1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to capital improvements; modifying wastewater 
  1.3             infrastructure funding provisions; appropriating 
  1.4             money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 
  1.5             116.182, by adding a subdivision; and 446A.072, 
  1.6             subdivision 4. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 116.182, is 
  1.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 3a.  [PROJECT APPROVAL.] In addition to any other 
  1.11  applicable statutes or rules required to receive financial 
  1.12  assistance that are consistent with this subdivision, the 
  1.13  commissioner may not approve or certify a project to the public 
  1.14  facilities authority for financial assistance under section 
  1.15  446A.072, unless: 
  1.16     (1) the agency has provided notice of the application for 
  1.17  financial assistance to all cities within ten miles of the 
  1.18  service area of the proposed project, the county in which the 
  1.19  proposed project is located, and all townships contiguous to the 
  1.20  local government unit in which the proposed project is located.  
  1.21  The notice shall contain a description of the proposed project 
  1.22  and costs; 
  1.23     (2) the agency has provided each local government unit 
  1.24  given notice under clause (1) 90 days from the date of the 
  1.25  mailed notice to review and file written comments with the 
  1.26  agency; 
  2.1      (3) for a proposed project with any portion of its service 
  2.2   area located or proposed to be located within three miles of the 
  2.3   corporate limits of a city, the agency has received written 
  2.4   approval of the proposed project from the affected city during 
  2.5   the review and comment period provided in clause (2); 
  2.6      (4) for a proposed project with any portion of its service 
  2.7   area located or proposed to be located within three miles of the 
  2.8   corporate limits of a city, the agency has prepared a service 
  2.9   alternatives analysis containing an inventory of available 
  2.10  infrastructure and detailing other feasible and prudent service 
  2.11  alternatives, has held a hearing in accordance with section 
  2.12  115.49, and has determined that it is not feasible and prudent 
  2.13  to serve the area with an existing system or the upgrade of an 
  2.14  existing system; 
  2.15     (5) for a proposed project located or proposed to be 
  2.16  located outside the corporate limits of a city, the office of 
  2.17  strategic and long-range planning has certified to the agency 
  2.18  that the proposed project will not contribute to urban sprawl 
  2.19  and is consistent with the applicable county comprehensive plan; 
  2.20  and 
  2.21     (6) for a proposed project located or proposed to be 
  2.22  located outside the corporate limits of a city, the affected 
  2.23  county has certified to the agency that the proposed project is 
  2.24  consistent with the applicable county comprehensive plan and 
  2.25  zoning and subdivision regulations. 
  2.26     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 446A.072, 
  2.27  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  2.28     Subd. 4.  [FUNDING LEVEL.] (a) The authority shall provide 
  2.29  supplemental assistance for essential project component costs as 
  2.30  certified by the commissioner of the pollution control agency 
  2.31  under section 116.182, subdivision 4.  
  2.32     (b) A municipality may not receive more than $4,000,000 
  2.33  under this section unless specifically approved by law. 
  2.34     (c) The authority will calculate the grant amount needed 
  2.35  for the essential project component costs by first determining 
  2.36  the amount needed to reduce a municipality's monthly residential 
  3.1   sewer service charge to $25 or to an annual residential sewer 
  3.2   service charge in excess of 1.5 percent of the municipality's 
  3.3   median household income, whichever is less, and then multiplying 
  3.4   that amount by 80 percent to determine the actual award amount 
  3.5   to supplement loans under section 446A.07 or provide up to 
  3.6   one-third of the amount of the grant funding level required by 
  3.7   USDA/RECD for projects listed on the agency's intended use 
  3.8   plan.  In the event that a municipality's monthly residential 
  3.9   sewer service charges average above $50, the authority will 
  3.10  provide 100 percent of the grant amount needed to reduce the 
  3.11  average monthly residential sewer service charges to $50. 
  3.12     (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), in the event that 
  3.13  incremental project costs are projected to be incurred as a 
  3.14  result of a project's discharge to an outstanding resource value 
  3.15  water (ORVW), as defined by agency rule, the authority shall 
  3.16  award an additional grant amount equal to 50 percent of the 
  3.17  higher capital project costs resulting from discharge to an ORVW.
  3.18     (d) The authority shall provide supplemental assistance to 
  3.19  a municipality that would not otherwise qualify for supplemental 
  3.20  assistance if: 
  3.21     (1) the municipality voluntarily accepts a sewer connection 
  3.22  from another governmental unit to serve residential, industrial, 
  3.23  or commercial developments that were completed before March 1, 
  3.24  1996, or are on lots whose plats were recorded before that date; 
  3.25  and 
  3.26     (2) fees charged by the municipality for the connection 
  3.27  must take into account state and federal grants used by the 
  3.28  municipality for the construction of the treatment plant. 
  3.29  The amount of supplemental assistance under this paragraph must 
  3.30  be sufficient to reduce debt service payments under section 
  3.31  446A.07 to an extent equivalent to a zero percent loan in an 
  3.32  amount up to the other governmental unit's project costs 
  3.33  necessary for connection.  Eligibility for supplemental 
  3.34  assistance under this paragraph ends three years after the 
  3.35  agency certifies that the connection has met the operational 
  3.36  performance standards established by the agency. 
  4.1      Sec. 3.  [CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.2      $50,000,000 is appropriated from the bond proceeds fund to 
  4.3   the public facilities authority to fund wastewater 
  4.4   infrastructure projects under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  4.5   446A.072, to control water pollution. 
  4.6      Sec. 4.  [BOND SALE.] 
  4.7      To provide the money appropriated in section 3 from the 
  4.8   state bond proceeds fund, the commissioner of finance, on 
  4.9   request of the governor, shall sell and issue bonds of the state 
  4.10  in an amount up to $50,000,000 in the manner, upon the terms, 
  4.11  and with the effect prescribed by Minnesota Statutes, sections 
  4.12  16A.631 to 16A.675, and by the Minnesota Constitution, article 
  4.13  XI, sections 4 to 7. 
  4.14     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.15     This act is effective the day following final enactment.