residue
qualifying for exemption.
Sec. 46. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 473.844,
subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
Subd. 1a. [USE OF FUNDS.] (a) The money in the account may
be spent only for the following purposes:
(1) assistance to any person for resource recovery projects
funded under subdivision 4 or projects to develop and coordinate
markets for reusable or recyclable waste materials, including
related public education, planning, and technical assistance;
(2) grants to counties under section 473.8441;
(3) program administration by the metropolitan council;
(4) public education on solid waste reduction and
recycling; and
(5) solid waste research; and
(6) grants to multicounty groups for regionwide planning
for solid waste management system operations and use of
management capacity.
(b) The council shall allocate at least 50 percent of the
annual revenue received by the account for grants to counties
under section 473.8441.
Sec. 47. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 473.845,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [EXPENDITURES FROM THE FUND.] Money in the fund
may only be appropriated to the agency for expenditure for:
(1) reasonable and necessary expenses for closure and
postclosure care of a mixed municipal solid waste disposal
facility in the metropolitan area for a 20-year 30-year period
after closure, if the agency determines that the operator or
owner will not take the necessary actions requested by the
agency for closure and postclosure in the manner and within the
time requested;
(2) reasonable and necessary response and postclosure costs
at a mixed municipal solid waste disposal facility in the
metropolitan area that has been closed for 20 30 years in
compliance with the closure and postclosure rules of the agency;
or
(3) reimbursement to a local government unit for costs
incurred over $400,000 under a work plan approved by the
commissioner of the agency to remediate methane at a closed
disposal facility owned by the local government unit.
Sec. 48. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
473.846, is amended to read:
473.846 [REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.]
The agency and metropolitan council shall submit to the
senate finance committee, the house ways and means committee,
and the legislative commission on waste management separate
reports describing the activities for which money from the
landfill abatement account and contingency action trust fund has
been spent during the previous fiscal year. The agency shall
report by November 1 of each year on expenditures during its
previous fiscal year. The council shall report on expenditures
during the previous calendar year and must incorporate its
report in the report required by section 473.149, due July 1 of
each year. The council shall make recommendations to the
legislative commission on waste management on the future
management and use of the metropolitan landfill abatement
account.
Sec. 49. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 473.848,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [RESTRICTION.] (a) After January 1, 1990
For the purposes of implementing the waste management policies
in section 115A.02 and metropolitan area goals related to
landfill abatement established under this chapter, a person may
not dispose of unprocessed mixed municipal solid waste generated
in the metropolitan area at a waste disposal facilities located
in the metropolitan area facility unless the waste disposal
facility meets the standards in section 473.849 and:
(1) the waste has been certified as unprocessible by a
county under subdivision 2; or
(2)(i) the waste has been transferred to the disposal
facility from a resource recovery facility;
(ii) no other resource recovery facility in serving the
metropolitan area is capable of processing the waste; and
(iii) the waste has been certified as unprocessible by the
operator of the resource recovery facility under subdivision 3.
(b) For purposes of this section, mixed municipal solid
waste does not include street sweepings, construction debris,
mining waste, foundry sand, and other materials, if they are not
capable of being processed by resource recovery as determined by
the council.
Sec. 50. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 473.848,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [DEFINITION.] For the purpose of this section,
waste is "unprocessed" if it has not, after collection and
before disposal, undergone at least one process, as defined in
section 115A.03, subdivision 25, excluding storage, exchange,
and transfer of the waste separation of materials for resource
recovery through recycling, incineration for energy production,
production and use of refuse-derived fuel, composting, or any
combination of these processes so that the weight of the waste
remaining that must be disposed of in a mixed municipal solid
waste disposal facility is not more than 35 percent of the
weight before processing, on an annual average.
Sec. 51. [ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES; REPORT.]
By July 1, 1995, the director of the office of waste
management, in consultation with the commissioner of the
pollution control agency and counties, shall submit a report to
the legislative commission on waste management regarding
management of waste electronic appliances that:
(1) identifies types of electronic appliances that contain
materials that pose problems in the solid waste management
system;
(2) explains how those waste appliances are presently
managed and identifies any adverse environmental effects of
present management; and
(3) recommends, if necessary, legislation to govern
management of waste electronic appliances.
For the purposes of this section, "electronic appliances"
includes at least audio, video, computing, printing,
communication, and telecommunication equipment and apparatuses
that contain electronic components, including but not limited to
radios, televisions, computers, computer printers, small
electronic kitchen appliances, telefacsimile equipment, and
household and commercial communication transmission and
reception equipment, but does not include major appliances as
defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 115A.03, subdivision 17a.
Sec. 52. [MERCURY IN PRODUCTS; REPORT.]
By December 1, 1994, the commissioner of the pollution
control agency, after consultation with interested
manufacturers, retailers, public interest groups, political
subdivisions, and other persons, shall prepare and submit to the
legislative commission on waste management a report that:
(1) identifies products and portions or elements of
products into which mercury is intentionally introduced;
(2) identifies whether the use of mercury in the products
is essential, whether alternatives exist to using mercury, and
what those alternatives are; and
(3) recommends legislation to address public health and
environmental protection in the distribution, sale, and use of
products into which mercury has been intentionally introduced
and to address reduction of mercury in the products and
management of the products when they become waste, including
recommendations for banning specific products when the costs of
management as waste outweigh the benefits that accrue from
distribution, sale, and use of the products.
Sec. 53. [RECYCLING FACILITIES; REPORT.]
By July 1, 1995, the commissioner of the pollution control
agency shall submit to the legislative commission on waste
management a report that contains:
(1) a description of the different types of recycling
facilities and the numbers of each type that are currently in
operation;
(2) a survey of recycling facilities that indicates, for
each facility, the type of facility, the extent to which
materials delivered to the facility are not actually recycled,
and other information pertaining to the facility's performance;
(3) a discussion of issues affecting the performance of
recycling facilities;
(4) a comparison of markets for commingled and
source-separated recyclable materials; and
(5) recommendations regarding performance standards for
recycling facilities, including whether different standards
should apply to different types of facilities.
In preparing the report, the commissioner shall consult
with the director of the office of waste management, the chair
of the metropolitan council, counties, and the recycling
industry.
Sec. 54. [ADDITION TO FEE REPORT.]
The director of the office of waste management shall
include in the solid waste fee report due December 1, 1994,
required under Laws 1993, chapter 172, section 92, an analysis
of the advantages and disadvantages of expanding the authority
of counties, under Minnesota Statutes, section 115A.919, to also
authorize fees on waste delivered to transfer stations,
incinerator ash disposal facilities, and industrial waste
disposal facilities. This portion of the report must discuss at
least:
(1) arguments for and against expansion of the fees;
(2) if expansion may be appropriate, whether expanded fee
authority should be limited to the metropolitan area or should
be applied statewide;
(3) if expansion may be appropriate, whether the
legislature should set the amount of the fees, place a maximum
amount on fees in statute, or allow counties to determine the
amount of the fees;
(4) if expansion may be appropriate, how revenue from the
fees should be used, how to avoid fees being paid for the same
waste more than once and how to structure fees to have a minimal
effect on cooperative agreements between counties governing
waste management; and
(5) how expanding or not expanding application of the fees
will affect competition between similar types of facilities and
will affect whether waste is managed in the most environmentally
sound manner.
Sec. 55. [DELAYED REPORTS.]
The 1994 date for reports required under Minnesota
Statutes, sections 115A.551, subdivision 4; and 115A.557,
subdivision 4, is delayed until August 1, 1994.
Sec. 56. [APPLICATION.]
Sections 40 to 50 apply in the counties of Anoka, Carver,
Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
Sec. 57. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section 115A.542, is
repealed effective July 1, 1995.
Sec. 58. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Section 2 is effective July 1, 1980.
Sections 30, 38, and 55 are effective the day following
final enactment.
Section 48 is effective June 1, 1994.
Section 35 is effective January 1, 1995.
Presented to the governor May 4, 1994
Signed by the governor May 6, 1994, 11:50 a.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes