Minnesota senators consider ban on building new school facilities on old landfills

A Minnesota Senate committee on March 3 heard testimony on Senate File 1979, a bill to prohibit construction of new school facilities on former landfill or brownfield sites.

The measure, introduced by Senator Rarick, would prohibit siting new school buildings on closed landfill properties. Senator Rarick described the version before the committee as “a bit different than what we've seen in the past,” saying reporting requirements and a fiscal note from earlier iterations had been removed and that the current language is limited to a forward-looking prohibition.

Larry Lanoue, testifying as an individual and identified to the committee as an advocate who has worked on the issue for more than a decade, told the committee he first raised the issue after learning a family member had a compromised immune system. Lanoue said, “I first got involved after I received a phone call from my daughter informing me that my grandson had a compromised immune system,” and urged passage to prevent future exposures. He described local ordinances in his city that ban new landfills within 4,500 feet of schools but noted those ordinances do not prevent a district from siting a new school near an existing closed landfill.

Lanoue urged a statutory minimum setback, describing a proposal for a one-quarter-mile (approximately 1,320 feet) buffer in which no new school would be sited; he said such a limit would remove the need for an environmental study for sites outside that buffer. He also cited past local controversies, including a voluntary cleanup program in which a two-foot clay cap was used at a former site where a school was built.

Committee members asked whether the bill would apply to additions or rebuilds on existing school parcels. Senator Kunish, who has authored similar bills in previous sessions, said the language is aimed at new school sites and that expansion of an existing school footprint was not clearly covered by the present draft. Senator Kunish and others encouraged working with the author to clarify exemptions or processes for districts that are landlocked and must expand on their current sites.

Committee members and Lanoue also discussed which agencies review contaminated or formerly contaminated sites: the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) maintains records and has documents relating to many sites, and Lanoue said state agencies he contacted historically told local jurisdictions they would not assume liability if a school were sited on a remediated property.

The author noted written testimony was submitted by a witness who could not appear in person. After questions, Senator Abler moved to “leave the bill over for possible inclusion.” The committee voice-voted the motion; the chair announced the bill would be laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill or further consideration.

Why it matters: advocates say the bill would create a statewide minimum to prevent school districts from siting new facilities on properties with prior landfill or toxic-waste histories, a step they contend reduces long-term exposure risk to children. Lawmakers on the committee signaled willingness to refine language to address rebuilding or expansion of existing campuses and to clarify the role of state agencies in review and funding.

Next steps: the bill was laid over for possible inclusion; the author and committee members indicated willingness to work offline with staff on language clarifications regarding new construction versus additions and on any necessary technical fixes.