Got diesel? Six diesel engine projects recently were awarded $279,000 in MPCA clean diesel grants to help replace eight pre-2007 dirty diesel vehicles.  New clean diesel engines emit at least 90 percent less of both fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) – two pollutants identified by the EPA as contributing to respiratory symptoms and triggering heart attacks in those with heart problems.

These grants from 2015 were awarded up to 25 percent of the cost of a new vehicle. Engine replacements in off-road construction equipment, or “repower” grants, were eligible for 40 percent of the cost of the engine and installation.  Projects funded in the 2015/2016 grant round are:

• Alex Rubbish, Alexandria, garbage truck – $61,455
• City of Buffalo, dump truck – $39,237
• Coolidge Trucking Systems, St. Paul, roll-off truck – $31,603
• Misgen Auto Parts, Ellendale, roll-off truck – $37,500
• St. Louis County School District, 2 propane school buses – $52,630
• Viking Coca-Cola, St. Cloud, 2 beverage delivery trucks –$56,949

Next fall, the MPCA clean diesel grant program expects to have about $400,000. Please spread the word and encourage businesses with heavy-duty off-road diesels (e. g. construction equipment) and class 6 or larger on-road trucks to visit the MPCA's https://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/diesel-emissions-reduction-act-grants  * and sign up for grant updates in the upper right side of the page. Contact Mark Sulzbach with questions at 651-757-2770 or mark.sulzbach@state.mn.us.

It’s time to update painter training at businesses that are required to follow the federal air rule known as the 6H NESHAP. This rule affects businesses that spray paint on cars, trucks, buses, heavy duty trucks, construction equipment, and equipment that can be pulled on a road, such as trailers. The rule requires refresher training for painters at these types of businesses every five years.

Painters must receive a combination of hands-on and classroom training. The training can be in-house or painters can attend a training course. Ask your paint or equipment vendors if they are offering 6H NESHAP refresher training. If your painters already attend annual training, see if the 6H NESHAP refresher training is included or can be added. If not, one option is the Iowa Waste Reduction Center. They provide online 6H NESHAP training at www.sprayitright.com. It costs about $100, takes two hours to complete and can be done at each painter’s own pace and schedule.

Painting well is a skill and all skills can be improved and updated. Well-trained painters use less paint and thinners which means more paint ends up on the product – not on masking and filters. It also means less air pollution is leaving your shop and the air outside is cleaner and healthier for everyone.

*written by Aneka Swanson

Don’t miss! 2016 Intern Symposium

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 • 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Johnson Great Room and Ski-U-Mah Room, McNamara Alumni Center
University of Minnesota (directions)

The MnTAP Intern Symposium features 14 intern projects at companies around Minnesota. The interns highlight the water conservation, energy efficiency, and waste reduction opportunities they identified during their 3-month internships. Each presentation is 15 minutes with five minutes for questions. A printable version of the agenda can be found here. Register Online Today!

Feature on MnTAPs degreasing assistance 

The recent issue of MnTAPs Source newsletter focuses on their efforts to reduce VOCs and hazardous air pollutants in degreasing operations. Included are success stories, greener products testing results we’ve tested, and a tip sheet to use when evaluating current products or looking for a safer ones. Small degreasing operations, such as those carried out in automotive and industrial cleaning, are estimated to add 14% of all industrial VOC air pollution in Minnesota. Also included is a summary of MnTAP's 2015 projects and results, and a look at other projects currently in the works.

The current general permit was issued April 2015, and all permittees were required to “restart” sampling quarterly, for four quarters to start, starting July 2015.  New applicants started sampling the next full calendar quarter after receiving permit coverage.

This means that June 30, 2016 marks the end of the first four quarters of industrial stormwater sampling requirements for most permittees. 

Did you collect samples during four separate quarters?  If not, continue sampling.  If you were able to collect stormwater samples from four different quarters during the past year, calculate the rolling average value of each parameter’s monitoring results and compare with the benchmark values listed in the general permit.  If your average value is less than the benchmark value, you’re done monitoring for that parameter.  If your average value is more than the benchmark value, continue sampling until your averaged values fall below the benchmark values.

The concept of “the rolling average” is new for the 2015-2020 general permit.  Make sure you are averaging the sample results from the four most recent quarters, and compare those with the general permit values.  If no sample was collected for a quarter, send in the sampling form with a "No Flow" explanation.  In the example below, no sample was collected in Quarter 5 and Quarter 10, and the permittee needs to collect only one sample during the following quarter.  You no longer have to "collect two samples in the next quarter to make up for not being able to collect samples the previous quarter" as required in the 2010-2015 permit.  This example below is for Total Suspended Solids (TSS), with a permit benchmark value of 100 mg/L.

Use this handy “Industrial Stormwater Sampling Worksheet” to help you record and review your sampling data.  Previously, we had “sampling results” and "sampling calendars” on our website to let permittees know if they had to continue sampling.  Due to our agency-wide data system upgrade, that functionality is currently not available but we are working on bringing that functionality back.  If you are unsure whether or not you have to continue sampling, please contact any industrial stormwater technical staff and we’ll be happy to help you. 

No exceedances?  No problem!

Were you below the permit benchmark values for all of your parameter(s) at all of your monitoring location(s) You do not need to notify the MPCA that you’re “done” with the sampling requirements.  Keep the individual and averaged results documented within your Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan.

*as featured in the June 2016 edition of the MPCA Industrial Stormwater News