EQECM 05/14/2013
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ENERGY COMMISSION
Fridley Municipal Center, 6431 University Ave Ne
Agenda Packet
Tuesday, May 14, 2013, 7:00 p.m.
AGENDA
Conference Room A (Main Level)
Location:
Call to Order
Chairperson Velin called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
Commission members present: Eric Boyles, Todd Olin, Rich Svanda, Jack Velin.
Guests: Chris Lord, Anoka Conservation District Manager.
Approval of Environmental Quality and Energy Commission Minutes: March 12, 2013
MOTION
by Commissioner Boyles and seconded by Commissioner Svanda to approve the
March 12, 2013 minutes.
Presentation
Anoka Conservation District, Chris Lord, District Manager presented. He has been with the
Anoka Conservation District for 21 years. He stated that he was presenting this material to
the EQEC in order to identify what makes a good project for Anoka Conservation District;
what they do and don’t do. He explained that he would define why they take the direction
they do in order to create and fund effective projects. ACD is an urban water resource
management organization. They want to discover:
What is the resource that we need to protect and enhance? E.g. Mississippi River or
Oak Glen Creek
Identify what is the problem? E.g. Volume, sediment, nutrients, other
Are there physical features causing the problem? E.g. Banks of the river are too
steep, eroding or the river bed is cutting in and creating sediment.
What makes a project effective? E.g. Good project in the wrong location is a waste
of time and money
Location, Location, Location
Just like not all watersheds or subwatersheds are equal in the emphasis given to them (or the
impact that mitigation in them can produce) not all projects are equally cost effective. Some
older projects like storm ponds from the 1980’s weren’t really about rate control and without
modification do not give the control you need. Some of these existing ponds might, with
fairly cost-effective modifications, give you the rate control you want with maybe only
$5,000 in costs. This will create a huge benefit. Not all properties should be encouraged to
do projects and once a few key properties do a project, diminishing returns can set in, they
then re-run the numbers to make the most impact from limited budget. ACD uses Analysis,
Promotion and Education and Installation. Under assessment, retrofit scoping is used. Anoka
Conservation identifies projects. These targeted projects are continually assessed based on
whether a project is built or not. Stormwater effects from curb cut raingarden installations
can be modeled with or without the gardens in each of the subwatersheds.
Iron-enhanced filters are very effective new treatments for binding up to 85% of the
phosphorus with which it comes into contact. It is used as a band around a stormwater pond
at an upper level point. An important fact was shared about Iron-enhanced filters-they
cannot be allowed to go anaerobic for long, or they lose their efficacy so cannot be soaked
with water all of the time. This can be one important retrofit technique. Treatment
cost/benefit analysis is an integral portion of what ACD does and this yields excellent project
ranking. Project ranking itself is fluid and the numbers can be re-crunched after re-
assessment.
Two easy, but surprisingly effective residential techniques to improve stormwater absorption
are core aeration of lawns (not thatching) and a well-placed rain barrel that is emptied
between storm events. The rain barrel (in a location that would have thrown stormwater into
the road otherwise) was extremely cost effective: $1,190/of of total phosphorus. This would
mean that the purchase and installation of 100 rain barrels in a targeted area could be very
effective.
In general, they mail to high priority neighborhoods, find 16 projects; whittle it down to 10
projects.
ACD wants curb cut raingardens to capture debris from the street and be easy to maintain.
Currently Fridley street projects do not use pre-treatment chambers like the Rain Guardian
unit (approx. $600) developed by Anoka County. If a Fridley project does use a Rain
Guardian unit, our city has a rule that it must be located 4’ off the curb, necessitating the
pouring of a 4’ spillway of concrete which adds to the cost of the raingarden project. Most
communities served by Anoka Conservation District do not require this. (Discussion ensued
about why this was, who should be asked about it (Jim K. of PW) and how the EQEC would
advocate to get this changed in Fridley.)
Mr. Lord gave a short synopsis about the value of the Oak Glen Corridor stabilization project
that was not chosen for funding in the last round. He will re-apply because that project will
be very valuable and the banks and area should have mitigation techniques applied to them/it.
Raingarden should drain between 24 and 48 hours. Rain leader disconnect raingardens are
less efficient than curb cuts by a considerable amount. You will need 40 in a neighborhood
to equal one well-placed curb-cut raingarden.
Curb Cut Rain Gardens
Remove .28 lb Ph (TP) per year. One curb cut raingarden costs ACCD $6,500 to install. It
will need about $75/yr for maintenance. All in all it represents costs of about about $1,000
per pound of phosphorus it removes.
New Business
Announcement of June 6, 2013, 5:30-7:00 p.m. Raingarden seminar event to be presented by
Mitch Haustein of Anoka Conservation District and Kay Qualley, Environmental Planner,
City of Fridley. There will be informational material available for take home.
Recycling Drop-off Event Expenses
Staff member Qualley explained that the new vendor, Jobs Foundation/Tech Dump had
executed the April 13, 2013 Drop-off Event well for a first time vendor. The only complaints
from residents were about the usual long lines and one from a fellow attempting to drop off
wet carpeting that was not tied in the stipulated size rolls and was turned away. Other
complaints were generated by volunteers about layout and a post-event meeting took place to
fine-tune for the fall Oct. 12 Drop-off Event. All expenses are not yet in but it appears that
the event will come in slightly under budget.
May 22, 2013 Locke Lake Water Quality Update Panel Presentation
Locke Lake residents have requested that City Environmental Planning staff facilitate a
Locke Lake water quality meeting. In order to make information equally available to all
residents in the immediate vicinity of Locke Lake, a community location and presentation
was coordinated. Rice Creek Watershed District will combine with the MN-DNR and the
University of Minnesota’s Professor Dr. Mulla, to provide a Locke Lake water quality
informational presentation on May 22 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Fridley City Council
Chambers. This panel will answer questions at the conclusion of the presentation, providing
Fridley citizens around Locke Lake access to the water quality experts in one location. Rice
Creek and the DNR have a proposal to present for a Phosphorus mitigation project
(approximately $10,000), from the railway corn spill remediation fund.
Staff from Rice Creek was eager to have this opportunity to get the technical info out to
residents. Videotaping the meeting for later broadcast on our City website will make the
information accessible to those who will not be able to attend a 3:30 p.m. meeting, but who
are interested in Locke Lake water quality.
Other
49’er Parade
The decision was made not to give away an imprinted object at the parade and possibly do
something environmental at a school, e.g. a fair. Chairperson Velin asked about riding or
walking in the parade and Kay Qualley said she would check with Allied Waste about having
a vehicle in the parade (note: they later agreed to do this and asked for paperwork to be sent
them). Commissioner Boyle volunteered to walk the parade as well.
Old Business
Organized Collection Update
The Minnesota Legislature has adopted a new law regarding organized solid waste
collection. The new law replaces the 180-day process for adopting organized collection with
a 60-day negotiation period. The law (Chapter 45) states that the steps involved are Notice to
public and licensed collectors; after Notice a 60-day negotiation period is created to allow
collectors to develop a proposal. If the City does not reach an agreement with its licensed
collectors during the negotiation period it can form-by resolution-an “organized collection
options committee” to study various methods of organizing collection and issue a report.
Council appoints the committee members and this committee is subject to the Open Meeting
Law. Next is public notice, public hearing, and implementation: City must provide public
notice and hold at least one public hearing before deciding to implement organized
collection. Organized collection cannot begin until at least six months after the effective date
of the city’s decision to implement organized collection.
Next Meetings/Announcements
Tuesday, July 9, 2013, 7 p.m., Conference Room A (Main Level)
MOTION TO ADJOURN
The Motion was made by Commissioner Svanda and seconded by Commissioner Boyles to
adjourn the meeting at 9:07 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kay M. Qualley
Environmental Planner
City of Fridley