The bill amends several sections of the Minnesota Statutes to enhance the efficiency of permitting processes for publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities and other environmental permits. Key changes include the introduction of a prepublic review process, which mandates that the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency provide permit applicants with a draft permit and related fact sheets at least 30 days prior to public notice, unless waived by the applicant. Additionally, the public comment period for these permits is set to a minimum of 60 days, with the possibility of reducing it to 30 days under certain conditions. The bill also establishes a goal for the state to issue or deny tier 2 permits within 210 days of application submission.

Further amendments include the requirement for the commissioner to notify applicants within 30 business days whether their application is complete and to provide a detailed report on permitting efficiency annually. The bill also allows for electronic submission of documents and introduces a provision that pauses the 90- or 150-day goal for permit issuance if additional information is requested from the applicant. Lastly, the Pollution Control Agency is granted the authority to require air dispersion modeling for certain facilities to assess air contaminants, ensuring a more thorough evaluation of environmental impacts.

Statutes affected:
Introduction: 115.542, 116.03, 116.07