ERMUSR HANDOUT #1 06-12-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Buffalo Utilities Director Joseph Steffel, left, chatted with Bill Grant, who heads up the state's Division of Energy Resources. Other Legislative activities e Wild Rice Rule (sulfate standard) development. MMUA legislative representatives monitored the debate over the very stringent allowances on sulfate effluent designed de- cades ago for the protection of wild rice. Staff is following the study on this issue. e Testimony- overview of Municipal Utility sector. At the be- ginning of the session MMUA legislative representative Bill Black and SMMPA staff member Larry Johnston provided the Senate Energy Committee with an overview of the mu- nicipal electric utility sector. e Networking. MMUA maintains close contact throughout the year with a variety of organizations, including Minne- sota Chamber of Commerce, League of Minnesota Cities, Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, Minnesota Environ- mental Science and Economic Review Board (MESERB), Wa- ter Research Foundation, Minnesota State Bar Association's Public Utilities Section, and Environmental Initiative. State Regulatory Activities e Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC). MMUA staff regularly attends meetings of the MPUC where a great deal of useful information is discussed relating to such is- sues as rate increases, certificates of need for power facili- ties, service territory cases, and integrated resource plans. Items of interest before the Commission in 2011 included Rochester Service Territory, RES Compliance Reporting, RES Impact Reporting, Qualifying Facilities Reporting, and Greenhouse Gas Regulation. In addition to actual commission meetings in St. Paul, MMUA staff has made numerous contacts with Commissioners in a number of other forums, including the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) conference, the Mid- America Regulatory Conference (MARC), the Envi- 4 - 2011 Year in Review ronmental Initiative policy forum, legislative hearings, and social events. e Department of Energy Resources (DER). Staff participate in four Distributed Generation and Net - Metering Wo shops. Staff met with DER Director Bill Grant on numerous occasions. Staff met with John Hrvanko concerning energy assistance payments. e Pollution Control Agency. MMUA staff supported Willmar in its efforts to obtain a biomass permit for its power plant e Municipal Telecom. Staff participated in two municipal broadband task force meetings held by the League of Min- nesota Cities. Federal Government Relations EPA Rules and Regulations. Much of the energy legisla- tive activity in the first session of the 11211 Congress has focused on various rules and regulations coming from the EPA. These rules, which impact power plants and the elec- tric utility industry in several ways, include the ICI Boiler MACT (maximum achievable control technology); Clean Air Transport Rule, recently released as the Cross -State Air Pollution Rule; revisions to ozone standards; New Source Performance Standards rule for greenhouse gases; co combustion residual disposal rule (coal ash); Reciprocal ing Internal Combustion Engines (RICE) rule; and the new Utility or Mercury MACT, a major rulemaking for hazardous air pollutants released in late December. In addition, EPA is proposing revisions to cooling water intake structures un- der section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act. All of these ef- forts affect electric utilities. MMUA has continued to work with the Minnesota congres- sional delegation on these EPA regulations. The delegation is largely sympathetic to the concerns of MMUA and the electric utility industry. The EPA "train wreck" of overlap- ping rules and deadlines was a major focus for the MMUA me a.'se a..a a.e eau ae•a. veeer veu�uuvra, viceeeaa.e, expounded on an issue while Hibbing Public Utilities Com- missioner John Berklich, left, and U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, right, listened.