Subdivision 1. Qualifications to participate. For a facility to qualify for participation in the environmental improvement program, more than two years must have elapsed since the initiation of an enforcement action that resulted in the imposition of a penalty involving the facility. In addition, a regulated entity must:

(1) conduct an environmental audit or submit findings from the facility's environmental management system;

(2) for a major facility, prepare an environmental audit program pollution prevention plan in accordance with subdivision 3;

(3) for a facility that is not a major facility, examine steps that could be taken to eliminate or reduce the generation or release of regulated materials at the facility; and

(4) submit a report in accordance with subdivision 2.

Subd. 2. Report. A regulated entity must submit a report to the commissioner, and to a local governmental unit if the report identifies a violation of an ordinance enacted by the local governmental unit or of another legally binding requirement imposed by the local governmental unit, within 45 days after the date of the final written report of findings for an environmental audit or within 45 days after the findings from the facility's environmental management system. The report must contain:

(1) a certification by the owner or operator of the facility that the applicable requirements of subdivision 1, clauses (1) to (4), have been met, including a certification that the facility's environmental management system meets the requirements of section 114C.21, subdivision 2a, if the report contains findings from the facility's environmental management system;

(2) a disclosure of all violations of environmental requirements that were identified in the environmental audit or by the facility's environmental management system and a brief description of proposed actions to correct the violations;

(3) a commitment signed by the owner or operator of the facility to correct the violations as expeditiously as possible under the circumstances;

(4) if more than 90 days will be required to correct the violations, a performance schedule that identifies the time that will be needed to correct the violations and a brief statement of the reasons that support the time periods set out in the performance schedule; and

(5) a description of the steps the owner or operator has taken or will take to prevent recurrence of the violations.

Subd. 3. Environmental audit program; pollution prevention plan. (a) An environmental audit program pollution prevention plan must establish a program identifying the specific technically and economically practicable steps that could be taken to eliminate or reduce the generation or release of regulated materials.

(b) Each environmental audit program pollution prevention plan must include:

(1) a policy statement articulating upper management support for eliminating or reducing the generation or release of regulated materials at the facility;

(2) a description of the current processes generating or releasing regulated materials that specifically describes the types, sources, and quantities of regulated materials currently being generated or released by the facility;

(3) a description of the current and past practices used to eliminate or reduce the generation or release of regulated materials at the facility and an evaluation of the effectiveness of these practices;

(4) an assessment of technically and economically practicable options available to eliminate or reduce the generation or release of regulated materials at the facility, including options such as changing the raw materials, operating techniques, equipment and technology, personnel training, and other practices used at the facility. The assessment may include a cost-benefit analysis of the available options;

(5) a statement of objectives based on the assessment in clause (4) and a schedule for achieving those objectives. Wherever technically and economically practicable, the objectives for eliminating or reducing the generation or release of each regulated material at the facility must be expressed in numeric terms based on a specified base year that is no earlier than 1987. Otherwise, the objectives must include a clearly stated list of actions designed to lead to the establishment of numeric objectives as soon as practicable;

(6) an explanation of the rationale and environmental benefit for each objective established for the facility;

(7) a listing of options that were considered not to be economically and technically practicable; and

(8) a certification, signed and dated by the facility manager and an officer of the company under penalty of section 609.63, attesting to the accuracy of the information in the plan.

(c) A summary containing the information described in paragraph (b), clause (5), must be submitted with the facility's initial environmental audit report. Subsequent environmental audit reports, submitted more than one year after the initial submittal, must include a progress report which describes the success in meeting the objectives included in the summary. After the first submission of the facility's progress report, progress reports are required only if at least one year has elapsed since the previous submission of a progress report.

History: 1995 c 168 s 10; 1996 c 437 s 24; 1999 c 158 s 6; 2000 c 260 s 94