Counties consider meth cleanup laws

400 illegal meth labs seized in state in 2002

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Methamphetamine was first outlawed in the United States in 1970, but it's only been the last five years in which Minnesota has seen the use of methamphetamine increase -- dramatically.

Now, local and state officials are trying to crack down on another part of what many say is an epidemic in rural Minnesota -- illegal drug labs.

Methamphetamine, or meth, is considered a dangerous drug by law enforcement and Public Health officials because of the effects on its users and because it involves cooking several highly toxic chemicals, which can explode and can cause pollution problems and injuries to the people involved.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, 20 illegal drug labs were seized in Minnesota in 1995. In 2002, 400 labs were seized.

According to local estimates, cleanups can cost in between $1,000 and $10,000 depending upon the size of the lab and the amount of time it has been operating.

"Meth is primarily in rural areas, where police don't have the facilities to respond," said Deborah Durkin, MDH health studies and meth lab program coordinator, at a community meeting in Stewart last week.

Typically, after an illegal drug lab is reported to police, officers go to the scene, seize evidence, make arrests, investigate and then call a state-certified contractor to remove the chemicals and the equipment from the site, Durkin said. Social services can get involved if children are found at the lab site.

But cleanups rarely happen.

Durkin said investigators often know very little about how to handle the chemicals found in illegal drug labs and cleanups are not monitored very often or even required by law. Cleanup costs can be very high and meth labs pose serious health risks to investigators, workers and the people that live at such properties, Durkin said.

Many area counties are currently in the process of developing ordinances that deal with illegal drug lab cleanups.

Eleven meth lab ordinances are already on the books around Minnesota. Fifty-eight of the state's 87 counties are in the progress of either researching an ordinance or are working on drafts of cleanup policies, according to the MDH.

Counties and cities might also get an extra boost from the Legislature if an illegal drug lab cleanup bill is passed. Proposals, made by both DFLers and Republicans, have addressed several areas related to cleanup.

For example, anyone convicted of making or attempting to make meth could be required to reimburse all the public agencies involved in the cleanup. Restrictions on two components that are said to be used in making meth -- anhydrous ammonia and over-the-counter cold medicine -- could be tightened. A state fund for low-interest loans to cities and counties for drug lab cleanups is another idea that lawmakers have proposed. Counties that don't enact cleanup ordinances might not be eligible for the loans.

State law already gives community health boards the authority to remove anything that might be a threat to public health and to charge property owners with the costs of the removal, but that law doesn't specifically include illegal drug labs and doesn't outline cleanup responsibilities. Counties currently have no way to recover cleanup costs and the roles of state and local government agencies are currently unclear.

"Right now, there are no real teeth in the law until local ordinances are passed," said Karen Swenson, director of Brown-Nicollet Environmental Health in St. Peter. "But many, many counties are moving in that direction."

Currently, Blue Earth, Brown, Nicollet, Redwood, Renville and Watonwan counties are working on drafts of cleanup ordinances. Cottonwood County is not currently working on such a law.

Sibley County passed such an ordinance in December.

Under that law, investigators in Sibley County are required to notify the county's Public Health and child protection staff within one working day of the discovery.

The owners and occupants of a lab site will be notified after officials have posted warning signs on the property and must have the nuisance removed within 10 days. Owners are also responsible for paying fees of private contractor as well as costs of cleanup and chemical testing of the site. Any fees that aren't paid for can be collected with a special property tax assessment that can last for up to 10 years. If the owner is unable to pay, the city or county will be eligible for a cleanup loan.

Assistant Sibley County Attorney Don Lannoye said the ordinance was largely based on a model that is being promoted by the Minnesota Department of Health. He said developing a unified policy towards cleanups was one of the key reasons the county chose to adopt the law.

Swenson said the ordinance that Brown and Nicollet county officials are currently developing is based largely on state models with a few changes.

When the ordinances are passed into law, they will put drug labs into the same category as chemical spills and will clearly define the roles that police, environmental services and child protection services will play whenever a lab is discovered.

Swenson and Brown County Public Health Director Anita Hoffmann said officials are hoping to get cleanup ordinances drafted and adopted soon. Because officials from Brown and Nicollet counties are working together, each county must hold a public hearing and each county board must vote on any proposal before the new procedures would become law.

"Ultimately, it's the county's responsibility," said Hoffmann. "This also makes it easier to handle when each agency knows its role."