Minnesota Environmental Permit Streamlining Executive Order

Governor Mark Dayton has signed an executive order directing the Minnesota Department Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to take actions to streamline environmental permitting processes used by the agencies and to better align environmental requirements with adjoining States and States within EPA Region 5.

The order requires:

“1. The Commissioners shall accelerate and simplify environmental review and permitting by enabling environmental review and permit applications to be submitted electronically.
2. The Commissioners shall establish a goal for each of their agencies to decide, within 150 days after the agency determines that an environmental or natural resource permit application is complete, whether to issue the permit. The Commissioners shall, within six months after the effective date of this order, submit to the Governor a progress report on meeting the goal and any additional administrative recommendations to further reduce decision times.
3. The Commissioners shall establish a goal for each of their agencies to decide, within 30 days after an environmental impact statement is finally approved, whether to issue the permit. The Commissioners shall promptly report to the Governor any decisions that do not meet the goal. 4. The Commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall, within 60 days after the effective date of this order, evaluate and report to the Governor any recommendations the Commissioner deems appropriate to amend Minnesota Statutes, section 115.07, and applicable Minnesota Rules, to be more consistent with federal regulations that, under certain conditions, permit construction to commence before a water discharge permit is issued.
5. The Commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency shall include, in any statement of need and reasonableness for rules to adopt air quality or hazardous waste or water quality standards, an analysis of proposed standards that are more stringent than similar federal standards including justification for why the standards are needed to protect public health and the environment, and a comparison to similar standards in border states and states within Environmental Protection Agency region 5”


The Executive Order will become effective 15 days after publication in the State Register and filing with the Secretary of State.

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Tighter Water Quality Standards Required By EPA For Mississippi River

On December 15, 2008, USEPA informed the Missouri Department Natural Resources (MDNR) that new or revised water quality standards are necessary to protect the Mississippi River in Missouri. MDNR designated many stream segments and all of its lakes for recreational uses. However, Missouri did not assign the highest level of recreational use to a 195.5-mile segment of the Mississippi River that flows from St. Louis to the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. This EPA action directs the State to address approximately 160 miles of the Mississippi River to ensure that swimming, water-skiing and other recreational uses are protected. This will require MDNR to assign more stringent water quality criteria, which may in turn result in tighter wastewater discharge permit limits.

This action could impact many municipal and industrial NPDES permitted discharges in this reach of the Mississippi River, whether or not existing water quality data indicate that the river does/ does not currently meet recreational use standards.

Caltha LLP assists clients nationwide in addressing water quality standards in permitting and environmental reviews.

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Missouri (MDNR) Nutrient Water Quality Criteria For Streams

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) has begun the formal process of setting nutrient water quality criteria for streams and rivers in the State, as required under section 304(a) of the Clean Water Act. This is the second phase of a process approved by US EPA in 2005 to set water quality standards for specific nutrients in waters of the State. This process was detailed in the document "Nutrient Criteria Plan".

Nutrient criteria for lakes and reservoirs have already been drafted and are scheduled for submission into the rulemaking process as a part of revision to Water Quality Standards.

Beginning in February 2009, MDNR will be conducted public meetings to solicit input into the development of nutrient criteria for streams and rivers.

Caltha LLP assists clients nationwide in assessing and addressing water quality standards.

For further information contact Caltha LLP at
info@calthacompany.com
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Caltha LLP Website