Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Contact: Pam McCurdy, 651-757-2559 The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has awarded $175,769 in 2009 Environmental Assistance Grants to five grantees. The grants will help the organizations move toward more environmentally-sustainable practices. The Urban Land Institute was awarded $30,000 for its Regional Council of Mayors Sustainability Initiative. A pilot project will incorporate ideas to promote energy efficiency, energy education, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions in five cities that represent a variety of population, regional characteristics, and economic wealth. Rahm Tek of Truman, in Martin County, was awarded $40,000 to demonstrate technologies that can produce an odorless hog barn using alternative energy sources and a water reclamation system to help manage waste. The project is expected to reduce liquid waste by at least 95 percent and to recycle 75 percent of solid waste into pellet fuel and fertilizer. The Center for Energy and Environment of Minneapolis was awarded $40,000 to implement a second phase of the GreenStep Cities initiative. The project will develop an online users' guide for participating cities, perform analysis to determine the climate change impact of best practices, and undertake an evaluation of the most significant GreenStep Cities best practices. The city of Silver Bay was awarded $40,000 to study and evaluate the environmental benefits and economic feasibility of different forms of renewable energy for the Silver Bay Eco-Industrial Business Park. The Southeast Como Improvement Association of Minneapolis was awarded $25,769 for its Solid Waste Reduction and Reuse Project. The project is aimed at reducing the volume of large, solid items in the waste stream by diverting them into a community-wide reuse and recycling program. The project includes outreach to University of Minnesota student tenants. The MPCA has been awarding Environmental Assistance Grants for 13 years to local governments, businesses and organizations. Grants are given each year for projects that focus on pollution prevention, recycling market development, waste and environmental education, sustainable community development, and/or resource recovery.