Governor’s Awards–MnGREAT
Minnesota Government
Reaching Environmental Achievements Together
The Governor's Awards–MnGREAT recognizes environmental achievements by government employees.
The program focuses on the prevention of waste and pollution,
the reduction of waste at its source, conservation of energy
and water, recycling, and composting.
All Minnesota government employees, or groups of employees, are
eligible, including staff from counties, cities, Metropolitan agencies,
the University of Minnesota, and state colleges and universities.
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Congratulations to the
2007 award winners
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About the Governor’s Awards–MnGREAT
The Governor's Award–MnGREAT is sponsored by the state's
Interagency Pollution Prevention
Advisory Team (IPPAT), which meets quarterly to share information
and offer case studies on pollution prevention, waste reduction
and resource conservation within state departments and agencies.
IPPAT is coordinated by the Pollution Control Agency.
Applications are judged by members of IPPAT, with recognition given
to those whose work reduces waste, conserves resources, and saves
energy in their public workplaces. The first awards were presented
in 1995.
Award Winners
2007
 Winners
booklet (1.5Mb)
- The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) serves as a venue for a wide range of special events, hosting thousands of guests annually. As part of its commitment to environmental stewardship, staff and management created an environmental mission statement. Over the last three years, the DECC has worked to reduce waste, recover food when possible, increase energy conservation, improve recycling and reuse opportunities, and change purchasing practices. The DECC will be adding on a new hockey arena, and plans on making it the first LEED-certified hockey rink in the nation.
- In 2003, city leaders created the Minneapolis Sustainability Initiative and adopted a formal resolution to incorporate sustainability work into every department. Using this strong environmental policy as a guide, the city launched a focused campaign to create a more environmentally friendly Minneapolis and make sustainability a part of people's daily lives citywide and a part of every city function. By creating specific indicators and numerical targets and reporting them annually in the Sustainability Report, the city is able to measure its progress and make modifications. The city has already met some of its ambitious goals.
By linking health and the environment, and targeting key areas, links between departments have been created and creative approaches to problem solving have emerged, enabling the city to cost-effectively and proactively address current and potential issues. As a result of this program, Sustainlane.com and others have ranked Minneapolis among the top in the nation for its sustainability efforts.
- Rice Creek Watershed District's Blue Thumb program was developed as an outreach program to assist municipalities in meeting individual water quality goals. The Blue Thumb–Planting for Clean Water program raises awareness about polluted stormwater runoff and encourages homeowners to do their part to protect water quality by planting native gardens, rain gardens, and stabilizing shorelines using native plants. By educating citizens, Blue Thumb works to reduce excess nutrients, suspended sediment and bacteria levels, loss of fisheries and buffer areas, erosion, and the need for pesticides.There are currently 25 Blue Thumb partners, including professionals from local governmental units (watershed and conservation districts, cities, counties); nonprofit and community organizations; the University of Minnesota Extension; and nursery and landscape professionals. Bluethumb.org contains information to help residents find out how to reduce runoff, including planting blueprints, a plant selector tool, local retailers and landscapers, grant information, how-to guides, presentations, program materials, and more. Blue Thumb does not replace existing programs, but brings partners together who agree to use standardized native plant terminology and present unified public education messages. This approach combines resources, minimizes duplication, saves time and money, and increases outreach to residents.
- Honorable mention: The Elk River Library is a LEED-Gold-registered project. From the early stages, the project aimed to embody a high level of sustainable design and support the city's commitment to energy efficiency, with designs that are 60% more efficient than standard building code. Building materials include recycled-content products, as well as locally sourced products. Water-saving technologies, including landscape design, reduce on-site irrigation by 50%, and low-flow fixtures inside the building provide a potable water savings of 30%.
- Honorable Mention: The City of Farmington Green Team is a volunteer committee of city employees assembled to create and implement initiatives that promote environmental awareness and responsibility. The Green Team is evaluating existing policies and developing new policies and procedures to include environmentally responsible practices to reduce waste and conserve natural resources. The team has already worked on new standards for park equipment, enhancing internal and external recycling and waste reduction efforts, and installing energy-efficient lighting. Staff have also worked on environmental landscaping to minimize mowing and improve water quality. The team was instrumental in establishing sustainable building design standards, which to date have saved over $33,250 per year.
- Honorable Mention: Minnesota Army Reserve National Guard's Combined Support and Maintenance Shop at Camp Ripley provides vehicle maintenance support for a wide variety of wheeled and track equipment. By purchasing an antifreeze distillation unit, the shop can clean dirty antifreeze and reduce future purchases. For every 55 gallons of dirty antifreeze collected, approximately 20 gallons can be recovered. Direct cost savings will start to accrue in less than four years.
- Honorable Mention: The Minnesota Army Reserve National Guard at Camp Ripley needed to replace several thousand mattresses that were stored in over 400 different buildings. Instead of sending them to the Morrison County landfill, Camp Ripley choose to recycle the mattresses through a recycling program run by Goodwill Industries in Duluth. In all, the decision helped recycle 40,000 pounds of steel and recover 100,000 pounds of cotton fill, and disposal costs were reduced by nearly $32,000.
- Honorable Mention: Olmsted County initiated a partnership contract with the local United Way agency and copier contractor E.O. Johnson to provide out-of-date copiers at no cost to nonprofit agencies when the county replaced its old copiers. Believing the copiers could provide 2 to 5 years of service, the contractor agreed to refurbish and store the copiers until needed, and to provide a reasonable copier maintenance program. Olmsted County created a contract that expedites the process, resulting in the nonprofit receiving the copier much quicker. This contract serves as a great alternative to sending the copiers to a landfill and helps nonprofit organizations use their money for alternative needs.
- Honorable Mention: Sherburne County Solid Waste Department. As a part of its policy to reduce county dependence on landfilling, the Board of Commissioners adopted the Landfill Abatement Legacy Grant Program, which will award grants to local units of government for using at least 25% post-consumer recycled content materials in construction of city- or township-owned buildings. The grant program is believed to be the first of its kind in Minnesota, and offers residents an opportunity to learn more about recycled-content materials. It also increases the marketability of recycled material and will encourage more manufacturers to create products from recycled materials. Over 100 companies in Minnesota incorporate post-consumer recycled material in their manufacturing, and Sherburne County helps these companies by providing them an opportunity to showcase their products in municipal building construction. So far, three Landfill Abatement Legacy Grants have been awarded.
2006
Winners
booklet (400Kb)
- Redwood County Environmental Office's Mobile Environmental Education Transport is a custom-built, 30-foot enclosed trailer that contains many hands-on educational tools designed to teach people of all ages about environmental issues. The main objective of this unit is to increase public awareness about environmental issues facing rural Minnesota and throughout the state. Redwood County Environmental Office staff and MEET travel to schools and public events throughout Redwood County and neighboring counties in southwest Minnesota. MEET has made a concentrated effort to create awareness and provide enough information for citizens to make sound environmental decisions.
- For The Eco Experience at the State Fair, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) worked with the Minnesota State Fair and dozens of public and private partners to create a first-of-its-kind exhibit at the 2006 Minnesota State Fair. Unique exhibits, inside and outside the building, allowed approximately 350,000 Minnesota State Fair visitors to interact with cutting-edge displays on important environmental topics. This is the first large-scale effort of its kind in the nation intended to explain how environmentally friendly practices and choices can keep our water and air clean and preserve natural resources, while supporting economic development.
- The new addition to the city of Plymouth's Public Safety and City Hall expanded the building's space, but kept the environmental footprint to a minimum. The building incorporated many green features, from reusing major portions of the existing building to a "green roof" with native plants and grasses. The program was reviewed under Xcel Energy's Energy Design Assistance Plan Review Program; the resulting green design conserves more than a quarter of a million kilowatt hours, the energy equivalent of unplugging about 25 homes.
- The Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District needed a new building. The watershed district led by example and built a facility that not only has a minimal ecological impact but is also a leader by incorporating several green building designs. One of the most innovative aspects of the site is its infiltration-based stormwater management system that uses native plants, rainwater gardens, a green roof, and a porous-asphalt parking lot. This system prevents stormwater runoff from discharging to nearby bodies of water, and uses it to irrigate the native plants on the site instead. The new facility increases water quality in the area, conserves energy and water, and incorporates recycled products into the building all while maintaining economic efficiency.
- Heron Lake Watershed District's WATER program (Watershed Assistance Through Education and Resources)
focuses on five goals: Increase public awareness of water quality issues; reduce non-point and point-source pollution; improve water quantity management within the watershed; monitor lake water quality; improve habitat for wildlife species. These goals have helped increase water quality in the area. A comparison of 1992 results to 2005 results shows that phosphorous concentrations have decreased 61 percent, and suspended solids have decreased by 17 percent from the two inlets to Heron Lake.Through water quality sampling, volunteer monitoring, and a hydrology study, water quality continues to be evaluated.
- Through a cooperative effort, city of Mankato Wastewater Treatment Facility added phosphorus removal and filtration so reclaimed wastewater can be piped directly to the nearby Calpine power plant for cooling water to replace evaporative losses in energy production. This will save more than 25 billion gallons of water, conserving the local aquifer. After its use in the power plant, the water has been cleaned to an even higher standard before discharge into the Minnesota River. Based on a four-year average, this partnership was able to reduce phosphorus by 52,000 pounds, and turbidity has decreased from 4-5 NTUs (nephelolometric turbidity units) to just 1 NTU. These changes have resulted in better water quality and better aquatic habitat in the Minnesota River.
- The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) recently completed construction of the most advanced wastewater reclamation facility in Minnesota. Features of the plant include an ultra-filtration process that is unique to wastewater treatment processes in this region, a biosolids drying process, a comprehensive water use and reuse plan that uses the reclamation water for golf course irrigation and minimizes downstream impacts, and an innovative facility design that includes the largest "green" roof in the upper Midwestę31,000 square feet. As a result, each year the facility will: save approximately 85 million gallons of water; reduce biosolids by 1.1 million pounds; reduce water pollutants by 25,000 pounds; reduce water runoff by 60,000 cubic feet; and save $200,000. The building's heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer will be reduced by the green roof and noise pollution will be minimized by approximately 40 decibels. This facility truly serves as a model for others.
- Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) started a food waste drop-site program in May 2004 as part of a continuing effort to recover and divert organic material from the district's solid waste stream. Providing localized drop-sites allows residents and small businesses to accumulate food waste until an adequate quantity warrants a trip, and is more energy-efficient than curbside collection from widely dispersed customers or transporting organics to the landfill. WLSSD created Waste-Free Party Kits to facilitate food waste recovery, with portable bins with compostable liners, information on sources of compostable utensils, prepared signage, and instructions on source separation and use of drop sites. The four drop sites are expected to collect 25 tons of food waste in 2006, and may expand.
- The Minnesota Department of Transportation Office of Environmental Services developed a bioremediation technique to treat excavated petroleum-contaminated soil using "biomounds." Petroleum-contaminated soil is mixed with manure and wood chips to provide bacteria with a healthy environment to break down petroleum. This process is cost-effective and reduces petroleum concentrations, yielding a by-product that does not harm theenvironment; the treated soil can be used as a soil amendment in road projects. Approximately 30,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil have been kept out of the landfill from this program.
- Carlton County's Highway Department demolished a large 1940s-era concrete building. Out of a potential 480 tons, the county sent only 1.5 tons of material to the landfill. To achieve this, each component of the building was examined and removed carefully with the intent to reuse or recycle as much as possible. Doors, windows, lumber, and heating components were removed for reuse. The steel roof, re-rod, and trusses were removed and over 30 tons of steel was sold for recycling. Concrete was hauled to a gravel operation to be crushed and used in class 5 gravel road mixture. In the end, the extra time spent sorting material was offset by the dollar amount received for recycled steel and concrete.
- Metropolitan Council Environmental Services' new, state-of-the-art Solids Management Building located at the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Mississippi River in St. Paul has dramatically reduced air emissions and energy use while reducing costs. Replacing an aging and outdated system, the Met Council looked to increase the amount of heat recovered from the process, decrease the reliance on non-renewable energy, reduce air pollution, and reduce the odor at the plant. The new system achieves all of these goals, saving money ($3.4 million annually), generating electricity, and reducing emissions (in its first full year of operation the project reduced air emissions of many pollutants by 95 percent).
- Elk River Energy City installed a landfill-gas-to-electric generating plant through a cooperative agreement between the Elk River Landfill, Elk River Municipal Utilities, and Sherburne County. Methane gas, produced as a by-product of the waste decomposition process in landfills, is collected, filtered, and burned to generate over 20 million kilowatt hours of energy annually, which is sold Great River Energy for about $2.2 million/year. The facility includes an environmental learning center to educate about the system, along with other environmental issues. This unique partnership among the city, county, local utilities, and the private landfill has been instrumental in developing the center and has helped Elk River reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
- Elk River Energy City's Energy House III is a collaboration between Suburban Northwest Builders Association, Northwoods Custom Homes and Remodeling, seven project partners, and 31 project suppliers. Energy House III was built in April 2006 to provide builders and homeowners with a template of energy-efficient and renewable-energy technologies that could be replicated anywhere (new construction or retrofitted homes), and will be used for demonstration purposes and tours until March 2008. The project features advanced building methods to eliminate unnecessary electrical use: insulated panels, Styrofoam T-Mass Poured-in-Place insulation system, a geothermal pump, and special 0.18 U-factor windows. Recycled products were used whenever possible along with low-VOC materials. The technologies used in the house are saving energy and costs, while reducing pollution. With all of the energy upgrades put into the house, over $1,250 per year will be saved in energy costs. Annual air emissions will be reduced by nearly 37,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and 100 pounds of both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. As an added bonus, the house is also educating the public on things citizens can do to their own home.
2005
Winners
booklet (300Kb)
- The Minnesota Solar Electric Rebate Program, run by the Department of Commerce, provides an incentive to Minnesota electricity consumers to use solar electricity. The program offers general consumers the opportunity to receive roughly a 25 percent rebate on dealer-installed solar systems. In three years, the state-run program has more than doubled solar electricity in Minnesota, adding 223 kilowatts. It is estimated that the solar panels from this program will offset 223,000 kilowatt hours of traditional electricity, avoiding the following pollutants: 365,720 pounds CO2; 1,110 pounds SO2; 876 pounds NOx; and just over 1 ounce of mercury.
- Winona County Environmental Services Department's Used Motor Oil Container Program was created to address the problem of spills of waste oil at the county HHW facility due to use of improper containers by residents. To promote solid waste reduction, protect ground and surface water, recycle more oil, and help with worker safety, staff came up with the idea to purchase efficiently sized 2½-gallon containers with educational labels and distribute them to county residents that use the HHW center. By purchasing the containers, the county has seen a reduction in spills, a decrease in staff time needed for oil recycling, and less contamination.
- The University of Minnesota's E85 Program. In 1995, the university began purchasing vehicles compatible with E85 fuel, and the number has grown to 71—currently 14 percent of the university’s fleet—including cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs. They also worked to encourage drivers to use E85 fuel instead of gas. When the university relocated Fleet Services and built a new facility in 2000, an E85 tank and pump were added into the plans; another E85 tank and pump were added in 2003. To ensure that E85 was selected during oncampus refueling, drivers of leased and rented fleet vehicles were provided with a fuel key that works only at the E85 pump, a clever idea that helped E85 reach 50 percent of the total fuel used for E85 vehicles on the Twin Cities campus.
- City of Fridley's Your Eco Home television show. Since 1998, Fridley has been incorporating recycling information into a quarterly community television program called Community Development Journal, with cable television and the city’s web site providing a no-cost way to distribute much-needed environmental education throughout the community. Covered topics include waste reduction, environmentally friendly yard care, air quality, and construction salvage and reuse. The overall goal of the program is to give viewers correct environmental information so that they can make informed decisions.
- Wayzata’s Curbside Organics Collection Program. In 2003, Wayzata implemented a citywide pilot project to divert residential source-separated organics to composting, rather than disposal or resource recovery. During the pilot project, 215 tons of organics, primarily food waste and non-recyclable paper, was diverted from the waste of Wayzata’s 1,252 households and composted into a valuable soil amendment. Residential garbage generated by Wayzata’s residents decreased by 12 percent, while recycling tonnage increased by 23 percent. In early 2005, the city council unanimously approved adding organics collection to the city’s regular recycling services.
- MPCA/OEA Alliance for Reduction and Recycling of Waste (ARROW) Team was established in 1989, with staff from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Office of Environmental Assistance creating a committee to provide building-specific information about waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. Since 1995, the amount of waste produced in the building has decreased from 113,000 pounds to just 64,000 pounds. The two agencies have also reduced the need for purchasing new office supply products because of the emphasis ARROW places on reusing materials such as binders, folders, and paper.
- Northeast Minnesota Mattress Recycling Pilot Project is a complete system that provides for the collection, deconstruction, and recycling of mattresses in northeast Minnesota. The project began as a grant to hold a workshop for stakeholders to develop and implement a mattress recycling project. The recycling project brought together partners from Goodwill Industries, universities, the hospitality industry, retailers, and the seven counties in northeast Minnesota. As of February 2005, over 4,500 mattresses have been deconstructed, over 100 tons of recyclable material have been diverted from the landfill, and jobs have been created. The project has become a model for other organizations across the nation.
- The Camp Ripley Recycling Program (Little Falls) was established to reduce waste generated throughout Camp Ripley by procuring environmentally friendly products, reducing waste, and recycling as much as possible. This goal has been incorporated and institutionalized within the Minnesota Army National Guard Environmental Management System and Policy. In 1988, Camp Ripley was generating 8½ pounds of refuse per person per day; by 2004, this amount had dropped to less than 2½ pounds of refuse per person per day. Camp Ripley currently recycles over 63 different items and systematically reviews the waste stream for new or expanded recycling initiatives. More than 3,500 tons of material have been recycled, with landfill disposal cost savings of $263,175.
- Glensheen Estate Low-impact Development, Shoreline and Bank Stabilization Projects. The Glensheen Estate is located on the rapidly developing shoreline of Lake Superior in Duluth. The goals of this project were to: improve water quality of storm water from the parking lot at Glensheen Estate into Lake Superior; stabilize the clay bank in order to reduce waves, rain, and surface flow erosion during large storms; and provide a location where the general public can see examples of and become educated on low-impact development practices. All of these goals have been accomplished. The bank stabilization portion is protecting 140 feet of easily erodible bank. An estimated 70 tons of soil erosion will be kept out of Lake Superior trout spawning habitat because of the project. Over 70,000 visitors tour Glensheen each year, and educational information on the project is displayed for the public to read. This project demonstrates a great example for other sites on Lake Superior to replicate.
- Minnesota Army National Guard Battery Recharging Program, Rosemount FMS-1. The field maintenance shop implemented a rechargeable dry-cell-battery program in 2003, eliminating dry cell battery purchases and associated disposal costs. Rechargeable batteries can be reused hundreds of times, and once they no longer hold a charge, they can be recycled through the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation. During 2001 and 2002, nearly 850 pounds of dry cell batteries were discarded at a cost of $1,100. During 2003 and 2004, that number dropped to less than 200 pounds at a cost of $300. Starting this program saved the facility $800 in just two years’ time.
2004
Winners
booklet (175Kb)
- The Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Division
for its partnership with the Minnesota Dental Association to develop
and implement a voluntary dental clinic amalgam mercury recovery program.
The project staff completed two research studies showing that dental
clinics are a significant source of mercury to wastewater treatment
plants and that cost-effective amalgam separators are available to dentists.
The goal is to have all general practice dentists who place or remove
amalgam install and operate a separator, significantly improving water
quality in the state.
- The Rice Creek Watershed District for its comprehensive
wetland management plan, covering approximately 1,200 acres of land
in the growth corridor of Blaine, that consolidates and preserves large
tracts of high-quality wetlands while still allowing for development.
The plan promotes smart growth and natural resource-based planning,
improves wetland and ecological integrity, meets stormwater needs, satisfies
landowner issues, and solves a 15-year legal impasse.
- The Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board for
Community POWER (Partners on Waste Education and Reduction), a program
that reaches people with waste reduction messages through organizations
or institutions they are already part of, such as churches, senior groups,
youth groups, schools, arts organizations, neighborhood associations,
social service agencies, and civic groups. In its first two years, Community
POWER involved over 3,100 people in waste reduction activities and reached
150,000 other people with waste reduction messages through newsletters,
e-mail, direct mail, presentations, and community newsletters.
- The Steele County Sheriff's Office for incorporating
many design features that benefit the environment into its newly
constructed county detention center. A geothermal heating and
cooling system reduces the need for natural gas, and daylighting
reduces the need for artificial lighting and improves the general
atmosphere. The building's architects carefully selected materials
with recycled content that can also be recycled later, along with
products that have fewer emissions of volatile organic compounds.
- The Iron Range Resources Mineland Reclamation Division
for conserving a significant amount of energy with its lighting upgrade
in the growth chambers of the Mineland Reclamation headquarters in Chisholm.
New 1,000 watt metal halide bulbs and reflectors distribute light to
150,000 seedlings, with excess heat from the bulbs going to heat 1,000
gallons of water that is circulated throughout the remaining office
space. No extra heating fuel is required when the growth chamber is
operating, cutting energy use by 67 percent.
- Linda Schaumburg and staff at the Minnesota State Operated
Community Services–Northern Region for developing and marketing
Northern Sparks Firestarters. Linda designed and developed the manufacturing
for the firestarters, which consist of 100 percent recycled materials
assembled into a waterproof firestarter that burns for 20 minutes or
more, replacing liquid firestarters and kindling that is sometimes harvested
illegally in parks.
- The Metro WaterShed Partners, a collaboration of
water resource educators in the Twin Cities, for their "Minnesota Water
– Let's Keep It Clean" stormwater education program that provided consistent
clean-water messages in mass media across the Twin Cities metro area.
The Metro WaterShed Partners also made ready-to-adapt stormwater educational
materials available to cities and neighborhood organizations.
- The Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Division
for sustainable design in the expansion of the Eagles Point Wastewater
Treatment Plant in Cottage Grove. The plant was tripled in capacity
while in continuous operation on a limited-area site in a sensitive
environmental location on the bluffs above the Mississippi River. Sustainable
design features include building orientation, insulation, lighting and
daylighting, office furnishings, recycling of demolition debris, and
stormwater control and landscaping. Two remarkable features are elimination
of specific toxic chemicals and heating and cooling. Chlorine gas and
liquid sodium bisulfite were replaced by ultraviolet lamps for disinfection
of the 3-million-gallon daily flow of effluent. Heating and cooling
of the plant administration building is supplemented by a thermal heat
pump exchange with the relatively year-round consistent temperature
of that same effluent.
- The city of Albert Lea for the distributed
generation project at its wastewater treatment plant. The project
uses methane generated by bacteria during the wastewater treatment
process to power four micro turbines that generate electricity.
The exhaust heat in turn heats the water that is used in the biogas
generation. By using biogas as a fuel, the project avoids using
6 therms of natural gas per hour (52,560 therms/year), and the
payback is expected to be 3.4 years.
- The Crow Wing County Solid Waste Office for
its used oil collection program, which provides user-friendly
and convenient drop-off locations for used oil to residents and
tourists alike, so that residents and visitors can continue to
enjoy all that the popular recreation area has to offer. Extensive
education and advertising help ensure the effectiveness and success
of the program.
- Dakota County for its vision, leadership, and commitment
to design and construct high-performance, sustainable building
projects, as exemplified by the Dakota County Lebanon Hills Regional
Park Visitor Center. The visitor center demonstrates how adequate
and sustainable spaces can be constructed with the smallest ecological
footprint upon the site and surrounding areas, while also providing
a highly energy-efficient and long-lasting facility with minimal
impact upon future operating costs.
- Dakota Valley Recycling serving the cities of Burnsville,
Eagan, and Apple Valley with a joint recycling program that provides
economies of scale, reduces duplicate efforts, and promotes a uniform
message to residents of all three cities. The program has initiated
a pilot curbside organics collection program, strengthened environmental
partnerships with businesses and residents, and conducted extensive
outreach and education to many different audiences within the county.
2003
- Ramsey County Property Management Division for the
deconstruction of a 1940s-era ammunitions building at the Twin Cities’
Army Ammunitions Plant in Arden Hills. Ramsey County Property Management
worked closely with the deconstruction contractor to deconstruct the
building at a cost well below the bid for standard demolition, providing
savings to the county. The project made available 87 percent of the
building materials for reuse or recycling, leaving only 13 percent to
be sent to the landfill. End markets have been identified for all the
reused and recycled building materials.
- Independent School District 196 (Rosemount-Eagan-Apple
Valley District, Dakota County) for implementing a project to compost
the entire district’s organic solid waste. Compostable waste is
converted into a rich, organic soil ammendment that is purchased back
by the district for use on athletic fields and in landscaping and erosion
control projects. The district saves on disposal costs and continues
to observe a significant enhancement of its environmental education
programs at all grade levels.
- The Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP)
for their work with the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) program,
a joint effort of the American Hospital Association, American Nurses
Association, Health Care Without Harm, and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency to improve environmental performance in the healthcare sector.
MnTAP staff played a major role in the development of two key resource
documents on chemical waste minimization and total waste reduction in
healthcare facilities, and have engaged many Minnesota hospitals in
the H2E project through technical assistance, outreach, and the MnTAP
internship program. MnTAP received a Champions for Change Award in recognition
of its leadership in promoting pollution prevention programs within
the healthcare field.
- Lynne Markus, IPPAT representative from the Department
of Administration’s Resource Recovery Office, for demonstrating
outstanding leadership and commitment to pollution prevention, waste
reduction, and recycling. Lynne founded the program to set up a recycling
system in state government. In addition, Lynne has been a strong and
loyal supporter of IPPAT’s efforts since its inception in 1991,
helping design the MnGREAT! awards (serving as a judge several times)
and the agency pollution prevention summary reports, and helping to
revise the Governor’s executive order for two successive administrations.
- Victoria Reinhardt, Ramsey County Commissioner, who
was the driving force behind an initiative to incorporate environmental
attributes into the construction of the Ramsey County Law Enforcement
Center in St. Paul, where demolition wastes were separated and recycled,
and recycled paint and asphalt were used in construction. The building
will employ district heating and energy-efficient lighting and controls.
Commissioner Reinhardt has also worked tirelessly to incorporate product
stewardship and toxicity reduction into the policies of the Association
of Minnesota Counties and the National Association of Counties. Her
work promoting the resolutions at state and national meetings shows
a strong commitment and dedication to the environment.
- Donna Peterson, Minnesota Technical Assistance Program,
for providing consistently excellent service to her colleagues and Minnesota
businesses for the past 20 years. As a nationally recognized pollution
prevention expert in the printing industry, one of Minnesota’s
largest industries, Donna was a critical team member for the Great Printers
Project, which prompted over 40 Minnesota printers to sign on to environmental,
health, and safety practices. In addition, Donna coordinated the student
intern program at MnTAP for several years, supervising over ten intern
projects in diverse businesses from printing to shingle manufacturing
and helped 8 Minnesota companies reduce solvent and cleaning wastes
by 140,000 gallons per year through an EPA technical assistance project.
Donna has served as IPPAT representative for many years and has often
served as a judge for the Governor’s Awards for Excellence in
Pollution Prevention.
2002
- Ned Brooks and the Living Green Expo steering committee - Special
Recognition Award
IPPAT presents a special recognition award to MPCA staff member Ned
Brooks and the steering committee that planned the Living Green Expo,
an urban sustainability fair held on April 27, 2002. The Expo provided
information, resources, products, and technologies to the general public
to help people reduce their environmental impact. Public, private, and
nonprofit groups donated time, resources, and funding over a seven-month
time period, resulting in a fair that exceeded most expectations. Over
150 vendors exhibited products and distributed information to an estimated
5,000 people who attended.
- The University of Minnesota Facilities Management for its continuous
improvement approach to all departments and operations, including energy
conservation, environmentally preferable purchasing, mercury reduction,
and adoption of green architectural principles.
- The Department of Administration's Resource Recovery Office
for its education programs about waste reduction and for promoting the
reuse of office supplies from the state recycling center, which resulted
in 13 agencies obtaining free supplies 91 times from the facility.
- The Department of Administration-Materials Management Division
and its electronics contracts committee for putting in place an electronics
disposal contract that specifies that no component materials from used
electronics are exported overseas for management.
- The Department of Agriculture's Dairy and Food Inspection Division
for implementing a project to remove and replace all the mercury manometers
in Minnesota dairy barns, removing more than half a ton of mercury from
the environment.
- The city of Hutchinson for expanding its yard waste composting
program to include source-separated food waste collected from residents,
further reducing the amount of refuse going to the landfill and conserving
a valuable resource.
- The city of Oakdale Public Works Department for its commitment
to green building when planning its public works expansion and for implementing
"Generation Green," a voluntary energy and resource conservation
program for businesses in the community.
- The Department of Natural Resources-Facilities and Operation Support
Bureau for employing the principles of sustainable architecture,
as described in the Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide, when designing
DNR regional office buildings in Tower and Windom. Their integrated
approach included land use, site design, indoor air quality, materials
selection, water, energy, and waste considerations.
- Downtown Minneapolis Transportation Management Organization, Minnesotans
for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the St. Paul Transportation Management
Organization, Metro Commuter Services, and Metro Transit for promoting
employee transit benefits, leading to an increase in bus ridership of
between 20 percent and 75 percent at participating businesses, with
an estimated annual reduction of over 1.6 million gallons of gasoline
consumed. This resulted in reductions in emissions of over 16,000 tons
of carbon dioxide, along with over 1,000 tons of carbon monoxide, and
310 tons of ground level ozone precursors.
2001
- Dave Pehoski – Distinguished Service Award
IPPAT presented Dave Pehoski a MnGREAT! award for his steadfast support
of the group since joining in 1992. Dave has been a consistent and active
representative to IPPAT from the Minnesota Department of Transportation
(MnDOT).
On behalf of MnDOT, Dave has enthusiastically shared many
technical solutions to hazardous waste, recycling and pollution prevention
problems with IPPAT members. He has been an integral part of MnDOT teams
that have achieved successes in pollution prevention, resulting in the
consolidation of approximately 130 statewide district hazardous waste
generators into very small quantity generators. He also encouraged all
state agencies to use the environmental auditing system developed by
MnDOT and the Minnesota Department of Administration.
Dave displays the highest professional standards in his
work, and IPPAT members appreciate his teamwork and strong commitment
to governmental pollution prevention. He has served on various IPPAT
work groups, including crafting the Governor's Executive Order on Pollution
Prevention to state agencies and serving on the MnGREAT! awards committee.
- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Region I and Western
Lake Superior Sanitary District in Duluth for the "Mercury-Free
Zone" project, an outreach and education program to eliminate mercury
from the schools in the region. Staff from the MPCA and WLSSD sent over
100 letters to schools throughout the seven-county region of northeast
Minnesota, inviting them to pledge to become mercury free by 2003. Over
40 schools made the pledge and over 130 pounds of elemental mercury
and mercury-contaminated equipment have been eliminated from the schools
as of May 2001. They anticipate many more schools will join and much
more mercury will be eliminated in the fall.
- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – St. Paul, for
the "Pollution Prevention in Building Demolitions" outreach and education
program. Recognizing the numerous environmental issues encountered during
building demolition projects, Pollution Control Agency staff established
a partnership with local governments, building owners and demolition
contractors to provide training through conferences, fact sheets and
technical guidance. They train owners and demolition contractors to
recognize hazardous waste and to remove it prior to building demolition,
resulting in significant reductions in hazardous materials going to
unlined demolition landfills.
- The University of Minnesota Extension-Hennepin County and Health
Care Without Harm for the "Mercury Thermometers and Family Health
in Minnesota" project. The project provided outreach and education to
communities in Minnesota, especially the Hmong and Hispanic communities,
about health threats from mercury in the environment. Project partners
distributed "Mercury Thermometers and Your Family's Health" brochures
to health care providers, childbirth educators, childcare centers, midwives
and others statewide. The project also conducted thermometer exchanges
in Hennepin County, replacing over 1,100 mercury thermometers with mercury-free
thermometers.
- The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and Minneapolis Park
and Recreation Board for the "Chain of Lakes Clean Water Partnership",
an urban lake restoration program. This six-year, $8.1 million program
was a team effort headed by the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District,
in partnership with the city of Minneapolis, the city of St. Louis Park,
the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and Hennepin County. Project
partners combined environmental engineering strategies and community
involvement, which has significantly improved water quality in the Minneapolis
Chain of Lakes.
2000
- Paul Moss — Distinguished Service Award
Paul Moss is honored by his peers for his ten years of leadership and
consistent support of pollution prevention and sustainability. As a
founder and mentor to the Interagency Pollution Prevention Advisory
Team (IPPAT), he is recognized as a champion of IPPAT and pollution
prevention.
- The Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Division's Metro
Wastewater Treatment Plant is recognized for innovations in energy
recovery and wastewater handling technology. The Metro WWTP employees
converted the secondary wastewater treatment tanks' air-delivery system
to fine-bubble diffusion, doubling the oxygen transfer rate and dramatically
decreasing the power required for the air compressors. They recover
energy from the incineration of biosolids to heat the plant, run pumps
and fans and treat the solids. Projected cost savings for these two
innovations are nearly $3 million annually, with a combined annual energy
savings of 25 percent since 1996. This also means that 8,130 tons of
coal are not burned to generate electricity. The energy savings prevent
air emissions of 173 tons of nitrous oxides, 512 tons of sulfur oxides,
and 58,500 tons of carbon dioxide.
- The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Department
of Administration are recognized for designing a program that allows
state agencies to identify the total volume of a commodity purchased,
which aids in calculating cost savings after implementing a pollution
prevention or waste minimization project. Using this tool, MnDOT determined
overall hazardous waste disposal savings of over $70,000 since 1996.
Breaking down the total dollars spent on hazardous waste disposal to
dollars spent on disposal of a specific waste allows agencies to measure
the success of a specific pollution prevention or waste minimization
project.
- The Minnesota State Patrol and the Department of Administration
Materials Management Division are recognized for establishing and
using a contract to refurbish and reuse the State Patrol's 1995 Chevrolet
Caprice police automobiles. The Patrol refurbished 137 police vehicles
and political subdivisions refurbished 27 vehicles. The refurbishing
project resulted in estimated savings of $1,055,000 for the State Patrol
and $208,000 for political subdivisions and prevented the pollution
that would have been associated with the manufacture of 164 new automobiles.
- Tom Wilts and his colleagues at Ridgewater College in Willmar,
Minnesota, are recognized for 26 years of dedication to safety, pollution
control, hazardous waste management and recycling at the college. In
addition to always looking for products that are environmentally friendly,
Tom and his colleagues have helped the college reduce energy consumption
with variable frequency motor drives. Revenue from a recycling program
that Tom has maintained since 1977 goes toward a scholarship program
for work-study students employed by the maintenance department. Since
1977 they have awarded scholarships to 43 work-study students.
- The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Waste Reduction and Recycling
Committee is recognized for maintaining an extensive composting
project since September of 1999. The project allows all compostable
materials to be collected and managed separately from non-compostable
refuse. The material list includes cafeteria food waste, napkins, biodegradable
utensils and paper towels from restrooms. In the first eight months
of the program, 33 percent of the solid waste generated was composted.
- The Department of Commerce, Energy Division is recognized for
its promotion of alternative fuels, such as E85 and biodiesel from homegrown
renewable crops, compressed natural gas, and liquefied natural gas.
The department has purchased difficult-to-find flexible-fuel vehicles
capable of using E85 and has taken the initiative to increase E85 fueling
sites in the metro area, with a goal of 45 sites by the end of the year.
- The University of Minnesota is recognized for its Gateway Project,
a "green" initiative to demonstrate that recycled paint is a quality
alternative to virgin paint. The Gateway interior walls used 1,100 gallons
of recycled paint, which is the largest commercial use of recycled paint
thus far in Minnesota.
- The Federal Prison Camp in Duluth, Minnesota, is recognized
for maintaining an extensive recycling and composting program. The prison
camp's vermicomposting project uses red wiggler worms to turn organic
waste material, such as food and paper, into compost.
- The employees of the Minnesota Department of Administration's State
Recycling Center are recognized for designing and building innovative,
ergonomically sound recycling equipment using 100 percent post-consumer
plastic lumber. Facility tours and traveling displays promote the practicality
of using 100 percent post-consumer plastic lumber in construction.
- The Minnesota Department of Administration's Materials Management
Division, Central Stores, and Resource Recovery Office
are recognized for their work on environmentally preferable purchasing.
The Materials Management Division has developed contracts for environmentally
responsible products and services estimated in excess of $39 million
per year. Central Stores has added environmentally preferable products
to its shelves. The Resource Recovery Office has contributed to the
development of the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Guide and has
promoted environmental purchasing by public agencies through displays,
training and workshops.
- The Department of Administration Resource Recovery Office and Print
Communications Division are recognized for their promotion of environmental
printing. The Resource Recovery Office provides guidance and education
to government agencies to reduce the toxicity and amount of waste generated
during design and printing of publications. The Print Communications
Division is registered as a "Great Printer," participating in the Minnesota
Great Printers Project, a program that promotes environmentally preferable
printing.
- The Becker County Environmental Services Department, the city
of Detroit Lakes, and the Pelican River Watershed District
are recognized for working with consultants and contractors to deconstruct
a turkey processing plant in Detroit Lakes. The project recovered over
8,000 cubic feet of concrete that was crushed and reused for aggregate,
and over 5,000 cubic yards of recyclable metals, glass and carpeting.
Contractors used some of these materials in the construction of a new
store on the same site.
1999
- Hennepin County for their Sustainable Design Guide and Rating
System, which has been the motivation behind the growth of new partnerships,
legislative initiatives, and a wide array of programs and strategies
to benefit the environment. The guide and rating system provides a systematic
method of incorporating environmentally responsible design and management
practices into county facilities, such as the new Public Works facility
in Medina.
- Houston County for the ClassCycle Bikes Project of Houston,
which removes bicycles from the waste stream. Student technicians repair
and refurbish them for public use. A master technician trains the students,
who run the business themselves, where schedules, pricing, inventory,
advertising, bike repair, and sales are completely managed by students.
- St. Cloud Technical College for developing a CD-ROM program
to train automotive specialists on the proper ways of managing the waste
generated by the automotive industry. The program provides links to
appropriate Internet Web sites, ensuring that the learners using the
program have consistent environmental information.
- The WaterShed Partners, a coalition of 36 public, private,
and non-profit organizations, for working collaboratively to develop
and implement educational programs to reduce urban runoff in the Metropolitan
Area. The WaterShed exhibit has reached over 200,000 adults and children
at nearly 100 different events and venues in the Twin Cities Metropolitan
Area.
- Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) for the Mercury
Zero Discharge project, a partnership throughout the community to identify
and eliminate mercury contributions from schools, hospitals, dentists
and industry. WLSSD has also been selected as a recipient for a Governor's
Award in Excellence in Waste and Pollution Prevention and a Minnesota
Waste Wise award.
1997
- Kurt Schroeder, MPCA coordinates the Lafayette Park
Transportation Committee, which encourages cycling, walking and transit
use by employees of five state agencies in the northeast corner of downtown
St. Paul. Kurt has initiated over a dozen projects to encourage
state employees to walk, bike or bus to work and during the work day.
He has organized the "Tour de Lafayette" lunch-time bike rides to familiarize
staff with bike routes into downtown. He produces an e-mail message
called "Bus Line" on commuting options for agency staff.
- The team of Todd Stugelmayer, Kim Anderson, Brian Oxton, Gordy
Bergman, Duane Money, and Alan Breuer of the Physical Plant at Moorhead
State University was recognized for setting up an energy and water
conservation project at Moorhead State University. Among new installations
were low-flow shower heads in campus dorms and other buildings; an energy
management control system in 19 buildings; a pool environmental unit;
heating plant boiler economizers; and a blow down recovery system. The
energy retrofit was sponsored by a state program and Northern States
Power Company (NSP). The estimated payback is four years with estimated
savings thereafter of $236,100 annually.
- Bob Baker, Cari Hatcher, Art Kistler, Victoria Nelson, Mike Ramolae,
Linda Rogers, staff from the Dept. of Parking and Transportation Services
at the University of Minnesota coordinated a project which reduces
auto idle time at parking garages at the U of M. Installation of new
computer equipment at University parking ramps has reduced vehicle waiting
time by approx. 1.5 seconds per car. Since 1993, this reduction has
resulted in savings of 8,460 pounds of gasoline (approx. 1,000 gallons)
and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 28,172 pounds.
- Duane Faber, Berry Conway, Sharon Sigmon, Jeff Rehbein, Tom Weireke,
and Gary Thrift, staff from the Printing, Communications & Media
Division of the Department of Administration are recognized for
their work with new technology that allows customers to submit projects
electronically. This allows the department to print jobs on an as-needed
basis and minimizes the printing of extra copies. Additionally, the
department uses a printing class training manual that is printed on
paper made from tropical grass sold by Fox River Paper. The paper is
responsibly planted and harvested and is both chlorine and acid free.
- Dann Adair and Michael Pumroy at the Dept. of Plant Pathology
and Facilities Management at the University of Minnesota are recognized
for their work to convert campus greenhouses to energy-efficient plant
lighting. The new bulbs are more energy-efficient, longer lasting, and
replaced PCB-laden transformers. This project has an estimated payback
of 1.6 years with estimated savings thereafter of $60,897 annually.
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