October 2024
Inside the Newsletter:
Leaf Management | PFAS | Boiler Control Optimization | Intern Applications | Events | Funding Opportunities
Fall Leaf Management Tips to Protect Our Lakes, Rivers, and Streams
Now that it is well into the fall season, a great many shrubs and trees are shedding their leaves. This is a perfect time for a quick refresher on appropriate leaf management that not only helps businesses maintain healthy yards and landscapes on their property but also prevents decomposing leaves from being washed into rivers, streams, and lakes. This can make a significant difference in water bodies and waterways’ health as seen in a 2016 United States Geological Survey study in Madison, Wisconsin. This study found that neighborhoods that removed leaves prior to rainfall contributed 40% less phosphorous to their annual load than neighborhoods that did not remove leaves and fall organic debris. This article will thus cover effective strategies for leaf removal this fall along with strategies in the spring and summer that can help next fall.
Leave, move, or rake leaves
Not all fallen leaves need to be removed as decomposed leaves can be good fertilizers for plants, improve soil structure and improve water retention, and act as a protective layer for plants in the winter. Here are some tips to keep in mind when considering whether to leave, move, or rake leaves.
- Flower beds and landscaped areas with perennial plants can benefit from a thin layer of intact leaves.
- Leaves that fall on impermeable surfaces, like paved parking lots and sidewalks, should be moved to flower beds and landscaped areas or raked.
- It is highly likely that at least some of the leaves need to be removed to prevent forming a thick layer of leaves that could promote fungus growth, mold growth, or lawn disease.
- Raking is one of the best ways to move fallen leaves. Depending on how many trees are on the property, it might take several iterations of raking over the fall season. The best conditions to rake are during calm, windless days, and it is much easier to rake dry leaves than wet leaves after a rainfall.
- Avoid blowing or raking leaves into the streets and storm drains as these practices are detrimental to water bodies and waterways’ health.
- Burning leaves outdoors is not advised as it contributes to air pollution and is a banned practice in many communities.
Bagging, mulching, or composting excess leaves
The next step is disposing of leaves that have been raked up, and there are several ways to do that including:
- Minnesota State law forbids putting leaves and other yard waste into regular trash. However, many local or Tribal governments might provide an option to pick up leaves provided they are packaged in either certified compostable or paper bags. Please check the local regulations to see if this option is available.
- Some businesses make mulch or shred leaves before mixing these with compost or applying it as a three-to-four-inch layer around tree and shrub roots. Mulching can be accomplished by several passes with a lawn mower or buying an affordable mulching kit to outfit a lawn mower and make the process faster. If the lawn is covered with 50% or more decaying leaves, it is inadvisable to mulch leaves as this can lead to an unhealthy lawn.
- Extra leaves are composted and used as fertilizer to enrich other plants and soils. Depending on location, there might be access to a community or city composting site for leaves and grass clippings.
Check out this guide from the University of Minnesota Extension for more information and step-by-step instructions for mulching and composting.
In addition, there are plenty of strategies that businesses can pursue in the spring or summer to help with next fall. Some businesses investigate ways to reduce the number of pollutants that flow into their storm drains. These include installing filtration, hydrodynamic separators, or a screen over their drains to keep out litter and leaves. For businesses considering screens, it is important to routinely clean these during the fall to prevent leaves from clogging drains. Other businesses install rain gardens or vegetation to soak in water after heavy rainfall or snowmelts in places where stormwater has pooled on their property.
Effective leaf management helps businesses maintain healthy and attractive yards and keep rivers, streams, and lakes clean for everyone to access. Fortunately, there are many resources, like the ones hyperlinked here, to help business owners initiate, maintain, and expand current leaf management practices.
Jocelyn Leung – Communications Specialist
leung077@umn.edu
PFAS: What do you need to know?
As PFAS, per- and poly- fluoroalkyl compounds also known as forever chemicals are increasingly in the news, many businesses are concerned about how they may be impacted by upcoming regulations.
What are PFAS?
What are PFAS used for?
Are PFAS in any of our products or raw materials?
How can we eliminate PFAS from our process?
If you are wondering about any of these questions, MnTAP has resources that can help!
PFAS are a class of fluorine containing human-synthesized chemicals that have been widely used in consumer and industrial products since the 1950s. PFAS do not readily break down, so they can accumulate in people and in the environment. This is a concern, because at least some PFAS are known to cause health problems such as immune suppression, cholesterol elevation, hormone disruption, decreased fertility, and kidney and testicular cancers.
PFAS have useful properties that make them common in many industries. Some of the most common uses are to reduce friction or surface tension, to increase wettability, and to repel water, dirt or grease. Here is a list of some industries that are known for using PFAS:
- Plating, which has historically used PFAS for fume suppressing.
- Printing, which often has PFAS in inks to help them flow more smoothly.
- Semiconductor manufacturing, which typically uses PFAS for photolithography and etching.
However, other common uses of PFAS show up in any industry. Some of the most common of these include floor waxes, roofing materials, Teflon coated bearings and surfaces, and Teflon tape.
The European organization ChemSec has created a guide that includes uses of PFAS in various industries. MnTAP has adapted this into a resource to help facilities identify likely sources of PFAS in their process. Contact MnTAP for access to this resource.
One challenge with finding PFAS in products is that they are usually added in amounts too small to require disclosure on Safety Data Sheets (SDSs). More information is expected to become available in 2026 when new reporting requirements go into effect from the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the State of Minnesota. In the meantime, the only way for most companies to find out for sure if there is PFAS in the materials they purchase is to ask their supplier. Further compounding the problem are the many different definitions of PFAS currently in use. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses a structural definition. The Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program uses a list. The State of Minnesota (along with at least 22 other states and the US Military), however, uses one of the broadest definitions of PFAS: a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom. To help navigate this situation, MnTAP has created a template for supplier inquiries, which explains what information manufacturers need to comply with Minnesota requirements.
What about alternatives to PFAS? While some applications already have PFAS-free alternatives available, in other areas these are still being developed. In some cases, such as cosmetics, ski wax, and many clothing applications, it may be possible to simply eliminate PFAS and still achieve satisfactory performance without any replacement. Waterproof clothing, firefighting foam, and fume suppressants for metal plating all have PFAS-free replacements available. Research is ongoing to identify alternatives in more areas. One recent example is the work the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell did with Transene Company to develop a PFAS free alternative for semiconductor manufacturing.
If you have questions about identifying PFAS in your facility, or finding effective alternatives, or you would like to learn more about MnTAPs PFAS resources, contact PFAS team leader:
Jane Paulson – MnTAP Senior Engineer
janep2@umn.edu
Boiler Control Optimizations to Improve Air Quality
As the weather gets cooler, facilities will start turning on their boilers. MnTAP is partnering with the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) to offer no-cost boiler control optimizations to facilities to improve air quality in environmental justice areas in Minnesota. This project will reduce particulate matter equal to or less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in environmental justice communities by burning less fuel through increased boiler efficiency. In addition, the facilities will save money on their heating bills.
Air pollution is estimated to contribute to 10% of all deaths in the Twin Cities metro area and according to the Life and Breath Metro 2022 Report, “the highest estimated rates of air pollution-related death and disease are found in neighborhoods with the largest percentage of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), low-income and uninsured residents, and people who live with a disability.” This project seeks to reduce air pollution by reducing emissions from boilers. In addition, this project will develop and share a toolkit with information about boiler optimization methods to allow these activities to be replicated.
MnTAP and CEE will provide boiler control optimizations to approximately 20 organizations. Eligible boilers must be hot water (not steam) and be used for heating only, not for industrial processes (some situations where the boiler also provides hot water may be allowed). We can work with a facility’s preferred boiler contractor or CEE or a boiler contractor we are partnered with can complete the optimization.
Funding for this project comes from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pollution Prevention Grant: Environmental Justice in Communities in a partnership between MnTAP, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, CEE, and the Lake Street Council.
Laura Sevcik – MnTAP Engineer
612-624-8192
lsevcik@umn.edu
Apply NOW for Your 2025 MnTAP Intern!
The Project Proposal form for the 2025 MnTAP Intern Program is now live!
Could your company use help in identifying waste prevention, water and energy conservation solutions? Is your site facing challenges with wastewater limits, resource costs or waste disposal? Your site may be the perfect candidate for a MnTAP Intern Project!
The MnTAP Intern Program pairs a college student with a Minnesota host facility in industries, such as manufacturing, food processing, healthcare, and more. These interns are co-mentored by a MnTAP staff engineer or scientist as they identify solutions to save money on your facility’s operating costs while reducing waste generation, water, and/or energy consumption. MnTAP interns have helped identify opportunities that save participating companies millions of dollars annually.
NOW is the time to start developing a project for the summer of 2025. We anticipate supporting 15-18 projects that could focus on water conservation, energy efficiency, sustainable chemistry, solid waste, and/or pollution prevention.
Not sure if your site is a good fit for the intern program? No problem! Part of our scoping process involves helping you zero in on opportunities that would fit a potential intern project and deciding if this program is right for you.
Proposals are currently being accepted and will be reviewed upon receipt. Companies will be contacted by MnTAP technical staff within two weeks of submission for proposal review and scoping. Although proposals are accepted through January 17th, 2025, companies in the past have said it was helpful to apply by the end of December to provide enough time to scope a well-defined project at their facilities.
For more information about the intern program or the application process, visit the MnTAP Intern Program webpage for businesses. Click here to access the Intern Project Proposal form.
Matt Domski – Intern Program Manager
612-624-5119
mdomski@umn.edu
Events
Smart Salting: Property Management Certification Training
October 24 & November 13, 9:00AM – 1:30PM
Virtual, No-Cost
This no-cost training offered by MPCA focuses on how to reduce salt use and costs while maintaining safe walking surfaces at facilities. Participants earn a three-year certification for attending this 4-hour training and passing the test. Learn more about this training from this link, and here are the links to register for the October 24 (9:00AM-1:30PM) and November 13 (9:00AM-1:30PM) training courses.
No-Cost Refrigeration Management Training for Food Retailers
November 12, 1:00 – 5:00PM
In-Person at Minneapolis College, No-Cost
The refrigeration industry is changing! Join a no-cost training sponsored by the MPCA to learn more about the new federal rules on the use and management of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, compliance strategies, technologies that would meet new requirements, and planning approaches for new and existing facilities. This is an in-person training course at the Minneapolis College at 1501 Hennepin Ave. Use this link to register, and if you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Theodore at 651-757-2644 or jennifer.theodore@state.mn.us.
Funding Opportunities
Install Vapor Recovery Systems at Gas Dispensing Facilities: (MPCA) Due by 4 pm CT on November 18, 2024
PFAS source identification and reduction grant program (MPCA): Rolling deadline until 4 pm CT on April 2, 2025
Small business environmental improvement loans [0% interest for capital equipment purchases] (MPCA)