Deicing Materials 101

1
Deicing Materials 101

• Educating the Politician
• Created by
• Carol Webb, Regulatory Government Affairs Manager
• Larry Schneider, Streets Superintendent
• City of Fort Collins

2
Fort Collins, Colorado

• Ranked 1 Best City in the Nation by Money
  Magazine in 2006, No.2 in 2008
• Street Lane Miles 1,793
• Population 134,000
• Colorado State University22,000
• Snow Storms 16
• Liquid Use 425,000 gallons avg. per year
• Granular Use 4,000 tons avg. per year

3
FORT COLLINS
4
CSU Campus December 2006
5
City Council Question

• Todays world is changing
• Internet age
• More Information is available for citizens to
  read/obtain and so, more questions arise
• Environmental concerns
• Ex. Concerns of deicing products damaging
  roadside vegetation, personal property,
  corrosion, etc.
• Complaints and concerns
• Funneled down to local governments and elected
  officials

6
(No Transcript)
7

• Steel beams showing corrosion

8
(No Transcript)
9
How do you educate the Politian?

• Environment vs. cost vs. safe roads
• The Mayor McNichols factor
• What does this mean for us?
• How to establish credibility with elected
  officials?
• Understand where questions are coming from
• See it from a different their point of view
• Annual collection of data from local steams,
  ponds, tissue from roadsides, dirt, etc.

10
Collecting and communicating the facts

• Collection of data
• Communicating factual information to the public
  and to elected officials
• Keeping everyone informed of the information
• Best management practices

11
Council requests

• To Whom it may concern,
• Please prepare a two page memo about our citys
  deicing materials.
• Sincerely,
• Kelley Olson
• (City Council Member)
• Dear Larry,
• Get your ass moving on this on this memo ASAP!
• Or, meet me at the lashing pole.
• Sincerely,
• Mark Jackson
• (Your Boss)

12
Council requests

• Dear Mark,
• I am going to need more than two pages!
• Sincerely,
• Larry Schneider
• (Streets Supervisor)

13
The two page memo

• The Streets Department staff created a two page
  report outlining the products we use, why we use
  them, pros and cons of each
• Two pages limited our ability to address the
  concerns
• What happened?
• The memo was rejected by the City Council member
  Kelly Olson
• We learned that the Regulatory and Government
  Affairs group was asked to prepare the same
  information for council
• RGA was seen as an independent source of
  information

14
The two page memo

• What we learned
• Should have had RGA involved at the beginning

15
Regulatory and Government Affairs

• RGA Mission
• Administer programs and provide services for
  environmental compliance and environmental
  stewardship so that customers may comply with
  applicable environmental regulations and sustain
  a healthy environment.
• Five Environmental Regulatory Specialists
• Regulated Waste Management
• Water Quality stormwater, drinking water,
  wastewater
• Air Quality
• Pollution Prevention Services
• Review of Phase I/II Environmental Assessments
• Training
• Various projects

16
Environmental Management Team

• 2007 RGA Division formed the city-wide
  Environmental Management Team
• EMT Mission
• Develop and implement action plans for city-wide
  environmental regulatory compliance consistent
  with the Citys environmental policy.
• Assess current environmental management
  procedures and communicate current and future
  environmental regulatory requirements and
  programs to city workgroups.

17
Chemical Materials Review

• February 2007
• RGA received a request from the City Managers
  office for research on the types of materials
  used by City operations for
• Fertilizers
• Pesticides/Herbicides
• Deicing functions
• Request originated from City Council member
  concerned with environmental impacts of Chemical
  Materials used in City Operations

18
Chemical Materials Review

• A cross-departmental workgroup was formed out of
  the Environmental Management Team
• Team members included Streets, Parks, Natural
  Areas, Purchasing, and RGA

19
Chemical Materials Review

• Scope of review focused on chemicals used in
  Streets, Parks, and Natural Areas
• Review was limited to those chemicals used in the
  largest volumes
• General information on toxicity, performance,
  cost, and purchasing strategies for these
  chemicals was included
• Comparisons were made to products used by other
  municipalities/jurisdictions in our general
  region, depending on the information available.
• General information was included on best
  management practices.
• A library of Material Safety Data Sheets was
  provided

20
Evaluation of Deicing Materials

• Worked closely with Streets Superintendent and
  Supervisor to provide accurate information
• Objectively analyzed materials provided by
  internal staff and compared to industry best
  practices and standards.
• Attempted to provide an objective analysis within
  defined scope

21
Evaluation of Deicing Materials

• Analysis showed a well-balanced approach to
  selecting and applying snow/ice control products
• Reviewed several technical papers showing
  pros/cons to granular and liquid deicers
• Made recommendations based on research and
  conversations with staff

22
Chemical Materials Review

• White paper was reviewed by City Manager and
  staff
• Still to come presentation to City Council
• Possible Issues
• Some council members may already have drawn
  conclusions, not open to additional information
• Prefer an outside review
• May find information too technical

23
Tips

• Proactively educate elected officials and the
  public
• Computer/internet
• Brochures
• Understand the facts about the products you are
  using
• Include independent studies done to decrease
  damage to property and environment
• A two page memo is not impossible if you know
  your audience and know what they need to know
• Two-way communication would make things easier,
  but it doesnt always exist

24
Questions?