On Aug. 29, a Minnesota Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) issued his report on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) Proposed Rules on PFAS in Products: Reporting and Fees. The judge cited procedural grounds, stating that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency failed to assess the cumulative effect of the rules in relation to federal PFAS reporting regulations. This does not kill the rule, but does create a delay in the rule going into effect, according to an article on the RV Industry Association’s website.
The judge’s report also identified several other key deficiencies, finding that certain provisions were not relevant to the agency’s objectives, did not demonstrate a need or reasonableness or exceeded the authority of the enabling statute.
Because the proposed rule was found to be defective, it will be referred to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for approval. If the Chief Judge approves the findings, they will advise the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on how to correct the deficiencies. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency can either adopt these recommendations or submit the proposed rule to the Legislative Coordinating Commission for advice. The agency cannot adopt the final rules until it has considered the commission’s advice. If the agency decides to adopt the changes suggested by the Chief Judge, the agency may proceed to adopt the rules. After adopting the final version of the rules, the agency must submit them to the Revisor of Statutes for a review of their form.
The entire process is expected to take between three and six months to complete. While this is a positive step forward that shows the judge paid close attention to comments from stakeholders, including the RV Industry Association, members should continue to prepare for the eventual adoption of the rules, the RVIA article states.
For more information from the report, click here.
For questions and additional information about this issue, please contact Bill Erny, RVIA senior manager of regulatory affairs, at berny@rvia.org.
