Solid waste management fee ordinance

Adopted by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners

On June 6, 1995

Amended June 26, 2018

Percentage rate for solid waste management fee is on solid waste planning.

Purpose

The purpose of this ordinance is to establish authority for a Hennepin County Solid Waste Management Fee to fund environmental programs which protect the health and welfare of Hennepin County citizens pursuant to State mandates governing waste management programs. The Ordinance includes: procedures for establishing a Solid Waste Management Fee for the entire County of Hennepin; the fee payment method; reporting requirements; and penalties for noncompliance with provisions of this Ordinance. This Ordinance is adopted pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 473.811, Subd. 3(a) and Subd. 5, and Section 400.08. The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does ordain:

Section I: Definitions

For the purpose of this Ordinance, the terms defined in this section shall have the meanings given them, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Subsection 1 “Billing Agent”

Any Person, other than a hauler, who collects a Solid Waste Management Fee for Hauler Services.

Subsection 2 "County"

Is Hennepin County, Minnesota.

Subsection 3 "County Board"

Is the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.

Subsection 4 "Department"

Is the Hennepin County Environment and Energy Department.

Subsection 5 "Generate"

Is the act or process of producing waste.

Subsection 6 "Generator"

Is any Person who generates Mixed Municipal Solid Waste in Hennepin County and pays for Mixed Municipal Solid Waste collection or disposal services, or any Person who pays for Mixed Municipal Solid Waste collection or disposal services on behalf of a Person who generates Mixed Municipal Solid Waste in Hennepin County, and includes residential generators and nonresidential generators.

Subsection 6a "Residential Generator"

Is a Generator who pays for mixed municipal solid waste collection or disposal services for a residential building including but not limited to a single family home, a duplex, a tri-plex, a four-plex, an apartment building, a mobile home, a condominium, a townhouse, a cooperative housing unit, or a residential building on perma-lease; or a Nonprofit Resale Store.

Subsection 6b "Nonresidential Generator"

Is a Generator who does not qualify as a Residential Generator.

Subsection 7 "Hauler"

Is a person engaged in the business of collecting, transporting or disposing of Mixed Municipal Solid Waste generated in Hennepin County.

Subsection 8 “Hauler Services”

Are activities provided by a Hauler and include Mixed Municipal Solid Waste collection, transportation, processing, disposal, and/or container rental.

Subsection 9 "Mixed Municipal Solid Waste"

Is garbage, refuse, and other solid waste from residential, commercial, industrial, and community activities that the generator of the waste aggregates for collection, but does not include auto hulks, street sweepings, ash, construction debris, mining waste, sludges, tree and agricultural waste, tires, lead acid batteries, used oil, and other materials collected, processed and disposed of as separate waste streams.

Subsection 10 “Nonprofit Resale Store”

Is a nonprofit retail store organized under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code that accepts donated household goods from residential customers.

Subsection 11 "Operating License"

Shall mean the license required by Hennepin County Ordinance 17 of all Persons, except individual residents hauling their own household waste, in order to collect or transport Mixed Municipal Solid Waste that is generated within Hennepin County.

Subsection 12  “Ordinance”

Is Hennepin County Ordinance 15 – Solid Waste Management Fee Ordinance.

Subsection 13  “Person”

Includes, but is not limited to: an individual, business, Hauler, Self-Hauler, public or private corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, trust, unincorporated association, government or agency or political subdivision thereof, landfill operator, generator, any other legal entity, and any receiver, trustee, assignee, agent, or other legal representative of any of the foregoing.

Subsection 14 “Self Hauler”

Means a Person that transports Mixed Municipal Solid Waste generated by that Person or another Person without compensation and is licensed pursuant to Hennepin County Ordinance No. 17.

Subsection 15 "Solid Waste Management Fee"

Is the charge established by the County Board, payable by Residential and/or Nonresidential Generators to the County for Solid Waste Management Services.

Subsection 16 "Solid Waste Management Services"

Includes all activities provided by the County or by Persons under contract with the County which support the preferred waste management responsibilities, described in Minnesota Statutes 115A.01 et seq, 473 and 400.08 including, but not limited to waste reduction and reuse; waste recycling; composting of yard waste and food waste; resource recovery through Mixed Municipal Solid Waste composting or incineration; land disposal; and management of problem materials, and household hazardous waste.

Section II: General provisions

Subsection 1: Administration

This Ordinance shall be administered by the Department.

Subsection 2: Compliance

No Person shall collect, transport or dispose of Mixed Municipal Solid Waste generated in Hennepin County except in full compliance with this Ordinance. This shall not prevent the transportation of Mixed Municipal Solid Waste through Hennepin County by a Hauler.

Subsection 3: Solid waste management fee

A Solid Waste Management Fee shall be imposed for Solid Waste Management Services provided by Hennepin County. Generators (owners, lessees, or occupants of property in Hennepin County, or any or all of them) shall pay the Solid Waste Management Fee imposed in the manner set forth herein in amounts as established by the County Board.

Subsection 4: Procedures for establishing the amount of solid waste management fee

The County Board shall establish the amount of the Solid Waste Management Fee by resolution, following a public hearing, and shall state the effective date for the enactment of the Solid Waste Management Fee.

Subsection 5: Procedures for adjusting the amount of solid waste management fee

The County Board may adjust the amount of the Solid Waste Management Fee by resolution, following a public hearing, and shall state the effective date for the enactment of the adjusted Solid Waste Management Fee. There will be a sixty (60) day period prior to the effective date of such adjustment.

Section III: Solid waste management fee – collection and remittance policies

Subsection 1: Collection

1. As a condition of its Operating License, each Hauler shall bill and collect the Solid Waste Management Fee from Hennepin County Residential and Nonresidential Generators for whom they haul Mixed Municipal Solid Waste.
2. Each Hauler shall make reasonable efforts to collect the Solid Waste Management Fee.

Subsection 2: Remittance

1. The Solid Waste Management Fee collected by Haulers must be remitted to the County. Failure to remit the Solid Waste Management Fee collected may result in the revocation of the Hauler's Operating license.
2. Self-Haulers shall pay the Solid Waste Management Fee imposed directly to the County. Failure to pay the Solid Waste Management Fee may result in the revocation of an Operating License issued to any Self-Hauler required to be licensed under Hennepin County Ordinance 17.
3. If a Generator makes partial payment to a Hauler, the Hauler shall then apply payment to the Solid Waste Management Fee proportionally.
4. Each Hauler or Self-Hauler shall remit the Solid Waste Management Fee by the 20th day of the month following the month in which the Solid Waste Management Fee was collected by a Hauler or incurred by a Self-Hauler.

Subsection 3: Statements

Consistent with the Hauler's normal billing practices, each Hauler shall separately state and clearly label the Solid Waste Management Fee on each invoice or statement issued to their Residential and Nonresidential Generators for payment of waste collection and disposal services.

Subsection 4: Reports

Each Hauler or Self-Hauler shall complete a Solid Waste Management Fee report in accordance with instructions and on forms provided by the Department. The Solid Waste Management Fee report, accompanied by any required Solid Waste Management Fees, must be submitted by the 20th day of the month following the month in which the Solid Waste Management Fee was collected by a Hauler or incurred by a Self-Hauler. The Solid Waste Management Fee Report must be completed and submitted every month, including months in which no Solid Waste Management Fees were billed, collected, or incurred. The Solid Waste Management Fee report may include, but not be limited to, total gross billings and receipts for all collection and disposal services performed within Hennepin County, the number of Residential and Nonresidential Generators within Hennepin County, the number of tons collected within Hennepin County and disposed of within and outside of Hennepin County, and such other information as requested by the Department.

Subsection 5: Examination of records

The Department or its duly authorized agent shall have the right to examine records, including access to computer records, maintained by a Hauler or Self-Hauler. The term "record" shall include, but is not limited to, all accounts of a Hauler. The Department shall be allowed access at all reasonable times to inspect and copy at reasonable cost all business records related to a Hauler's or Self-Hauler's collection, transportation, or and disposal of Mixed Municipal Solid Waste to the extent necessary to ensure that all fees required to be collected or paid have been remitted to the County. Such records shall be maintained by the Hauler or Self-Hauler for no less than six (6) years.

Subsection 6: Late payment

A late payment penalty in the amount of 1.5% per month shall be imposed in the following circumstances:

1. Upon Solid Waste Management Fees collected from the Generator but not remitted by the Hauler to the County on or before the 20th day of the month following the collection; or
2. Upon the Solid Waste Management Fee incurred by a Self-Hauler but not remitted by the Self-Hauler to the County on or before the 20th day of the month following the month in which it was incurred. If a Hauler fails to bill and collect the Solid Waste Management Fee from a Generator, the Hauler shall pay the Generator's Solid Waste Management Fee plus a 1.5% per month late payment penalty. The late payment penalty shall be calculated from the date the Solid Waste Management Fee should have been billed.

Subsection 7: Unpaid fee

On or before October 15 each year, the County Board may certify to the County Auditor all unpaid outstanding Solid Waste Management Fees, and a description of the lands against which the Solid Waste Management Fees arose. It shall be the duty of the County Auditor, upon order of the County Board, to extend the assessments, with interest not to exceed the interest rate provided for in Section 279.03, Subd. 1, upon the tax rolls of the County, for the taxes of the year in which the assessment is filed. For each year ending October 15, the assessment with interest shall be carried into the tax becoming due and payable in January of the following year, and shall be enforced and collected in the manner provided for the enforcement and collection of real property taxes in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State. The charges, if not paid, shall become delinquent and be subject to the same penalties and the same rate of interest as the taxes under the general laws of the State.

Subsection 8: Collection actions

Exercise of any remedy under this subsection does not preclude exercise of other remedies.

1. If a Generator fails to pay the Solid Waste Management Fee to a Hauler in a timely manner, the County may use any available legal remedies to collect the overdue, unpaid Solid Waste Management Fees from the Generator.
2. If a Hauler has collected Solid Waste Management Fees and failed to remit them to the County in a timely manner, the County may use any available legal remedies to collect the Solid Waste Management Fees from the Hauler.
3. If a Self-Hauler fails to pay the Solid Waste Management Fee to the County in a timely manner, the County may use any available legal remedies to collect the Solid Waste Management Fee from the Self-Hauler.

Section IV: Violations and penalties

Subsection 1: Misdemeanor

Any Person who hauls Mixed Municipal Solid Waste and willfully or negligently fails to bill, fails to collect, or fails to pay or remit to the County the Solid Waste Management Fee is guilty of a misdemeanor. For the purposes of this subsection, a Person who hauls Mixed Municipal Solid Waste for a Generator who subsequently fails to pay its bill has not acted negligently. This subsection shall not preclude prosecution for any other misdemeanors, gross misdemeanor, or felony under State Minnesota law committed by such Person while hauling Mixed Municipal Solid Waste.

Subsection 2: Injunctive relief

The County may institute appropriate actions or proceedings, including application for injunctive relief, action to compel performance or other appropriate actions to prevent, restrain, correct or abate any violation or threatened violation of this Ordinance.

Subsection 3: Venue and prosecution

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office shall prosecute violations of any provision of this Ordinance. Such prosecutions shall be venued in Hennepin County.

Subsection 4: Costs and special assessments

The County may recover costs, including staff and other related costs, incurred to enforce compliance with the provisions of this Ordinance. At the discretion of the County Board, the costs may be certified to the County Director of Property Tax and Public Records as a special tax against the real property owned by such Person.

Subsection 5: Citations

The Department, its duly authorized representative, or any licensed peace officer shall have the power to issue citations for violations of this Ordinance, but this shall not permit the Department or its representatives to physically arrest or take into custody any violators.

Subsection 6: Departmental order

The Department may issue such Orders as may be necessary for the enforcement of this Ordinance. Each Order shall state the violation and the action and time schedule required for compliance.

Section V: Severability

It is hereby declared to be the intention of the Board of Commissioners of Hennepin County that the provisions of this Ordinance are separable in accordance with the following:

A. Validity of provisions

If any court of competent jurisdiction shall rule that any provision of this Ordinance is invalid, other provisions not specifically included in said judgment shall not be affected.

B. Application to site or facility

If any court of competent jurisdiction shall rule that the application of any provision of this Ordinance is invalid to a particular Generator, structure, site, facility, operation, Hauler or Self-Hauler such judgment shall not affect the application of said provision to any other structure, site, facility or operation not specifically included in the judgment.

Section VI: Provisions are cumulative

The provisions in this Ordinance are cumulative and are additional limitations upon all other laws and ordinances covering any subject matter in this Ordinance.

Section VII: Repeal and enactment

The enactment of this Amendment repeals and replaces in its entirety Ordinance Number Fifteen, adopted on June 6, 1995.  All licenses issued and not subsequently revoked or suspended pursuant to that Ordinance shall remain valid until June 30, 2018.

Section VIII: Effective date

This Amended Ordinance 15 shall be effective July 1, 2018.

Passed by the Hennepin County Board of County Commissioners.