Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solid Waste Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Olmsted County requests more funding for regional materials recovery facility amid process questions
Summary
Olmsted County asked the Capital Investment Committee for an additional $19 million to expand a planned regional materials recovery facility after project costs rose; the committee questioned whether the statutorily required review of impacts on private facilities had been completed.
Olmsted County officials asked the Capital Investment Committee for an additional $19 million in state capital funds to expand a regional materials recovery facility (MRF) after rising costs increased the project’s estimated price.
Representative Smith, who carried the bill, said the county received $10 million in 2023 but higher-than-expected cost estimates and expanded scope prompted a request for roughly $19 million more, bringing public funding to nearly $30 million toward an approximately $58 million project. Commissioner David Senjem (Olmsted County), testifying remotely, said the county expects to provide its required local match at 50 percent and intends the facility to serve a broader regional need in Southeastern Minnesota.
During testimony, Chair Franzen read a letter of opposition from the National Waste and Recycling Association asserting the project had not completed a required review under Minnesota statute that analyzes impacts on existing private solid waste facilities. Representative Smith and Commissioner Senjem replied that the review referenced in the letter is an MPCA application requirement the county will complete during the permitting/application phase and that the statutory review is not a prerequisite for making a capital investment request to the Legislature.
Representative Smith said plainly, “we don't currently have a MRF in Southeastern Minnesota, and we need 1.” Committee leaders said they would seek to ensure the statutory review and potential market impacts are resolved as the project moves through the application and regulatory process. The committee did not take a final appropriation vote at the hearing.
