1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to environment; modifying provisions for permitting efficiency; amending
1.3 Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 115.542; 116.03, subdivision 2b; 116.07,
1.4 subdivision 4a.
1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 115.542, is amended to read:
1.7 115.542 NOTICE REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLICLY OWNED WASTEWATER
1.8TREATMENT FACILITIES.
1.9 Subdivision 1.Definitions.For the purpose of this section, the following terms have
1.10the meanings given:
1.11 (1) "permit" means a national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit
1.12or state disposal system (SDS) permit; and
1.13 (2) "permit applicant" means a person or entity submitting an application for a new
1.14permit or renewal, modification, or revocation of an existing permit for a publicly owned
1.15wastewater treatment facility.
1.16 Subd. 2.Applicability.This section applies to all draft permits and permits for publicly
1.17owned wastewater treatment facilities for which the commissioner of the Pollution Control
1.18Agency makes a preliminary determination whether to issue or deny.
1.19 Subd. 3.Prepublic notice review requirements.Unless waived by the permit applicant,
1.20the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency must provide a permit applicant with a
1.21copy of the draft permit and any fact sheets required by agency rules at least 30 days before
1.22the distribution and public notice of the permit application and preliminary determination.
1Section 1.
25-00354 as introduced01/15/25 REVISOR EB/ES
SENATE
STATE OF MINNESOTA
S.F. No. 2833NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
(SENATE AUTHORS: JOHNSON STEWART and Hauschild)
OFFICIAL STATUSD-PGDATE
Introduction and first reading03/20/2025
Referred to Environment, Climate, and Legacy 2.1 Subd. 4.Permitting efficiency Public notice requirements.The commissioner must
2.2prepare and issue a public notice of a completed application and the commissioner's
2.3preliminary determination as to whether the permit should be issued or denied. The public
2.4comment period must be at least 60 days for permit applications under this section but may
2.5be reduced to 30 days if:
2.6 (1) a request for the reduction is made by the permit applicant; and
2.7 (2) the commissioner approves the request based on consideration of public or Tribal
2.8interest in the permit action.
2.9 Subd. 5.Permitting efficiency.Notwithstanding section 116.03, it is the goal of the
2.10state that tier 2 permits for publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities be issued or
2.11denied within 210 days following submission of a permit application.
2.12 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 116.03, subdivision 2b, is amended to read:
2.13 Subd. 2b.Permitting efficiency.(a) It is the goal of the state that environmental and
2.14resource management permits be issued or denied within 90 days for tier 1 permits or 150
2.15days for tier 2 permits following submission of a permit application. The commissioner of
2.16the Pollution Control Agency shall establish management systems designed to achieve the
2.17goal. For the purposes of this section, "tier 1 permits" are permits that do not require
2.18individualized actions or public comment periods, and "tier 2 permits" are permits that
2.19require individualized actions or public comment periods.
2.20 (b) The commissioner shall prepare an annual permitting efficiency report that includes
2.21statistics on meeting the goal in paragraph (a) and the criteria for tier 2 by permit categories.
2.22The report is due August 1 each year. For permit applications that have not met the goal,
2.23the report must state the reasons for not meeting the goal. In stating the reasons for not
2.24meeting the goal, the commissioner shall separately identify delays caused by the
2.25responsiveness of the proposer, lack of staff, scientific or technical disagreements, or the
2.26level of public engagement. The report must specify the number of days from initial
2.27submission of the application to the day of determination that the application is complete.
2.28The report must aggregate the data for the year and assess whether program or system
2.29changes are necessary to achieve the goal. The report must be posted on the agency's website
2.30and submitted to the governor and the chairs and ranking minority members of the house
2.31of representatives and senate committees having jurisdiction over environment policy and
2.32finance.
2Sec. 2.
25-00354 as introduced01/15/25 REVISOR EB/ES 3.1 (c) The commissioner shall allow electronic submission of environmental review and
3.2permit documents to the agency.
3.3 (d) Within 30 business days of application for a permit subject to paragraph (a), the
3.4commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall notify the permit applicant, in writing,
3.5whether the application is complete or incomplete. If the commissioner determines that an
3.6application is incomplete, the notice to the applicant must enumerate all deficiencies, citing
3.7specific provisions of the applicable rules and statutes, and advise the applicant on how the
3.8deficiencies can be remedied. If the commissioner determines that the application is complete,
3.9the notice must confirm the application's tier 1 or tier 2 permit status. If the commissioner
3.10believes that a complete application for a tier 2 construction permit cannot be issued within
3.11the 150-day goal, the commissioner must provide notice to the applicant with the
3.12commissioner's notice that the application is complete and, upon request of the applicant,
3.13provide the permit applicant with a schedule estimating when the agency will begin drafting
3.14the permit and issue the public notice of the draft permit. This paragraph does not apply to
3.15an application for a permit that is subject to a grant or loan agreement under chapter 446A.
3.16 (e) If, after notifying the permit applicant that the application is complete, the
3.17commissioner determines that additional information is needed, the commissioner must
3.18notify the applicant. Upon notice under this paragraph, counting days toward the 90- or
3.19150-day goal described in paragraph (a) stops until the applicant has responded with the
3.20additional information. Once the applicant has responded with all the additional information
3.21required, counting resumes from where it stopped. The applicant has 30 business days to
3.22provide the additional information to the commissioner, but the commissioner may extend
3.23the time upon the applicant's request.
3.24 (e) (f) For purposes of this subdivision, "permit professional" means an individual not
3.25employed by the Pollution Control Agency who:
3.26 (1) has a professional license issued by the state of Minnesota in the subject area of the
3.27permit;
3.28 (2) has at least ten years of experience in the subject area of the permit; and
3.29 (3) abides by the duty of candor applicable to employees of the Pollution Control Agency
3.30under agency rules and complies with all applicable requirements under chapter 326.
3.31 (f) (g) Upon the agency's request, an applicant relying on a permit professional must
3.32participate in a meeting with the agency before submitting an application:
3Sec. 2.
25-00354 as introduced01/15/25 REVISOR EB/ES 4.1 (1) at least two weeks prior to the preapplication meeting, the applicant must submit at
4.2least the following:
4.3 (i) project description, including, but not limited to, scope of work, primary emissions
4.4points, discharge outfalls, and water intake points;
4.5 (ii) location of the project, including county, municipality, and location on the site;
4.6 (iii) business schedule for project completion; and
4.7 (iv) other information requested by the agency at least four weeks prior to the scheduled
4.8meeting; and
4.9 (2) during the preapplication meeting, the agency shall provide for the applicant at least
4.10the following:
4.11 (i) an overview of the permit review program;
4.12 (ii) a determination of which specific application or applications will be necessary to
4.13complete the project;
4.14 (iii) a statement notifying the applicant if the specific permit being sought requires a
4.15mandatory public hearing or comment period;
4.16 (iv) a review of the timetable established in the permit review program for the specific
4.17permit being sought; and
4.18 (v) a determination of what information must be included in the application, including
4.19a description of any required modeling or testing.
4.20 (g) (h) The applicant may select a permit professional to undertake the preparation of
4.21the permit application and draft permit.
4.22 (h) (i) If a preapplication meeting was held, the agency shall, within seven business days
4.23of receipt of an application, notify the applicant and submitting permit professional that the
4.24application is complete or is denied, specifying the deficiencies of the application.
4.25 (i) (j) Upon receipt of notice that the application is complete, the permit professional
4.26shall submit to the agency a timetable for submitting a draft permit. The permit professional
4.27shall submit a draft permit on or before the date provided in the timetable. Within 60 days
4.28after the close of the public comment period, the commissioner shall notify the applicant
4.29whether the permit can be issued.
4.30 (j) (k) Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify:
4Sec. 2.
25-00354 as introduced01/15/25 REVISOR EB/ES 5.1 (1) any requirement of law that is necessary to retain federal delegation to or assumption
5.2by the state; or
5.3 (2) the authority to implement a federal law or program.
5.4 (k) (l) The permit application and draft permit shall identify or include as an appendix
5.5all studies and other sources of information used to substantiate the analysis contained in
5.6the permit application and draft permit. The commissioner shall request additional studies,
5.7if needed, and the permit applicant shall submit all additional studies and information
5.8necessary for the commissioner to perform the commissioner's responsibility to review,
5.9modify, and determine the completeness of the application and approve the draft permit.
5.10 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 116.07, subdivision 4a, is amended to read:
5.11 Subd. 4a.Permits.(a) The Pollution Control Agency may issue, continue in effect or
5.12deny permits, under such conditions as it may prescribe for the prevention of pollution, for
5.13the emission of air contaminants, or for the installation or operation of any emission facility,
5.14air contaminant treatment facility, treatment facility, potential air contaminant storage
5.15facility, or storage facility, or any part thereof, or for the sources or emissions of noise
5.16pollution.
5.17 (b) The Pollution Control Agency may also issue, continue in effect or deny permits,
5.18under such conditions as it may prescribe for the prevention of pollution, for the storage,
5.19collection, transportation, processing, or disposal of waste, or for the installation or operation
5.20of any system or facility, or any part thereof, related to the storage, collection, transportation,
5.21processing, or disposal of waste.
5.22 (c) The agency may not issue a permit to a facility without analyzing and considering
5.23the cumulative levels and effects of past and current environmental pollution from all sources
5.24on the environment and residents of the geographic area within which the facility's emissions
5.25are likely to be deposited, provided that the facility is located in a community in a city of
5.26the first class in Hennepin County that meets all of the following conditions:
5.27 (1) is within a half mile of a site designated by the federal government as an EPA
5.28superfund site due to residential arsenic contamination;
5.29 (2) a majority of the population are low-income persons of color and American Indians;
5.30 (3) a disproportionate percent of the children have childhood lead poisoning, asthma,
5.31or other environmentally related health problems;
5Sec. 3.
25-00354 as introduced01/15/25 REVISOR EB/ES 6.1 (4) is located in a city that has experienced numerous air quality alert days of dangerous
6.2air quality for sensitive populations between February 2007 and February 2008; and
6.3 (5) is located near the junctions of several heavily trafficked state and county highways
6.4and two one-way streets which carry both truck and auto traffic.
6.5 (d) The Pollution Control Agency may revoke or modify any permit issued under this
6.6subdivision and section 116.081 whenever it is necessary, in the opinion of the agency, to
6.7prevent or abate pollution.
6.8 (e) The Pollution Control Agency has the authority for approval over the siting, expansion,
6.9or operation of a solid waste facility with regard to environmental issues. However, the
6.10agency's issuance of a permit does not release the permittee from any liability, penalty, or
6.11duty imposed by any applicable county ordinances. Nothing in this chapter precludes, or
6.12shall be construed to preclude, a county from enforcing land use controls, regulations, and
6.13ordinances existing at the time of the permit application and adopted pursuant to Minnesota
6.14Statutes 2020, sections 366.10 to 366.181, or sections 394.21 to 394.37, or 462.351 to
6.15462.365, with regard to the siting, expansion, or operation of a solid waste facility.
6.16 (f) Except as prohibited by federal law, a person may commence construction,
6.17reconstruction, replacement, or modification of any facility prior to the issuance of a
6.18construction permit by the agency.
6.19 (g) For the purposes of this subdivision, the Pollution Control Agency may require the
6.20owners and operators of any emission facility, air containment treatment facility, treatment
6.21facility, potential air containment storage facility, or storage facility, or any part thereof, to
6.22conduct air dispersion modeling of air contaminants.
6Sec. 3.
25-00354 as introduced01/15/25 REVISOR EB/ES