Certificate of Need

1. Certificate of Need

2. Outline of Briefing • Describe Certificate of Need • Purposes in Statute and Rule • Relationship to County Plans • Out of State MMSW • Discussion Questions

3. 115A.917 CERTIFICATE OF NEED. No new capacity for disposal of mixed municipal solid waste may be permitted in counties outside the metropolitan area without a certificate of need issued by the commissioner indicating the commissioner's determination that the additional disposal capacity is needed in the county. A certificate of need may not be issued until the county has a plan approved under section 115A.46. If the original plan was approved more than five years before, the commissioner may require the plan to be revised before a certificate of need is issued under this section. The commissioner shall certify need only to the extent that there are no feasible and prudent alternatives to the additional disposal capacity, including waste reduction, source separation, and resource recovery, that would minimize adverse impact upon natural resources. Alternatives that are speculative or conjectural are not feasible and prudent. Economic considerations alone do not justify the certification of need or the rejection of alternatives.

4. What is CON? • Certificate of Need is a prerequisite to building new MMSW capacity – No new capacity without a CON • Counties served by landfill must have an approved Solid Waste Plan (115A.46) • Plans are basis of CON • MPCA may require new Plan older than 5 years • MPCA may certify need only to the extent that no feasible and prudent alternatives

6. What is the purpose of CON? • Reduce land disposal to protect public health and the environment • Assure the orderly and deliberate development and financial security of landfills • Expand resource and energy recovery from waste in preference to disposal • Reduce the toxicity of waste to be landfilled • Expand integrated waste management systems to reduce dependence on landfills

7. Example…Metro-area MMSW • Status quo forecasted large increases in the need for MMSW disposal from 2010 to 2030 • The four metro landfills would be filled over the period • Two had “grandfathered” capacity – Elk River and Spruce Ridge • Two had CON capacity • All compete for the same MMSW

9. Metropolitan County Solid Waste Management Master Plans • MPCA and Metro Counties agreed to increase landfill abatement • Metro Master Plans shows implementation of alternatives to land disposal • Metro Master Plans show reduced need for MMSW disposal • Metro Master Plans are done every six years – due again in 2016

11. Greater MN County Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plans • CON is based on information contained in a County Plan • County Plan outlines alternatives to land disposal are slated for implementation • County Plan outlines amounts of MMSW for land disposal after implementing alternatives • Plan specifies which landfill will receive MMSW generated within the County

12. CON and County Plans Issues • County Plan and landfill permit may not be coordinated in time • Plan may not show that alternatives to land disposal are slated for implementation • Plan shows MMSW generation that is much lower or higher than actual geneation • County Board and Plan may elect not to specify a landfill to receive MMSW generated within the County

13. CON and County Plans • Coordination and sequencing of Plan, CON and Permit is essential • County Plans or Regional Plans can streamline CON • Plans should specify which landfill will receive MMSW generated within the County • County Board Resolutions can solve some County Plan-CON issues

14. Out of state MMSW and CON • New landfill capacity must obtain CON regardless of MMSW origin • Same CON documentation requirements; applicable waste plan, alternatives, and designation of landfill by local authority • MPCA review of CON is the same • Out of state MMSW may not contain items specifically banned from the waste stream under Chapter 115A

15. Out of state MMSW and CON Issues • Every state has different frameworks for solid waste management/juristictions • Sovereign nations inside Minnesota may or may not have solid waste programs • MMSW may contain items specifically banned from the waste stream under Chapter 115A • MPCA jurisdiction over Minnesota landfills – landfill must certify need for capacity

16. Conclusions • To Implement CON effectively: • Recognize the authority of MN County Boards, no alternative path to obtaining capacity • Implement all feasible and prudent alternatives to building new MMSW land disposal capacity • County Comprehensive Solid Waste Plan • Sequence CON with Plan & Permit • Obtain information and MMSW designation from out of state jurisdictions and sovereign nations

17. 115A.917 CERTIFICATE OF NEED. No new capacity for disposal of mixed municipal solid waste may be permitted in counties outside the metropolitan area without a certificate of need issued by the commissioner indicating the commissioner's determination that the additional disposal capacity is needed in the county. A certificate of need may not be issued until the county has a plan approved under section 115A.46. If the original plan was approved more than five years before, the commissioner may require the plan to be revised before a certificate of need is issued under this section. The commissioner shall certify need only to the extent that there are no feasible and prudent alternatives to the additional disposal capacity, including waste reduction, source separation, and resource recovery, that would minimize adverse impact upon natural resources. Alternatives that are speculative or conjectural are not feasible and prudent. Economic considerations alone do not justify the certification of need or the rejection of alternatives.

18. THANK YOU !! Questions ?

19. Certificate of Need– 7-16-13PowerPoint Prepared by:Sigurd ScheurleResource Management and Development Division – 612.669.1377