CCP 10-28-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I . Regulatory bodies impose new permit requirements without going through rulemaking. . 2 Instead, the agencies rely on internal documents, program strategies, and "best professional 3 judgment of staff' when setting permit criteria. 4 . Regulatory bodies approve permits and programs that compete with traditional municipal 5 services and encourage urban sprawl. This behavior puts at risk the public investments and 6 growth management efforts cities have made when planning for future development. 7 . Permit fees and other cost transfer elements of federal and state programs do not provide an 8 incentive for environmental agency efficiency, policy prioritization or risk assessment. 9 . Third party environmental advocacy groups create significant hardships on cities by 10 threatening litigation even when hard science may not support the groups' positions. 11 12 Response: 13 14 · Alternative wastewater treatment and cooperative service systems should be prohibited 15 from operating in areas that can reasonably and effectively be served by existing 16 municipal systems unless: 17 -. The municipal system is proven to be substantially less cost-effective and 18 substantially less beneficial to the environment; and 19 --The operation of these systems will not create a stranded public investment in the 20 existing system. 21 . Sufficient state and federal financial assistance should be provided to assist local 22 governments when complying with state and federal infrastructure requirements, a 23 particularly with regard to wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water facilities. .. 24 · The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) should streamline its permitting and 25 reissuing processes to allow for effluent standards and permit requirements to be 26 known earlier, thereby giving communities more time to defend against contested case 27 hearings. 28 . The Legislature should require the MPCA to make its determination regarding the 29 reissuance of a permit within a reasonable set time period and require the MPCA to 30 reissue the permit within a reasonable set time frame. 31 . Legislation should be passed that requires state agencies to establish permit 32 requirements only when the criteria they are using is developed- through the rule- 33 making process. 34 . The League should join with other like-minded organizations to contest through 35 judicial means various regulatory activities of state agencies and advocacy groups. 36 37 SD-15. Creating a Minnesota GIS (AH) 38 39 Issue: Local governments are finding geographic information systems (GIS) an essential 40 tool for comprehensive land use, real estate, environmental, and other land management 41 information. In many counties, maintenance of official land records has not been automated, 42 creating a barrier to GIS development. In addition, the start-up costs of GIS implementation can ~ be prohibitive. e 28