Minnesota Administrative Rules Agency 141 - Environmental Quality Board
Here’s a structured overview of Minnesota Administrative Rules – Agency 141 (Environmental Quality Board, EQB):
🏛️ Agency & Rule Chapters
Agency 141, overseen by the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, manages regulatory chapters related to siting, environmental review, and genetically engineered organisms. The main rule chapters include:
Chapter 4400 – High Voltage Lines & Power Plants
4401 – Wind Siting
4405 – Operating Procedures
4410 – Environmental Review (EAW/EIS processes)
4415 – Pipeline Routing
4420 – Genetically Engineered Organisms
9200 – Supplementary Review
9205 – Hazardous Waste Permit Clearance (revisor.mn.gov)
📘 Key Chapters
4400 – High Voltage Lines & Power Plants
Sets regulations for routing, siting, and oversight of high-voltage transmission facilities.
4401 – Wind Siting
Rules governing planning, approval, and environmental considerations for wind energy projects.
4410 – Environmental Review
Core rules implementing the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), covering:
Environmental Assessment Worksheets (EAW)
Environmental Impact Statements (EIS)
Scoping, mandatory review categories, early notice provisions, cost assignment, substitute forms, and local gov’t review (resourcecenter.transect.com, regulations.justia.com)
Early notice procedures (e.g., Part 4410.5000 and 4410.5300) detailing required public notice content and mechanism (regulations.justia.com).
4415 & 4420
Cover special siting rules for pipelines and oversight of genetically engineered organisms in Minnesota.
9200 – Supplementary Review
For special cases like hazardous waste facility siting—detailing EQB’s decision-making processes, hearing records, and evaluation factors (risk, land use, mitigation, need, alternatives) (law.cornell.edu).
9205 – Hazardous Waste Permit Clearance
Procedures for EQB clearance before issuing hazardous waste permits.
🏛️ Role & Rulemaking Process
The EQB implements MEPA, deciding which projects require EAWs or EISs and oversees their preparation and adequacy (resourcecenter.transect.com).
Rulemaking follows the SONAR (Statement of Need & Reasonableness) process under Minn. Stat. ch. 14. Example: updates to Ch. 4410 (2017) clarifying preliminary draft EIS procedures, including stakeholder outreach, legislative authority, flexibility goals, and notice requirements (eqb.state.mn.us).
Recent legislative actions (2023 & 2025) continue refining parts of Ch. 4410, including scoping timelines and EAW exemptions for certain trail or mandatory EIS projects (legiscan.com).
📌 Staying Current
The official Revisor of Statutes site provides current rule texts and updates.
The EQB website includes resources, historic rulemaking documents, pending rules, and SONARs (revisor.mn.gov, eqb.state.mn.us).
Justia or Cornell LII offer helpful indexed archives, though they may lag behind official versions .
✅ Summary
Agency 141 defines environmental oversight in Minnesota—covering energy infrastructure, pipeline and GMO oversight, and, critically, environmental review processes under MEPA. Rules are organized by project type; rulemaking is guided by legislative directives and public participation via the SONAR process.
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