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Hennepin County distributes annual invoices by mail through the US Postal Service. For that reason, we require that all generators review and update their mailing address each year during the annual reporting process.
We appreciate your efforts to ensure that license fees are paid on time. The way we process payments has changed considerably during the pandemic to ensure that we do things safely and securely. As a result, your payments are often taking longer to show up in the hazardous waste customer portal.
Invoices are prepared for us by our accounting team using their own unique customer and invoice numbers. Each invoice lists an invoice reference number that matches the invoice number displayed on an invoice copy that can be accessed in the hazardous waste portal.
Avoid paying your invoice multiple times
Since the onset of the pandemic, we are seeing more instances where hazardous waste customers have paid their invoices multiple times. We think it’s because some portal users are seeing an outstanding balance when they log into the online system, are alarmed by that status, print an invoice copy from the portal and then submit another payment to resolve the issue.
The pictures below show examples of the “bottom” portion of an invoice sent in the mail and an invoice printed from the portal. While they don’t look exactly alike, they are interchangeable because the invoice number from the portal invoice matches the invoice reference number from the mailed invoice.
Regardless of which invoice version you use, please ensure that your payment is sent to the correct address at Hennepin County. Please double-check your records to make sure you haven’t already paid the invoice. There are numerous teams in the county that handle incoming payments. If your payment isn’t addressed correctly, it can take days, weeks or even months to track it down and get the payment applied to your account. The correct address is printed on the return envelope provided with your invoice and it is also printed on the invoice stubs shown in the pictures below.
If you have any questions about your license fees or the status of your fee payment, contact the Hennepin County inspector on call at 612-348-3777.
 
The RCRAInfo e-manifest system from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides access to data supporting the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The system enables cradle-to-grave waste manifest tracking for hazardous waste produced at generator sites.
Generators must retain a copy of the paper manifests they sign until the information is entered into RCRAInfo. The official record for manifests is the information contained in the RCRA system. Ensuring that all designated facility copies are retained at the generator site can sometimes be a challenge. To help with this task, the RCRAInfo e-manifest system allows generators, transporters, and designated facilities to access information from any manifest on which they are named. If your site contact has access to the RCRAInfo system, your signed manifest copies can be accessed electronically, and you no longer need to retain paper copies.
 In addition to viewing manifests, users can complete tasks related to their hazardous waste manifests and biennial reports (required for large quantity generators only). Registering in the RCRAInfo site and requesting access to the select facilities that apply, allows users to view, edit, prepare, or sign e-manifests and biennial reports (depending on the permission level that is selected).
Access this tutorial on how to gain access and register for access to RCRAInfo.
Log in to RCRAinfo
For large quantity, small quantity and very small quantity hazardous waste generators, annual generator licenses are valid from May 1 of the license year through April 30 of the following year. To be eligible to receive your 2021 Hennepin County hazardous waste generator license, you must submit a hazardous waste management plan summary and pay your license fee.
Generator licenses are created for eligible generators beginning in mid-April. Once your license is created, the person designated as administrator in the hazardous waste portal will be notified via email that your license is available for printing. You must print your license and post it at the licensed site.
The following is a guide to when licenses will be available in 2021, based on when your payment is posted:
- Payment posted on or before March 31: license created mid-April
- Payment posted April 1 to 16: License created first working day in May
- Payment posted April 17 to May 16: License created first working day in June
- Payment posted after May 16: Licenses continue to be created for eligible generators on the first working day of each subsequent month
See the licensing schedule and fees for more information about the licensing process.
Hennepin County online hazardous waste training
Hennepin County first launched our free online hazardous waste training modules in late 2015. We have received positive feedback on the training content over the years and worked closely with Ramsey and Washington Counties in 2020 and early 2021 to update all the training modules and make them available more broadly. The modules can be accessed and reviewed online.
The training is split up into the following sections:
- Introduction
- Step 1: Evaluate your waste and determine your generator size
- Step 2: Notification and licensing
- Step 3: Storage
- Step 4: Transport and disposal
- Step 5A: Emergency prevention planning and training (for all generator sizes)
- Step 5B: Emergency prevention planning and training (SQG & LQG requirements)
After a participant successfully reviews each section, a certificate of completion can be downloaded and printed to document that the supplemental training was completed.
The virtual training format allows you and others in your company to go through the training at your own pace without needing to spend an entire day at an in-person class. Take advantage of this free training opportunity.
66 inspections without a violation
Hennepin County wants to recognize generators and facilities that have a hazardous waste program that is in full compliance with hazardous waste rules and regulations.
Since October 2020, the county conducted 66 inspections where no violations were observed, and the operations were deemed to have been in full compliance. The listing below shows that it is possible for any size generator or facility to be in full compliance at the time of inspection and it also shows that this happens quite frequently.
Click here for a printable list (PDF) of the 66 generators without a violation. This list also identifies the operation size.
Enforcement outcomes
The following is a list of enforcement outcomes from recently resolved civil and criminal cases, including fines and penalties assessed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) or Hennepin County. All of the cases involve hazardous waste generators, hazardous waste facilities or tank operators located in Hennepin County.
This list is intended to reinforce the importance of compliance with hazardous waste and tank regulations.
Hawkins INC, Minneapolis
- Violation: Failure to conduct and document annual hazardous waste personnel training
- Generator size: LQG
- Outcome: $828.00 and corrective actions
Morris Packaging LLC, Plymouth
- Violation: Failure to conduct and document annual hazardous waste personnel training
- Generator size: LQG
- Outcome: $828.00 and corrective actions
Click here for a printable version (PDF) of these enforcement outcomes.
Governor Walz signed a bill on March 23, 2021, that prohibits the use of perchloroethylene (PERC) as a dry-cleaning solvent after December 31, 2025. Additionally, $355,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated for a cost-share program to reimburse dry cleaner owners or operators for the costs of switching from PERC to alternative solvents that are technically viable and environmentally preferred. This program will be administered by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for reimbursement of transition expenses up to $20,000. This one-time appropriation is available until June 30, 2024.
Funding is available for building projects that use deconstruction techniques instead of standard demolition to remove materials during the destruction, alteration, or renovation of a building. In a deconstruction project, a building is taken apart mostly by hand, and materials are sorted into categories for efficient recycling and reuse.
Property owners and developers can receive up to $5,000 to help offset the additional time and labor costs associated with deconstruction. Grants are available for demolition or renovation projects on residential properties up to 4 units that are 500 square feet or larger on structures built prior to 1970. Learn more and apply.
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