Issue 254 - October 29, 2008

Thanks for your continuing interest. We hope that the following timely information will assist you in promoting attitudes and practices in your community that are socially, environmentally, and economically sound. These updates typically include a great deal of material sent in by members; send suggestions to nextstep@state.mn.us. We also encourage you to forward this update to others and to reprint material from the update.

October 29, 2008, Issue #254

In this month's issue:

Greywater Systems

Big-Box Retail Scorecard

Northfield: Carbon-free by '33 Plan

Demystifying $240 Billion in Transportation Dollars

Campus Sustainability Funds; Energy Smart for Small Business; Local Wind Benefits

Money & Assistance

Jobs

Events

New Resources

Greywater Reuse Systems and Code

Wastewater can be broken down into two types - blackwater and graywater. As the name suggests, blackwater is the dirtier of the two and consists of effluent from toilets, which can be composted using a number of proven systems (for use in cabins and elsewhere) including one from Equaris Corp. in Afton, MN (see http://www.nextstep.state.mn.us/res_detail.cfm?id=285). Greywater is everything else: water from showers, sinks and the washing machine. In households, greywater can account for 60% of total wastewater volume.

Greywater can be reclaimed for reuse - where potable water isn't necessary - in irrigating landscapes and in supplying water for toilets. Systems for residential and commercial (offices, apartments, hotels) use range in sophistication and cost, but a suitable and practical one can cost under $1,500 and pay for itself in water and sewer cost savings. They run used water through small filters and treat it with small amounts of chlorine or an alternative.

Benefits flow not just to system owners, but to local governments, as greywater systems decrease demands on drinking water and sewer systems, decreasing volumes and system energy use. See, for example, systems made by the Canadian company Brac Systems (http://www.bracsystems.com - the Minnesota representative is Sun Energy-CMC in Mora: 320/679-0877). Oasis Design's web site - http://www.oasisdesign.net - is a good resource for learning about benefits and also the complexities of a greywater system. Also see this site for resources on rainwater catchment (rainwater harvesting from roofs) and storage (in cisterns).

With areas of Minnesota facing more frequent drought, use of greywater is getting a renewed look. Currently the Minnesota Plumbing Board is developing code language to specifically allow these systems, hopefully easing their implementation and making them more economical. Meanwhile, systems have been approved on a case-by-case basis at the city and county level, and information on home kits and installation is readily available. See, for example, the SymBioSystem of Round River Alternatives in Finland, MN (http://www.nextstep.state.mn.us/res_detail.cfm?id=1049). Also read about and view pictures of a greywater greenhouse north of Duluth at http://www.nextstep.state.mn.us/res_detail.cfm?id=256

Big-Box Retail Scorecard

http://citiesgogreen.com

As reported in the October 2008 issue of CitiesGoGreen, the City of Ferndale, Washington (pop. 10,800) found a way to integrate large retail formats with its community values. Former critics of big box development endorse this approach as a model for other municipalities.

While many cities have placed bans or size caps on retail developments (see, for example, http://www.newrules.org/retail and http://www.bigboxtoolkit.com), Ferndale established, by ordinance, a three-pronged approach to retail development by:

• Improving and expanding the existing retail design standards.

• Requiring development proposals to identify and mitigate transportation impacts.

• Requiring development proposals to score points above threshold levels (depending on development size) on a city-citizen developed, evolving scorecard called EAGLE: Energy efficiency, Advanced technologies, Greater good, Low impact, Economic development. The full 80-page guidance is available at http://tinyurl.com/6llpjy EAGLE requires the applicant to justify the points they are claiming will be earned through their development.

Points can be earned in 75 categories, which include:

• green power
• onsite daycare
• living wage jobs
• health benefits
• public transportation facility
• vertical construction
• reduction of impervious surfaces
• interior parking
• (design for) adaptive reuse
• contribution to success of downtown

http://www.ci.northfield.mn.us/whatsnew [scroll to: Energy Task Force]

This summer the City of Northfield (pop. 19,413) in Rice Co. released an energy action plan with the goal of completely reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 2033. The 70-page document With Hope: A Resilient Community - An Action Plan for Northfield Area Energy Sustainability is packed with background information, resources and action steps to meet Northfield's aggressive targets: Northfield and its surrounding, partnering townships aim to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions of 15% by 2013, 50% by 2028, and 100% by 2033.

An Energy Task Force was created by the City Council in May 2007 in part to address future energy price and supply instability and to act on the city's commitment to the Cities for Climate Protection campaign of ICLEI. The resulting report covers their research process and recommendations for both government operations and the Northfield community. Highlights from the plan of potential interest to other local government officials and citizen planners include:

• Action steps for local government, including policies, ordinances, plans, and guidelines.

• Ideas from other local governments - Phoenix, Berkeley, Aspen - on how to pay for climate action measures.

• Suggestions for residential and commercial/industrial/institutional energy users.

• Appendices on biomass combined heat and power, biomass gasification (note the financial summary of methane digesters), cluster heat pump systems, and small and large wind turbines.

• A list of research conducted, including meetings, seminars, and collaborations that led to the development of the energy plan.

http://www.transact.org/PDFs/margins2006/STPP_guidebook_margins.pdf

More than any other federal law, SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act-A Legacy for Users: 2005-2009) vests control of planning and funding with local and state elected officials and professional staff where citizens can have a discernible impact over serious dollars. From the Margins to the Mainstream: A Guide to Transportation Opportunities in Your Community (Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, 2006: 116 p.) is designed to demystify the complexities of transportation laws, programs, funding allocation methods and processes to help citizens, elected officials, and transportation advocates and transportation professionals take advantage of opportunities to make communities healthy, safe, and livable.

Too often money is spent on a project, say a bridge and access roads, and a key community need, such as safe bicycle access, is somehow overlooked in all the complexity of spending state and federal dollars. This guide helps change those transportation outcomes by educating users to know the rules and "follow the money." The focus is on:

• Fixing what is broken

• Saving and enhancing what is unique

• Promoting public health through bicycling and walking

• Protecting the natural environment

• Improving transportation safety and security

• Relieving traffic congestion

• Providing for all users of the transportation network

• Building an integrated public transportation system

• Enhancing movement of freight

• Improving all aspects of rural transportation

Short Takes on Other Resources

Campus Sustainability Funds

http://www.campusinpower.org

Rachel Barge (rachel@campusINpower.org) is a nationally recognized environmental leader who, as a student at the University of California - Berkeley, co-created The Green Initiative Fund, a $2 million revolving loan fund that finances large-scale energy, infrastructure and sustainability upgrades on campus, as well as student internships. As director of the organization Campus INpower, Rachel is now traveling the country for a year to train student organizers, at no cost, on how to establish large sustainability funding mechanisms at their college/university.

Rachel was in Minneapolis October 4 for Minnesota Power Shift 2008, and offered to serve as a free consultant and/or in-person trainer for those working on/starting campus campaigns. Campus INpower also has freely available on its website a 50-page Action Toolkit: A Student and Administrator's Guide to Funding Mechanisms for Campus Clean Energy Projects. It presents seven strategies that campuses of all economic means and resources can put in place. This guide includes detailed descriptions, assessments and case studies intended to help identify which of the following mechanisms would be the most feasible for a particular campus:

• Student Fees

• Energy Service Company - University Partnerships

• Endowments / Internal Campus Banks

• Administrative Funds

• Outside Grants (private, public, non-profit)

• Alumni Funds

• Revolving Loan Funds

Energy Smart Program for Small Business - new!

http://www.mnenergysmart.com

This fall Minnesota businesses have a new resource for improving energy efficiency and saving money, and specifically for connecting businesses (with under 100 employees) to existing programs offered by the state's energy utilities. Energy Smart is an arm of Minnesota Waste Wise, a service for members of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, which has 15 years of experience helping businesses save money through waste reduction, resource conservation and now energy efficiency.

Overcoming assistance barriers. Small businesses provide 70% of the jobs in America and are responsible for about half the country's economic output. In Minnesota, over 80% of businesses are very small businesses of 20 employees or less, and they create a majority of new jobs. "In fact," says Jane Leonard of Minnesota Rural Partners (http://www.minnesotaruralpartners.org), "in some of our very rural counties, businesses of four or fewer employees - microenterprise and home-based businesses -- provide a quarter of the jobs in those counties."

Helping these small businesses save money by saving energy helps this economic engine of Minnesota. But helping these small businesses save energy is more costly than helping large firms - there are many more accounts to service. And these are the firms that to date have least benefited from energy conservation initiatives. Thus helping small businesses save energy is the "low-hanging fruit" of energy efficiency opportunities in Minnesota.

A March 2008 report (at http://www.mn-ei.org/projects/energy.html) produced by the Minnesota Environmental Initiative, based on a survey of over 270 small and mid-size business owners throughout the state, identifies a total of 15 barriers to saving energy, such as limited financing or conservation programs that don't serve the unique needs of small businesses. Strategies that address every barrier, and multiple barriers, are also identified in the report - a total of 21 strategies.

MEI's report provides case studies of successful programs that promote energy efficiency for small businesses, and offers many recommendations for the State Department of Commerce, utility companies, organizations such as municipalities or lending institutions, and for the small businesses themselves.

Community vs. Corporate Wind Economic Study

http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~kildegac/CV/Papers/IREE.pdf

Findings developed by faculty at the University of Minnesota-Morris in this 25-page study from 2006 suggest that community-owned wind projects have 5 times the economic impact and 3.4 times the local job creation, when compared with corporate-owned projects.

Corporate wind ownership structures generally include large-scale wind projects, often 50 megawatts (MW) in capacity or larger, that are developed, installed, and operated by non-local owners or commercial utility companies. Local participation is often limited to a minor role in construction (e.g. cement contracting) and a continuing stream of land-lease payments. Alternatively, while community wind structures tend to vary greatly, they are generally defined as locally-owned and operated small-scale projects of 20 MW capacities or less.

Money & Assistance Available

Micro-Energy and Conservation Home Improvement Loans

http://tinyurl.com/4ktdd6

This month $10 million became available through 2008 state legislation to homeowners (whose annual income is under $93,100) for energy conservation and solar, wind and other renewable energy project loans to help cut energy costs. Loans of up to $35,000, for terms of up to 20 years, will be made by the Fix-Up Fund, a statewide program that offers low-interest loans through Minnesota Housing Agency's large network of lending partners across the state, listed at http://www.mnhousing.gov/consumers/lender/

USDA Solid Waste Management Grants

http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/SWMG.htm

$3.4 million is available from this annual USDA Rural Development program to fund approximately 35 local units of government, academic institutions and non-profits who propose to, among other work, provide technical assistance and/or training to help rural areas reduce their solid waste stream. Grants are restricted to areas not in a city or town with a population in excess of 10,000. Proposals are due December 31, 2008.

Last year Chisago County received a $100,000 grant to reduce solid waste generated in the county by working with 14 public schools and one private school, focusing on ways that the schools and their communities can reduce solid waste by recycling, reusing, and by reducing the amount that is wasted through incorporating better practices.

The Climate Project Speaker

http://www.nextstep.state.mn.us/res_detail.cfm?id=4127

An Oakdale environmental specialist has been trained by Al Gore to present a climate change slideshow at no charge to faith-based groups and to other citizen or business groups. See the NextStep resource page above for details and contact information.

For two extensive, updated web pages of grant/loan programs, see NextStep list of grants/loans http://www.commerce.state.mn.us [select Energy Info Center, then Energy Incentives]

Jobs at http://www.nextstep.state.mn.us/jobs.cfm

See the NextStep job board for a variety of organizational postings and opportunities, links to the selected jobs below, and other job boards that post jobs in the field of sustainability:

MN Technical Assistance Program: Energy Engineer

Eureka Recycling: Information Specialist

Rice County: Planning & Zoning Intern

For other job listings, see:

SEEK (environmental education): http://www.seek.state.mn.us/jobs.cfm

MEP: http://www.mepartnership.org/mep_jobs.asp

MN Council of Nonprofits: http://www.mncn.org/jobs/default.asp

Idealist: http://www.idealist.org

Upcoming Events at http://www.nextstep.state.mn.us/calendar.cfm

Nov. 6 Children in Nature: Design for Healthy Development Chaska

Nov. 7 (& 8-9) Co-housing for Sustainable Neighborhoods Northfield

Nov. 7 Nurses Go Green Bloomington

Nov. 7-9 High-Performance Passive House Conference Duluth

Nov. 13 The Future of Biofuels St. Cloud

Nov. 11-14 American Institute of Architects-MN Conference Minneapolis

Nov. 15-16 3rd Annual Northland Bioneers Conference Minneapolis

Nov. 15 Green Gifts Fair Minneapolis

Nov. 18 Energy, Economy & Environment Conference St. Paul

Nov. 20 A Sustainable World: Dematerializing the World Baxter

See many more current events at the NextStep Calendar, onto which anyone can post events, for:

Other future and past events

Links to other web-based calendars for:

Sustainable Agriculture

Environmental Education

Minnesota River Events

Renewable Energy & Sustainable Living

Transportation

Green Buildings

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For further information and questions about the MPCA or the MnSCN, please feel free to contact Philipp Muessig or Paul Moss at 651/296-6300 or 800/657-3864, or see www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/sc/

We encourage submissions of local examples of sustainable community activities, guidebooks and other tools, studies, speakers, conferences, workshops, meetings, grant and loan funds, and courses that might be of interest to MnSCN members. Please e-mail us: nextstep@state.mn.us. Your response will not be posted directly to this list, but will be considered for inclusion in a future update to MnSCN members.