Subdivision 1.

Generally.

The deleted text beginagencydeleted text endnew text begin commissionernew text end is hereby given and charged with
the following powers and duties:

(a) to administer and enforce all laws relating to the pollution of any of the waters of
the state;

(b) to investigate the extent, character, and effect of the pollution of the waters of this
state and to gather data and information necessary or desirable in the administration or
enforcement of pollution laws, and to make such classification of the waters of the state as
it may deem advisable;

(c) to establish and alter such reasonable pollution standards for any waters of the state
in relation to the public use to which they are or may be put as it shall deem necessary for
the purposes of this chapter and, with respect to the pollution of waters of the state, chapter
116;

(d) to encourage waste treatment, including advanced waste treatment, instead of stream
low-flow augmentation for dilution purposes to control and prevent pollution;

(e) to adopt, issue, reissue, modify, deny, or revoke, enter into or enforce reasonable
orders, permits, variances, standards, rules, schedules of compliance, and stipulation
agreements, under such conditions as it may prescribe, in order to prevent, control or abate
water pollution, or for the installation or operation of disposal systems or parts thereof, or
for other equipment and facilities:

(1) requiring the discontinuance of the discharge of sewage, industrial waste or other
wastes into any waters of the state resulting in pollution in excess of the applicable pollution
standard established under this chapter;

(2) prohibiting or directing the abatement of any discharge of sewage, industrial waste,
or other wastes, into any waters of the state or the deposit thereof or the discharge into any
municipal disposal system where the same is likely to get into any waters of the state in
violation of this chapter and, with respect to the pollution of waters of the state, chapter
116, or standards or rules promulgated or permits issued pursuant thereto, and specifying
the schedule of compliance within which such prohibition or abatement must be
accomplished;

(3) prohibiting the storage of any liquid or solid substance or other pollutant in a manner
which does not reasonably assure proper retention against entry into any waters of the state
that would be likely to pollute any waters of the state;

(4) requiring the construction, installation, maintenance, and operation by any person
of any disposal system or any part thereof, or other equipment and facilities, or the
reconstruction, alteration, or enlargement of its existing disposal system or any part thereof,
or the adoption of other remedial measures to prevent, control or abate any discharge or
deposit of sewage, industrial waste or other wastes by any person;

(5) establishing, and from time to time revising, standards of performance for new sources
taking into consideration, among other things, classes, types, sizes, and categories of sources,
processes, pollution control technology, cost of achieving such effluent reduction, and any
nonwater quality environmental impact and energy requirements. Said standards of
performance for new sources shall encompass those standards for the control of the discharge
of pollutants which reflect the greatest degree of effluent reduction which the agency
determines to be achievable through application of the best available demonstrated control
technology, processes, operating methods, or other alternatives, including, where practicable,
a standard permitting no discharge of pollutants. New sources shall encompass buildings,
structures, facilities, or installations from which there is or may be the discharge of pollutants,
the construction of which is commenced after the publication by the agency of proposed
rules prescribing a standard of performance which will be applicable to such source.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law of this state, any point source the construction
of which is commenced after May 20, 1973, and which is so constructed as to meet all
applicable standards of performance for new sources shall, consistent with and subject to
the provisions of section 306(d) of the Amendments of 1972 to the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act, not be subject to any more stringent standard of performance for new sources
during a ten-year period beginning on the date of completion of such construction or during
the period of depreciation or amortization of such facility for the purposes of section 167
or 169, or both, of the Federal Internal Revenue Code of 1954, whichever period ends first.
Construction shall encompass any placement, assembly, or installation of facilities or
equipment, including contractual obligations to purchase such facilities or equipment, at
the premises where such equipment will be used, including preparation work at such
premises;

(6) establishing and revising pretreatment standards to prevent or abate the discharge of
any pollutant into any publicly owned disposal system, which pollutant interferes with,
passes through, or otherwise is incompatible with such disposal system;

(7) requiring the owner or operator of any disposal system or any point source to establish
and maintain such records, make such reports, install, use, and maintain such monitoring
equipment or methods, including where appropriate biological monitoring methods, sample
such effluents in accordance with such methods, at such locations, at such intervals, and in
such a manner as the agency shall prescribe, and providing such other information as the
agency may reasonably require;

(8) notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, and with respect to the pollution
of waters of the state, chapter 116, requiring the achievement of more stringent limitations
than otherwise imposed by effluent limitations in order to meet any applicable water quality
standard by establishing new effluent limitations, based upon section 115.01, subdivision
13, clause (b), including alternative effluent control strategies for any point source or group
of point sources to insure the integrity of water quality classifications, whenever the agency
determines that discharges of pollutants from such point source or sources, with the
application of effluent limitations required to comply with any standard of best