On June 20, 1972, Governor Wendell Anderson announced the appointment of a citizen's task force to advise the Minnesota Environmental Quality Council (EQC) on power plant siting. The 23 member group was selected from a list of candidates submitted by the EQC Citizen's Advisory Council.
In 1973 the Minnesota Legislature passed the Power Plant Siting Act. Minnesota Laws 1973, chapter 591, codified as Minnesota Statutes sections 116C.51 - 116C.69, and recodified as 216E in 2005. The Power Plant Siting Act requires that any person who wants to build a Large Electric Power Generating plant (LEPGP) or a High Voltage Transmission Line (HVTL), as those terms are defined in the Act, is required to obtain state approval for a specific site for the plant or specific route for the transmission line. In 1973 the authority to create committees was also enacted.
In 1977 the Minnesota legislature substantially amended the Minnesota Power Plant Siting Act of 1973. On June 29, 1977, the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board appointed 27 members to the general 1977-78 Power Plant Siting Advisory Committee. The committee was to meet for the first time on July 7, 1977.
1986 Minn. Laws Chap. 629 Sec. 19 changed the group's name from Power Plant Siting Advisory Committee to Power Plant Siting Advisory Task Force.
The Power Plant Siting Advisory Task Force was reviewed by the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy (LCPFP) in 2013 as part of their biennial duty required by Minn. Stat. 3.885 Subd. 11. The LCPFP's 2013 Recommendations called for keeping the task force.