1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to the environment; modifying provisions for individual sewage 
1.3 	treatment systems; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, 
1.4 	section 115.55, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 6, by adding a subdivision.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 115.55, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subdivision 1.Definitions. (a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to sections  
1.8 	115.55 to  115.56. 
1.9 	(b) "Advisory committee" means the Advisory Committee on Individual Sewage 
1.10 	Treatment Systems established under the individual sewage treatment system rules. The 
1.11 	advisory committee must be appointed to ensure geographic representation of the state 
1.12 	and include elected public officials.
1.13 	(c) "Applicable requirements" means:
1.14 	(1) local ordinances that comply with the individual sewage treatment system rules, 
1.15 	as required in subdivision 2; or
1.16 	(2) in areas not subject to the ordinances described in clause (1), the individual 
1.17 	sewage treatment system rules.
1.18 	(d) "City" means a statutory or home rule charter city.
1.19 	(e) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency.
1.20 	(f) "Dwelling" means a building or place used or intended to be used by human 
1.21 	occupants as a single-family or two-family unit.
1.22 	(g) "Individual sewage treatment system" or "system" means a sewage treatment 
1.23 	system, or part thereof, serving a dwelling, other establishment, or group thereof, that 
1.24 	uses subsurface soil treatment and disposal.
2.1 	(h) "Individual sewage treatment system professional" means an inspector, installer, 
2.2 	site evaluator or designer, or pumper.
2.3 	(i) "Individual sewage treatment system rules" means rules adopted by the agency 
2.4 	that establish minimum standards and criteria for the design, location, installation, use, 
2.5 	and maintenance of individual sewage treatment systems.
2.6 	(j) "Inspector" means a person who inspects individual sewage treatment systems for 
2.7 	compliance with the applicable requirements.
2.8 	(k) "Installer" means a person who constructs or repairs individual sewage treatment 
2.9 	systems.
2.10 	(l) "Local unit of government" means a township, city, or county.
2.11 	(m) "Performance based system" means a system that is designed specifically for a 
2.12 	site and the environmental conditions on that site and designed to adequately protect the 
2.13 	public health and the environment and provide long-term performance. At a minimum, a 
2.14 	performance based system must ensure that applicable water quality standards are met in 
2.15 	both ground and surface water that ultimately receive the treated wastewater. 
2.16 	(n) "Pumper" means a person who maintains components of individual sewage 
2.17 	treatment systems including, but not limited to, septic, aerobic, and holding tanks.
2.18 	(n) (o)  "Seasonal dwelling" means a dwelling that is occupied or used for less than 
2.19 	180 days per year and less than 120 consecutive days.
2.20 	(o) (p)  "Septic system tank" means any covered receptacle designed, constructed, 
2.21 	and installed as part of an individual sewage treatment system.
2.22 	(p)(q) "Site evaluator or designer" means a person who:
2.23 	(1) investigates soils and site characteristics to determine suitability, limitations, and 
2.24 	sizing requirements; and
2.25 	(2) designs individual sewage treatment systems.

2.26 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 115.55, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
2.27 		Subd. 2.Local ordinances. (a) All counties that did not adopt ordinances by May 
2.28 	7, 1994, or that do not have ordinances, must adopt ordinances that comply with revisions 
2.29 	to the individual sewage treatment system rules by January 1, 1999, unless all towns and 
2.30 	cities in the county have adopted such ordinances 2008. County ordinances must apply to 
2.31 	all areas of the county other than cities or towns that have adopted ordinances that comply 
2.32 	with this section and are as strict as the applicable county ordinances. Any ordinance 
2.33 	adopted by a local unit of government before May 7, 1994, to regulate individual sewage 
2.34 	treatment systems must be in compliance with the individual sewage treatment system 
2.35 	rules by January 1, 1998.
3.1 	(b) A copy of each ordinance adopted under this subdivision must be submitted to 
3.2 	the commissioner upon adoption.
3.3 	(c) A local unit of government must make available to the public upon request a 
3.4 	written list of any differences between its ordinances and rules adopted under this section.

3.5 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 115.55, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
3.6 		Subd. 3.Rules. (a) The agency shall adopt rules containing minimum standards and 
3.7 	criteria for the design, location, installation, use, and maintenance of individual sewage 
3.8 	treatment systems. The rules must include:
3.9 	(1) how the agency will ensure compliance under subdivision 2;
3.10 	(2) how local units of government shall enforce ordinances under subdivision 2, 
3.11 	including requirements for permits and inspection programs;
3.12 	(3) how the advisory committee will participate in review and implementation of 
3.13 	the rules;
3.14 	(4) provisions for alternative nonstandard  systems and performance based systems;
3.15 	(5) provisions for handling and disposal of effluent;
3.16 	(6) provisions for system abandonment; and
3.17 	(7) procedures for variances, including the consideration of variances based on cost 
3.18 	and variances that take into account proximity of a system to other systems.
3.19 	(b) The agency shall consult with the advisory committee before adopting rules 
3.20 	under this subdivision.
3.21 	(c) Notwithstanding the repeal of the agency rule under which the commissioner 
3.22 	has established a list of warrantied individual sewage treatment systems, the warranties 
3.23 	for all systems so listed as of the effective date of the repeal shall continue to be valid 
3.24 	for the remainder of the warranty period.
3.25 	(d) The rules required in paragraph (a) must also address the following:
3.26 	(1) a definition of redoximorphic features and other criteria that can be used by 
3.27 	system designers and inspectors;
3.28 	(2) direction on the interpretation of observed soil features that may be 
3.29 	redoximorphic and their relation to zones of seasonal saturation; and
3.30 	(3) procedures on how to resolve professional disagreements on seasonally saturated 
3.31 	soils.
3.32 	These rules must be in place by March 31, 2006.

3.33 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 115.55, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
4.1 		Subd. 6.Disclosure of individual sewage treatment system to buyer. (a) Before 
4.2 	signing an agreement to sell or transfer real property, the seller or transferor must disclose 
4.3 	in writing to the buyer or transferee information on how sewage generated at the property 
4.4 	is managed. The disclosure must be made by delivering a statement to the buyer or 
4.5 	transferee that either:
4.6 	(1) the sewage goes to a facility permitted by the agency; or
4.7 	(2) the sewage does not go to a permitted facility, is therefore subject to applicable 
4.8 	requirements, and describes the system in use, including the legal description of the 
4.9 	property, the county in which the property is located, and a map drawn from available 
4.10 	information showing the location of the system on the property to the extent practicable
4.11 	the system has a valid certificate of compliance or notice of noncompliance as provided 
4.12 	under subdivision 5. If the seller or transferor has knowledge that an abandoned individual 
4.13 	sewage treatment system exists on the property, the disclosure must include a map 
4.14 	showing its location. In the disclosure statement the seller or transferor must indicate 
4.15 	whether the individual sewage treatment system is in use and, to the seller's or transferor's 
4.16 	knowledge, in compliance with applicable sewage treatment laws and rules. A copy of 
4.17 	the certificate of compliance or notice of noncompliance shall be provided to the county 
4.18 	recorder or registrar of titles in the county where the individual sewage treatment system 
4.19 	is located. A copy of the filing shall go to the county office responsible for the individual 
4.20 	sewage treatment system program. 
4.21 	(b) Unless the buyer or transferee and seller or transferor agree to the contrary in 
4.22 	writing before the closing of the sale, A seller or transferor who fails to disclose the 
4.23 	existence or known status of an individual sewage treatment systemprovide to the buyer 
4.24 	or transferor a valid certificate of compliance or notice of noncompliance at the time 
4.25 	of sale, and who knew or had reason to know of the existence or known status of the 
4.26 	system, and whose system was noncompliant at the time of the sale is liable to the buyer 
4.27 	or transferee for costs relating to bringing the system into compliance with the individual 
4.28 	sewage treatment system rules and for reasonable attorney fees for collection of costs from 
4.29 	the seller or transferor. An action under this subdivision must be commenced within two 
4.30 	years after the date on which the buyer or transferee closed the purchase or transfer of the 
4.31 	real property where the system is located.

4.32 	Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 115.55, is amended by adding a subdivision to 
4.33 	read:
4.34 		Subd. 11.Advisory committee; county individual sewage treatment system 
4.35 	management plan. (a) Counties may adopt an individual sewage treatment system 
5.1 	management plan that describes how the county plans on carrying out individual sewage 
5.2 	treatment system needs. The commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall form an 
5.3 	advisory committee to determine what the plans should address. The advisory committee 
5.4 	shall be made up of representatives of the Association of Minnesota Counties, Pollution 
5.5 	Control Agency, Board of Water and Soil Resources, Minnesota Department of Health, 
5.6 	and other public agencies that have an interest in individual sewage treatment systems.
5.7 	(b) The advisory committee shall advise the agency on the standards, management, 
5.8 	monitoring, and reporting requirements for performance based systems.

5.9 	Sec. 6. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
 5.10 	The commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall establish a database of 
5.11 	best practices regarding the installation, management, and maintenance of individual 
5.12 	sewage treatment systems. The database must be made available to any interested public 
5.13 	or private party.

5.14 	Sec. 7. APPROPRIATION.
 5.15 	$....... from the general fund is appropriated to the commissioner of agriculture to 
5.16 	be distributed under the Department of Agriculture's best management practice program 
5.17 	for counties to set up a locally managed revolving loan fund used to improve individual 
5.18 	sewage treatment systems. This appropriation is a supplement to local water planning 
5.19 	grants.