Senate committee advances bill setting basic parameters for natural burials and scattering of remains

Senate File 28-19, presented by Senator Mark Rarick, would establish statutory minimums and parameters for natural (green) burial operations and clarify how scattering of cremated remains may occur in cemetery grounds. The bill follows a 2023 moratorium and a Minnesota Department of Health study of natural-burial practices.

Sponsors said the measure responds to county officials and neighbors who asked for statutory guidance on setbacks, minimum burial depths and distance from water so that local zoning decisions would rest on a shared baseline. The bill originally included provisions addressing treatment of human remains that funeral directors and cemetery operators raised concerns about; the author said those operational provisions were removed after meetings with industry representatives.

An A4 amendment adopted by the committee clarified that both forms of cremation referenced in statute — traditional flame cremation and water-based cremation (alkaline hydrolysis) — are covered for purposes of in‑cemetery scattering provisions. Witness Matt Connell, caretaker of Loving Earth Memorial Gardens in Carlton County, testified the operation seeks to restore a hayfield planted with trees and wildflowers and was frustrated that county decisions treated a green cemetery differently despite permitted‑use zoning.

Supporters — including some county commissioners who submitted testimony — said statutory parameters would give small counties and neighbors clearer guidance on permitting and zoning. The committee recommended the bill to the Health & Human Services Committee for further consideration.