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Committee backs new safety requirements for scuba‑based aquatic weed removal after families testify about two drownings
Summary
Senate File 1346 would tighten worker safety requirements for contractors using scuba gear in aquatic plant management, adding training and equipment standards and DNR permit conditions. The committee adopted amendments and recommended the bill to pass to finance after testimony from the families of two men who died while working.
The Senate Committee on the Environment, Climate and Legacy on March 6 voted to recommend passage of Senate File 1346, legislation that would add workplace safety requirements for aquatic plant management when scuba equipment is used.
The bill’s author told the committee the measure responds to two recent preventable deaths of young workers. Family members of the two men — identified in committee testimony as Brady Ani and Joseph Anderson — described failures in employer training and supervision and urged lawmakers to approve the bill before the spring work season.
Senate File 1346 would add safety requirements to Minnesota’s occupational safety rules and to DNR permitting for aquatic plant management using scuba gear. The bill requires that individuals using scuba gear for commercial aquatic plant management hold at least an open‑water scuba certification from a nationally recognized provider. The measure also sets minimum equipment and hazard‑assessment requirements; the committee adopted an amendment that clarified several items as mandatory and preserved a hazard‑survey approach for other controls.
Diane Ani and Bill Ani, parents of one of the men who died, described the circumstances investigators identified after a workplace fatality and urged action. David and Laurie Anderson told the committee their son Joseph died under similar circumstances and urged immediate passage to make the industry safer this season. Bill Ani, a Minneapolis firefighter and the father of one of the deceased, compared fire and underwater breathing apparatus training and said the fatalities were avoidable.
Senator Bowden and other sponsors said they worked with the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Natural Resources and have continued stakeholder conversations with industry and diving experts to refine the language. The committee accepted additional amendments from the author that clarify equipment and training requirements and require the DNR to include safety consultation in permits for aquatic plant management where dive gear is used.
Committee members and sponsors said they will continue technical work to align the bill with federal regulations and to refine language that informs employers and workers of rights and responsibilities. The committee recommended the bill to pass and referred it to the Finance Committee.
