Purpose

This bill would set new requirements for operating and monitoring municipal solid waste incinerators in Minnesota. It aims to tighten emissions standards, require detailed monitoring and public data disclosure, and align Minnesota’s rules with recent federal standards for large waste combustion units.

Key Definitions (selected)

• Municipal solid waste incinerator: facility that burns mixed municipal waste (including energy recovery facilities).
• Emissions measurement devices: continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) or continuous automated sampling system (CASS).
• Dioxinfuran: includes dioxins and furans.
• PFAS: perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
• Startup, shutdown, warmup: defined periods around when waste starts/stops or when the unit heats up before operation.
• Technologically feasible and commercially available: equipment that can be installed and purchased now, with service contracts available (costs not considered in this definition).

Emissions limits and coverage

• Scope: Applies to municipal solid waste incinerators (including energy recovery facilities). Limits reference federal standards for large waste combustion units, specifically amendments to the new source performance standards and emission guidelines published by the EPA in January 2024.
• Pre-existing vs new facilities:
  • Incinerators operating before the section’s effective date must meet the standards for all listed pollutants except carbon monoxide (CO) corrected to seven percent oxygen.
  • Incinerators constructed and beginning operations after the effective date must meet the standards for all listed pollutants except CO corrected to seven percent oxygen.
• Carbon monoxide: Regardless of other rules, every operating incinerator must meet an hourly CO emissions limit set by the commissioner.
• Pollutants covered (examples): carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrochloric acid, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins/furans, lead, mercury, arsenic, hexavalent chromium, manganese, nickel, selenium, zinc, PFAS, particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), volatile organic compounds, hydrofluoric acid, beryllium, cadmium, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Monitoring and measurement requirements

• Emissions monitoring plan: owners/operators must submit a plan to deploy either a continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) or a continuous automated sampling system (CASS) to monitor multiple air contaminants, including CO2, ammonia, HCl, PCBs, dioxins/furans, metals, PFAS, PM, VOCs, and others listed.
• Feasibility-based approach:
  • If a CEMS is technologically feasible and commercially available for a given contaminant, the plan should use CEMS to monitor that contaminant.
  • If no suitable CEMS exists for a contaminant, the plan must use CASS to sample that contaminant, with long-term, year-round sampling (months back-to-back).
  • If CEMS for a contaminant is not feasible, the plan must still include CASS; direct monitoring data must be used rather than estimates.
• Data handling: monitoring must be continuous and data must be collected, analyzed, and available to the agency in a format easy to upload to the agency’s website.
• Implementation timing: plans require commissioner approval, and facilities must implement the approved plan within a set period after approval.

Data disclosure and public access (datasharing)

• Automated data-sharing system: each incinerator must develop and submit a plan to implement a transparent, automated data-sharing system.
• Public accessibility: data must be posted on the agency website and include:
  • Emission readings (concentrations and pounds per day/year) for each contaminant.
  • Comparisons to state/federal emission limits and permit limits.
  • Any emissions limit violations.
  • Operating status (startup/shutdown) at the time emissions are measured.
  • Archived emission data and facility performance test results.
  • Automatic electronic notifications to the owner/operator, the commissioner, and any person who requests notification of violations.
• Dioxin/furan reporting: emissions of dioxins/furans must be shown in mass emissions and toxic equivalents using EPA or WHO factors.
• Data accuracy review: the commissioner may approve, reject, or modify the datasharing plan to ensure accuracy and public usefulness.
• Enforcement readiness: within one year after a datasharing plan is implemented, the commissioner must determine whether the data from the monitoring systems are sufficiently accurate and reliable for enforcement purposes.

Rulemaking and implementation timeline

• The commissioner must adopt implementing rules no later than a specified date.
• The 18-month rulemaking deadline in Minnesota law (section 14.125) does not apply to rules adopted under this section.

Significant changes to existing law

• Introduces a comprehensive, federally aligned framework for emissions limits and monitoring of municipal solid waste incinerators.
• Adds mandatory, public-facing data disclosure and real-time-like data sharing for emissions, including dioxin/furan TEQ reporting.
• Requires a formal emissions monitoring plan (CEMS or CASS) for a broad list of pollutants, with feasibility-based deployment choices.
• Establishes ongoing operational requirements during startup, warmup, and shutdown periods (with unique averaging rules).
• Ties Minnesota rules to the EPA’s January 2024 amendments to NSPS and emission guidelines for large municipal waste combustion units.
• Creates a new process for rulemaking and data accuracy determinations, with a focus on transparency and public accessibility.

Relevant Terms - municipal solid waste incinerator - emissions limits - continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) - continuous automated sampling system (CASS) - dioxins and furans (dioxinfuran) - PFAS - CO (carbon monoxide) and seven percent oxygen - CO2, ammonia, HCl - PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) - PM10 and PM2.5 - VOCs (volatile organic compounds) - heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel) - manganese, selenium, zinc - terbary: PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) - dioxin/furan TEQ - energy recovery facility - startup, shutdown, warmup - technologically feasible and commercially available - datasharing / data-disclosure system - EPA / Federal Register / NSPS / emission guidelines - Table 2 / Table 3 (pollutant-specific standards)