Clean Water Blog

If you own shoreland or do building or excavating work in shoreland, you should check out the “Stearns County Shoreland, Erosion Control, and Stormwater Training” workshop. It will be an all-day training on Thursday, January 21, 2010 at Gorecki Hall at the College of St. Benedict.

Topics covered include shoreland restoration, rain gardens and using trees for stormwater management.

There is a fee of $30 which includes lunch and breaks. For more information contact the Stearns County Environmental Services Department, (320) 656-3613.

The Minnesota DNR and Minnesota Waters invite all interested citizens to attend an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Prevention Open House. A series of five AIS Prevention Open Houses will be held throughout Minnesota during January. The Open Houses will provide information on statewide AIS prevention strategies and resources available for citizen-leaders working on AIS at the local level. In addition, the DNR will be seeking input and comments on AIS prevention efforts.

Each Open House will include informational tables on AIS:

• regulations and enforcement;
• watercraft inspections and public education;
• local and regional resources for AIS prevention; and
• identification and general AIS information.

DNR staff will also provide a 20-minute presentation on AIS prevention strategies. This presentation will be given at 6:15 pm and again at 7:15 pm.

The closest Open House to Saint Cloud will be at the Willmar Community Center on January 28, 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

No registration is necessary to attend. With questions, please contact Molly Zins at mollyz@minnesotawaters.org. Or go to the Minnesota Waters website http://minnesotawaters.org/

CERTs Works with Recycling Association of Minnesota & Partners to Recycle Inefficient Holiday Lights Across the State.

It’s that time of the year again, bring you’re your holiday lights and untangle the wadded mess, but what do you with the strings that no longer light up? Most people just throw them in the trash, but not anymore.

The Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM) in partnership with WCCO TV, Xcel Energy, Snyders Drug Stores and the Clean Energy Resource Teams, announces the launch of “Recycle Your Holidays™” a first-of-its-kind effort in the country going through January 10th all throughout the state.

“Recycle Your Holidays recycles every part of the light strings. Even the little lights are recycles by another project partner Green Lights Recycling” state Ellen Telander, Executive Director of RAM. “This year our goal is to recycle over 50,000 light strands and to encourage Minnesotans to use LED light strands instead, which will save a lot of energy.”

Minnesotans are urged to drop off their old, broken holiday lights at any participating Snyders Drug Stores or various locations during the holiday season. Unlike any other holiday lights recycling programs in the country, RAM will recycle all lights and cords free of charge by working with local vocational centers that provide meaningful jobs and job training. Another added benefit is the reduction of waster going to landfills, helping keep our air and water cleaner.

The new program provides free recycling of holiday lights, free recycling bins with signs and free pick up service to any participating local business, school or church. The program can also recycle any type of electrical cord as well.

The recycling containers for this program are currently stored in Hutchinson, Minnesota. CERTs and RAM staff will do their best to get containers to you. To become holiday lights collection site in the Recycle Your Holidays ™ program, call 651-641-4560 or email ram@recycleminnesota.org.

You can find more information and existing holiday light recycling locations at:
http://www.recycleminnesota.org.

Information provided by CERTs (Clean Energy Resource Teams)

Friday, December 18, 2009

“Minimal Impact Design Standards–MN Takes the Lead”
Presented by:  Julie Westerlund, Minnehaha Watershed District 

Participants of the Mississippi River Forum kick-off workshop in April heard about how land use is impacting Minnesota’s water resources. Consider this an update to that discussion! Earlier this year, Minnesota updated its approach to managing stormwater by passing legislation that directs the Pollution Control Agency to “develop performance standards, design standards, and other tools” to enable and promote improved stormwater management and better protect Minnesota’s water resources. The result is MIDS - Minimal Impact Design Standards. The MIDS project represents the next generation of stormwater management. It consists of three main elements that address current challenges:

1) A higher clean water performance goal for new residential development and residential redevelopment that will provide enhanced protection for Minnesota’s water resources.
2) new modeling methods and credit calculations that will standardize the use of a range of “innovative” structural and nonstructural stormwater techniques.
3) a credits system and ordinance package that will allow for increased flexibility and a streamlined approach to regulatory programs for developers and communities.

Come hear how the MIDS package will allow communities to adopt effective stormwater standards and techniques, meet regulatory requirements, and help Minnesota reach our clean water goals.

Julie Westerlund and Jay Riggs are co-chairs of the Low Impact Development Team of the MN Stormwater Steering Committee, which helped develop the MIDS project.

Light breakfast provided. Free.

LOCATION:
*December 18: St. Cloud City Council Chambers–400-2nd Street South, St. Cloud, 56301.

The Mississippi River Forum is made possible by the generous support of the Mississippi River Fund and the McKnight Foundation.

Thanks for your interest in the Community Clean-Ups for Water Quality Program sponsored by the Freshwater Society. Due to conflicts with the December 8 date, the decision has been made to postpone the training session. We are in the process of planning regional trainings to be held in January and February 2010. More information will be sent out soon.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is urging municipalities to not buy bottled water for their own use, nor have it dispensed at vending machines or other retail outlets on city property.

The big worry among the municipalities is the packaging waste. Glenn De Baeremaeker, a Toronto city councilor, said that Canada is drowning in a sea of garbage. “There is no need for bottled water. Ecologically, it is a disaster”.

Even though recycling is widely available, between 40 and 80 percent of the containers end up as litter or in dumps.

If you’d like to know more about this proposal, go to the federation’s website http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/novdec09/farm.html

“Preserve a sense of the past-maintain both the natural character as well as those added by man which compliment the river– in a way that tells the story of the Mississippi and its place in our world today…”~Survey respondent

For more information: kimberly.tcremers@mn.nacdnet.net

You’re invited to join the National Park Service for the November Mississippi River Forum–a unique opportunity to learn about issues impacting the Mississippi River, and to make sure other decision makers understand your perspective. December meeting information is also included below. Plan now to join us!

Friday, November 20, 8:00-9:30 a.m.
(NOTE TIME CHANGE)
“Drinking the Mississippi”
Art Persons. Planning Program Supervisor, Minnesota Department of
Health.

If you live or work in St. Cloud, St. Paul, or Minneapolis—including a number of surrounding communities—the water you drink comes from the Mississippi River. Yet, how often does that thought cross your mind as you drive over or boat on the river, or as you watch a snow plow apply salt to roads and bridges? Mr. Persons will discuss how three communities are responding to the need to protect the Mississippi River as a source of drinking water for one million Minnesotans. In addition, Mr. Persons will describe the work of the Health Department to integrate source water protection on the Mississippi River with the MN Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)’s Upper Mississippi River Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Project, thereby integrating the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act in protecting and improving the water quality of the Mississippi River.

Light breakfast provided. Free.

LOCATION:
McKnight Foundation
710-2nd Street South, Suite 400, Minneapolis, 55401.
Transit and parking information are available at
http://www.mcknight.org/about/offices.aspx.
———————————-
Friday, December 18, 7:30-9:00 a.m.
“Minimal Impact Design Standards–MN Takes the Lead”
Julie Westerlund, Minnehaha Watershed District

Participants of the Mississippi River Forum kick-off workshop in April heard about how land use is impacting Minnesota’s water resources. Consider this an update to that discussion! Earlier this year, Minnesota updated its approach to managing stormwater by passing legislation that directs the Pollution Control Agency to “develop performance standards, design standards, and other tools” to enable and promote improved stormwater management and better protect Minnesota’s water resources. The result is MIDS - Minimal Impact Design Standards. The MIDS project represents the next generation of stormwater management. It consists of three main elements that address current challenges: 1) A higher clean water performance goal for new residential development and residential redevelopment that will provide enhanced protection for Minnesota’s water resources; 2) new modeling methods and credit calculations that will standardize the use of a range of “innovative” structural and nonstructural stormwater techniques; and 3) a credits system and ordinance package that will allow for increased flexibility and a streamlined approach to regulatory programs for developers and communities. Come hear how the MIDS package will allow communities to adopt effective stormwater standards and techniques, meet regulatory requirements, and help Minnesota reach our clean water goals. Julie Westerlund is co-chair of the Low Impact Development Team of the MN Stormwater Steering Committee, which helped develop the MIDS project.

Light breakfast provided. Free.

LOCATION:
St. Cloud City Council Chambers
400-2nd Street South, St. Cloud, 56301.

Keep leaves out of lakes and rivers by keeping them out of the streets and away from storm drains.

Although leaves seem “natural” and harmless, excess leaves pose a threat to the health of our surface waters. Leaves in the gutter in front of your house are on the fast track to our lakes and rivers. When it rains, leaves are washed into storm drains and directly into the nearest lake or river. Once they get into the water and begin to decay, leaves release phosphorus, a nutrient that contributes to the green algae you see on the surface of our waters. Excess algae makes recreation unpleasant, plus decomposing algae uses up oxygen in the water which, in turn, suffocates fish.

Rake them up, not out
Raking leaves into the street the day before the street sweeper comes still threatens the health of our surface waters. Leaves left in the street are crushed by car tires and mixed with rain to make a rich “nutrient tea” that flows along the gutter into storm drains. Remember, the fewer leaves that make it to the street, the better.

Here are some watershed-friendly alternatives to raking leaves into the street:
• Compost leaves for a nutrient-rich fertilizer for your gardens
• Use a mower to chop leaves into small particles and apply directly to your lawn to enrich it (this is called top-dressing)
• Use chopped leaves as winter mulch for your flower gardens
• Drop off bagged leaves at your local compost site or participate in curb side collection if available. Contact your City Hall to learn what services are available in your community.

Everyone can participate. The distance between your yard and the water’s edge is as close as the nearest storm drain. Keep leaves out of the street as an important act of protection for our lakes and rivers.

Clean streets mean clean water!

(photo courtesy of Weather Pulse Blog)

“It’s 3 a.m. Your two-year-old is crying. Her forehead is hot and you fear she’s running a fever. You rush to get a thermometer. You grab one, but in your haste, you drop it. It breaks, and mercury beads shoot across the bathroom floor. Now you’ve not only got a sick kid, but a potentially health-threatening mercury spill to deal with, too.
“Lately we’ve been advising more people on how to clean up spilled mercury from broken fever thermometers, probably because they’re using them more with the advent of cold and flu season,” said Lisa Yantachka, an emergency responder with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). “But running the risk of compounding your problems by having a mercury thermometer in the house at all just doesn’t make sense.”

While the vapor given off from spilled mercury is a neurotoxin that can be health threatening if it is inhaled at a high enough concentration or over a long period, mercury spills in the home almost always can be cleaned up so that they do not pose a danger. However, cleaning up a spill properly will take time and considerable care. And cleanup can be expensive; if the mercury is spilled on a carpet, the contaminated portion will have to be cut out and discarded. If it is spilled on a mattress or upholstered chair, the mattress or chair will have to be thrown away. Larger spills or widespread contamination may even require the services of an environmental contractor.

“Digital thermometers are now the standard in the health care industry,” Yantachka said. “They are as accurate as mercury thermometers, but unlike mercury thermometers, they can’t create a health and environmental hazard.” Yantachka urges people to replace all the mercury thermometers in their homes - fever and cooking - with digital thermometers and to take their mercury thermometers to their local household hazardous waste facility for proper disposal. Contact information for Minnesota’s county household hazardous waste facilities may be found at www.pca.state.mn.us/waste/hhw/hhw-localprograms.html or by calling the MPCA at 651-296-6300 or 1-800-657-3864.

If you break a mercury fever thermometer, you can probably clean up the spilled mercury, but you’ll need to exercise considerable care, Yantachka said. Immediately after the spill:
1. Isolate the spill and ventilate the area. Keep all people and pets away from the spill area. Open windows and exterior doors. Close all doors between the room where the spill occurred and the rest of the house. Close all cold air returns so that mercury vapor is not carried throughout the house. Turn down heaters and turn up window air conditioners. Turn off central air conditioning. Turn off fans unless they vent to the outdoors. Use fans to blow mercury-contaminated air outside.
2. If mercury has touched your skin shoes, or clothing, stay still and have someone bring you a plastic trash bag and wet paper towels. Wipe off any visible beads of mercury with the wet paper towels and put them in the trash bag. Check your shirt pockets for mercury. Remove contaminated shoes and clothing and place them in the trash bag. Seal the bag and put it in the trash. Shower well.
3. If you feel you’ve inhaled a lot of mercury vapor, call the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.
4. Decide whether you can clean up the spill yourself, which you may be able to do if the spill involved a single fever thermometer on a hard, smooth surface. Call the Minnesota Duty Officer at 1-800-422-0798 to report the spill, any time, day or night. The Duty Officer will put you in touch with an MPCA emergency responder who will advise you on cleaning up the spill.

For more information on cleaning up a mercury spill, see the MPCA fact sheet, “Cleaning up spilled mercury in the home,” at www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/hhw-mercuryspills.pdf.”