8.5. SR 08-20-2012 EREQUEST FOR ACTION
Raver
TO ITEM NUMBER
Mayor and City Council 8.5
AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY
General Business August 20, 2012 Rebecca Haug, Environmental
Administrator
ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By
Resolution Supporting State Enforcement of MS 473.848 Cal Partner, City Administrator
(Restrictions on Disposal of Metro Mixed Municipal Solid REVIEWED BY
Waste) Peter Beck, City Attorney
ACTION REQUESTED
Adopt the resolution to support prompt enforcement of Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.848 by the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA),restricting disposal of unprocessed mixed municipal solid
waste (MMSW) generated in the metropolitan area from being landfilled.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
In 1980, the Minnesota Legislature recognized the importance of waste management with the passage of
the Waste Management Act (WMA) (Minn. Stat. §115A). The purpose is to improve integrated solid
waste management (ISWM) to protect the state's natural resources and public health. It establishes the
following hierarchy of preferred solid waste management practices:
1. waste reduction and reuse
2. waste recycling
3. composting ofyard waste and food waste
4. resource recovery through mixed municipal solid waste composting or incineration
5. land diiposal which produces no measurable methane gas or which involves the retrieval of methane gas as a fuel for
the production of energy to be used on-site or for sale
6. land diiposal which produces measurable methane and which does not involve the retrieval of methane gas as a fuel
for the production of energy to be used on-site or for sale
In 1985, the Minnesota Legislature enacted Minn. Stat., Sect. 473.848,placing restrictions on the disposal
of unprocessed mixed municipal solid waste generated in the metropolitan areas, for the purposes of
implementing section 115A.02 and metro goals related to landfill abatement activities. A copy of Minn.
Stat.,Sect. 473.848,is attached.
The MPCA worked with metro communities to prepare a Metropolitan Waste Disposal Restrictions
Report. The report determined that MMSW processing via waste-to-energy is superior to landfilling and
is needed even after reuse, organic recovery, and recycling. Enforcement of Minn. Stat., Sect. 473.848
will ensure processing of MMSW to restore capacity to resource recovery facilities,increasing energy
production,and extending the life of landfills by saving space.
The MPCA will accept written comments through August 31, 2012. The report will be given to the
legislature by October 1, 2012. Staff has prepared a resolution to the MPCA indicating the city's support
� BfEBEB BY
N:\Public Bodies\City Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\08-20-2012\MPCA Resolution.docx NATURE
for enforcement of Minn. Stat., Sect. 473.848. This resolution,if adopted,will be submitted to the
MPCA by August 31, 2012,to be included in the comments section of the report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
N/A
ATTACHMENTS
• Resolution
• Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.848
Action Motion by Second by Vote
Follow Up
N:\Public Bodies\City Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\08-20-2012\MPCA Resolution.docx
RESOLUTION I2-
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ELK RIVER
A RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT PROMPT ENFORCEMENT BY THE
MINNESOTA POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY OF MINNESOTA
STATUTES, SECTION 473.848
WHEREAS, the goals of the City of Elk River are in agreement with the goals of the State
of Minnesota, delineated in Minnesota Statutes, Section 115A.02, which
states: "It is the goal of this chapter to protect the state's land, air, water and other
natural resources and the public health by improving waste management in the state to serve
the following purposes: (1) reduction in the amount and toxicity of waste generated; (2)
separation and recovery of materials and energy from waste; (3) reduction in indiscriminate
dependence on disposal of waste; (4) coordination of the solid waste management among
political subdivisions; and(5) orderly and deliberate development and financial security of
waste facilities, including disposal facilities.';and
WHEREAS, Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.848,placing restrictions on the disposal of
unprocessed mixed municipal solid waste generated in the metropolitan area,
was adopted in 1985 for the purposes of implementing the policies
established in Section 115A.02; and
WHEREAS, the City of Elk River has a long standing policy of supporting those
initiatives that reduce the need for indiscriminate land disposal of solid waste
through various waste reduction,recycling, and resource recovery efforts;
and
WHEREAS, Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.848 has been in law for 27 years and,
pursuant to this law, significant investments have been made in processing
facilities to reduce dependence on indiscriminate land disposal of mixed
municipal solid waste; and
WHEREAS, the City of Elk River has licensed and supports Great River Energy's Elk
River Resource Recovery Project,which is currently processing mixed
municipal solid waste into Renewable Energy so that it need not be
landfilled; and
WHEREAS, in 2005, the MPCA became responsible for enforcing Minnesota Statutes,
Section 473.848 and;beginning in late 2010, the MPCA began studying how
to enforce the provisions of this statute;and
WHEREAS, enforcement of Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.848 will provide direct
benefits to the public by reducing the indiscriminant landf Kling of mixed
municipal solid waste; and
N:\Public Bodies\City Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\08-20-2012\Resolution of MPCA.doc
WHEREAS, enforcement of Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.848 will ensure that
processing facilities receive their operational capacity of mixed municipal
solid waste, thereby greatly reducing the need for public subsidies;and
WHEREAS, enforcement of Minnesota Statute 473.848 will not adversely impact existing
or potential expansions to methane/landfill gas to energy facilities;and
WHEREAS, Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.848 is good public policy that encourages the
recovery of resources,including renewable energy and recyclables, from
mixed municipal solid waste;and
WHEREAS, the City of Elk River is not concerned about potential reductions in host
community/expansion fees and/or surcharge fees due to the enforcement of
Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.848.
NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Elk River
to continue to support the processing of mixed municipal solid waste as a preferred
management option to land disposal and further supports the MPCA's prompt enforcement
of Minnesota Statute Section 473.848 in such a way that the existing capacity of facilities
that manage mixed municipal solid waste through the separation and recovery of materials
and energy is maximized and opposes any further delays to such enforcement that additional
studies or other actions may cause.
Passed and adopted this 20th day of August,2012.
John J. Dietz,Mayor
ATTEST:
Tina Allard, City Clerk
N:\Public Bodies\City Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\08-20-2012\Resolution of MPCA.doc
473.848, 2011 Minnesota Statutes Page 1 of 2
2011 Minnesota Statutes
473.848 RESTRICTION ON DISPOSAL.
Subdivision 1. Restriction. (a) For the purposes of implementing the waste management
policies in section 115A.02 and metropolitan area goals related to landfill abatement established
under this chapter, a person may not dispose of unprocessed mixed municipal solid waste
generated in the metropolitan area at a waste disposal facility unless the waste disposal facility
meets the standards in section 473.849 and:
(1) the waste has been certified as unprocessible by a county under subdivision 2; or
(2)(i) the waste has been transferred to the disposal facility from a resource recovery facility;
(ii) no other resource recovery facility serving the metropolitan area is capable of processing
the waste; and
(iii) the waste has been certified as unprocessible by the operator of the resource recovery
facility under subdivision 3.
(b) For purposes of this section, mixed municipal solid waste does not include street
sweepings, construction debris, mining waste, foundry sand, and other materials, if they are not
capable of being processed by resource recovery as determined by the council.
Subd. 2. County certification; office approval. (a) By April 1 of each year, each county shall
submit an annual certification report to the office detailing:
(1) the quantity of waste generated in the county that was not processed prior to transfer to a
disposal facility during the year preceding the report;
(2) the reasons the waste was not processed;
(3) a strategy for development of techniques to ensure processing of waste including a
specific timeline for implementation of those techniques; and
(4) any progress made by the county in reducing the amount of unprocessed waste.
The report shall be included in the county report required by section 473.803, subdivision 3.
(b) The Pollution Control Agency shall approve a county's certification report if it determines
that the county is reducing and will continue to reduce the amount of unprocessed waste, based on
the report and the county's progress in development and implementation of techniques to reduce
the amount of unprocessed waste transferred to disposal facilities. If the Pollution Control Agency
does not approve a county's report, it shall negotiate with the county to develop and implement
specific techniques to reduce unprocessed waste. If the Pollution Control Agency does not
approve two or more consecutive reports from any one county, the Pollution Control Agency shall
develop specific reduction techniques that are designed for the particular needs of the county. The
county shall implement those techniques by specific dates to be determined by the Pollution
Control Agency.
Subd. 3. Facility certification. The operator of each resource recovery facility that receives
waste from counties in the metropolitan area shall certify as unprocessible each load of mixed
municipal solid waste it does not process. Certification must be made to each county that sends its
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=473.848 08/16/2012
473.848, 2011 Minnesota Statutes Page 2 of 2
waste to the facility at intervals specified by the county. Certification must include at least the
number and size of loads certified as unprocessible and the reasons the waste is unprocessible.
Loads certified as unprocessible must include the loads that would otherwise have been processed
but were not processed because the facility was not in operation, but nothing in this section
relieves the operator of its contractual obligations to process mixed municipal solid waste.
Subd. 4. Pollution Control Agency report. The Pollution Control Agency shall include, as part
of its report to the Environment and Natural Resources Committees of the senate and house of
representatives, the Finance Division of the senate Committee on Environment and Natural
Resources, and the house of representatives Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
Finance required under section 473.149, an accounting of the quantity of unprocessed waste
transferred to disposal facilities, the reasons the waste was not processed, a strategy for reducing
the amount of unprocessed waste, and progress made by counties to reduce the amount of
unprocessed waste. The Pollution Control Agency may adopt standards for determining when
waste is unprocessible and procedures for expediting certification and reporting of unprocessed
waste.
Subd. 5. Definition. For the purpose of this section, waste is "unprocessed" if it has not, after
collection and before disposal, undergone separation of materials for resource recovery through
recycling, incineration for energy production, production and use of refuse-derived fuel,
composting, or any combination of these processes so that the weight of the waste remaining that
must be disposed of in a mixed municipal solid waste disposal facility is not more than 35 percent
of the weight before processing, on an annual average.
History: 1985 c 274 s 35; 1989 c 325 s 66; 1991 c 337 s 81,82; 1993 c 249 s 43,44; 1994 c
585 s 49,50; 1995 c 247 art 2 s 51,52; 1996 c 470 s 27; 1 Sp2005 c 1 art 2 s 161
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=473.848 08/16/2012