1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to the environment; allowing the pollution 
  1.3             control agency to continue to do environmental 
  1.4             assessments at automobile salvage yards; providing 
  1.5             incentives for recycling mercury from automobiles; 
  1.6             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.7             sections 116.66, subdivisions 2 and 4; and 116.92, 
  1.8             subdivision 4. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116.66, 
  1.11  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [FACILITY EVALUATIONS; ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.] 
  1.13  (a) The commissioner of the pollution control agency shall 
  1.14  conduct facility evaluations to evaluate ongoing waste 
  1.15  management practices and shall provide technical assistance for 
  1.16  corrective action at motor vehicle salvage facilities.  
  1.17     (b) The commissioner ~~shall~~ may conduct environmental 
  1.18  assessments at ~~a representative group of~~ motor vehicle salvage 
  1.19  facilities to determine the extent and magnitude of any 
  1.20  contamination, environmental impacts, develop criteria, and 
  1.21  determine appropriate cleanup methods, and set priorities for 
  1.22  cleanup actions at motor vehicle salvage facility sites, 
  1.23  pursuant to the criteria in Minnesota Rules, chapter 7044. 
  1.24     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116.66, 
  1.25  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.26     Subd. 4.  [REPEALER.] This section is repealed on ~~the day~~ 
  1.27  ~~that the repeal of section 115A.908 is effective~~ June 30, 1999.  
  2.1      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116.92, 
  2.2   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.3      Subd. 4.  [REMOVAL FROM SERVICE; PRODUCTS CONTAINING 
  2.4   MERCURY.] (a) When an item listed in subdivision 3 is removed 
  2.5   from service the mercury in the item must be reused, recycled, 
  2.6   or otherwise managed to ensure compliance with section 115A.932. 
  2.7      (b) A person who is in the business of replacing or 
  2.8   repairing an item listed in subdivision 3 in households shall 
  2.9   ensure, or deliver the item to a facility that will ensure, that 
  2.10  the mercury contained in an item that is replaced or repaired is 
  2.11  reused or recycled or otherwise managed in compliance with 
  2.12  section 115A.932. 
  2.13     (c) A person may not crush a motor vehicle unless the 
  2.14  person has first removed all of the mercury switches in the 
  2.15  motor vehicle.  A person who removes a mercury switch from a 
  2.16  motor vehicle shall ensure that the mercury is reused or 
  2.17  recycled by a permitted recycler. 
  2.18     Sec. 4.  [SALVAGE MOTOR VEHICLES; MERCURY SWITCH REMOVAL; 
  2.19  INCENTIVES.] 
  2.20     Beginning January 1, 1996, and continuing until December 
  2.21  31, 1996, the commissioner shall pay to a person who owns or 
  2.22  operates a motor vehicle salvage facility 33 cents per electric 
  2.23  switch containing mercury taken from a salvaged motor vehicle 
  2.24  and recycled by an approved recycler or accepted for reuse by a 
  2.25  manufacturer.  A person eligible for reimbursement under this 
  2.26  section shall apply for the reimbursement in the manner 
  2.27  prescribed by the commissioner. 
  2.28     Sec. 5.  [COST-SHARING PROGRAM; CLEANUP OF CERTAIN MOTOR 
  2.29  VEHICLE SALVAGE FACILITIES.] 
  2.30     The pollution control agency shall enter into consent 
  2.31  orders for the cleanup of certain motor vehicle salvage facility 
  2.32  sites, based on the findings of the environmental assessment of 
  2.33  motor vehicle salvage facilities conducted pursuant to Minnesota 
  2.34  Statutes, section 116.66, subdivision 2.  Under the consent 
  2.35  order, the agency will be responsible for paying 90 percent of 
  2.36  the costs of removal and remedial actions at the site, and the 
  3.1   owner or operator of the motor vehicle salvage facility must pay 
  3.2   the remaining ten percent of such costs.  For the purposes of 
  3.3   this section, the terms "removal and remedial actions" have the 
  3.4   meanings given them in Minnesota Statutes, section 115B.02, 
  3.5   subdivisions 16 and 17. 
  3.6      Sec. 6.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.7      $522,000 is transferred from the motor vehicle transfer 
  3.8   account and is appropriated to the commissioner of the pollution 
  3.9   control agency for administration of sections 1, 3, and 4 and to 
  3.10  provide technical assistance to persons who own or operate motor 
  3.11  vehicle salvage facilities and to local units of government.  
  3.12  $378,000 is transferred from the motor vehicle transfer account 
  3.13  and appropriated to the commissioner of the pollution control 
  3.14  agency for purposes of section 5 and to establish a fund for 
  3.15  cost-sharing in the investigation and cleanup of releases or 
  3.16  threatened releases from motor vehicle salvage facilities as 
  3.17  defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 116.66, and shall be 
  3.18  available until expended.