Air Matters, August 2008

Volume 3, Issue 4

Bureau of Air Management
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 7921
Madison WI 53707

• Global Warming Task Force Makes Final Recommendations
• Green Gas Station Initiative Making Progress in Dane County
• A Breath of Fresh Air at the Fair
• Shea Names Deputy Administrator and Bureau Director

Global Warming Task Force Makes Final Recommendations
By Nick Sayen

A 29-member Governor’s task force comprising environmental, agricultural, industry, citizen, tribal and utility leaders has finalized its recommendations for addressing global warming in Wisconsin. The task force will now send its recommendations in a report, Wisconsin’s Strategy for Reducing Global Warming, on to Governor Doyle for his consideration.

The report has short, medium, and long term targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions based on 2005 levels. The targets are to reduce emissions to 2005 levels by 2014, reduce emissions 22 percent below 2005 levels by 2022, and reduce emissions 75 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. The report makes over 60 viable and actionable policy recommendations in the utility, transportation, agriculture, forestry and industry sectors. Also included are a number of recommendations in other areas, such as support for a proposed federal or regional greenhouse gas cap and trade program.

Many of the policy recommendations emphasize early action, renewable energy resources and conservation and efficiency efforts. Some examples include: substantially increasing the funding of Wisconsin’s existing Focus on Energy program, developing utility rate designs and incentives to discourage wasteful consumption, and calling for earlier, and greater amounts of electricity produced from renewable resources ultimately reaching 25 percent by 2025 which is an increase of the 10 percent by 2015 already required by current law.

The task force reached consensus on supporting a broad-based, multi-sector, mandatory federal cap and trade program for greenhouse gas emissions. To help ensure emission reduction targets are met, the task force recommends that Wisconsin actively participate in designing such a program. At the same time the report also recommends that the state continue to actively participate and provide leadership in the Midwestern Governors Association effort to develop a regional cap and trade program.

To read the report, Wisconsin’s Strategy for Reducing Global Warming, or to learn more about global warming please visit the Global Warming Task Force web site. For more information about this topic, please contact Nick Sayen at Nick.Sayen@wisconsin.gov or at 608.267.2466.

Sayen is an Air Management Specialist located in Madison.

Green Gas Station Initiative Making Progress in Dane County
By Ed Jepsen

The Green Gas Station Initiative is an on-going collaboration between the convenience store industry, petroleum equipment suppliers and the Dane County Clean Air Coalition [exit DNR].

The initiative seeks to conserve gasoline inventories, improve energy efficiency and reduce the overall environmental impact of convenience stores. It was started in Dane County in 2005 with help from a $50,000 innovation grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The initiative has made progress to reduce air emissions on a number of different projects.

One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to reduce gasoline vapor emissions from storage tanks is to install pressure vent valves. Project partner Oil Equipment Inc. purchased, checked, and installed 100 pressure vent valves at stores with high volume gasoline sales throughout Dane County. Since early 2008 this effort is estimated to reduce vapor loss by over 95% from more than 150 underground storage tanks. The initiative also cost shared the installation and purchase of two OPW Vaporsaver systems to assess the cost effectiveness of vapor recovery systems.

Project has potential for big savings

The Green Gas Station Iniative builds upon the success of other initiatives, including Madison Gas & Electric retrofit project initiatives and coalition members' fuel tank retrofits. An estimated 68 tons/year of gasoline, or over 22,400 gallons/year, will be saved by the combined reductions from the three initiatives. That’s enough gasoline to fuel 37 vehicles for a year (assuming an average 25 mpg at 15,000 miles/year). The potential annual savings depend on gas prices, but would be about $78,000 at a retail gasoline price of $3.50 per gallon.

The Dane County Clean Air Coalition has also teamed up with the Wisconsin Focus on Energy program [exit DNR] to produce self energy audit forms for convenience store managers and is providing direct outreach to the owners and managers. The Coalition is exploring the feasibility of convenience stores providing cost effective products and services such as low-emission gas cans, air pressure gauges, and recycling containers for bottles and cans, as well as incorporating design features into the stores to reduce environmental impacts such as solar water heating, green roofs, reduce runoff or allow greater infiltration.

The Coalition hopes to expand similar Green Gas Station type initiatives to other counties in Wisconsin.

For more information on this topic, please contact Ed Jepsen at 608.266.3538 or e-mail Edward.Jepsen@wisconsin.gov.

Jepsen is an Air Quality Specialist located in Madison.

A Breath of Fresh Air at the Fair
By Jerry Medinger

This year the Department of Natural Resources exhibit at the Wisconsin State Fair included a new feature called Passport to Fun. Young visitors aged 5-12 years old started their adventure in the DNR Park at the welcome station where they received an Explorer passport and instructions to stop at the many program displays throughout the Park. At each display, children (and their parents) learned a little about the program, completed their “mission” and received a stamp in their passport. At the end of their adventure, they returned to the welcome station with the stamped passports and received a prize.

The activity to receive a passport stamp at the Air Program display included answering questions on the electronic Air Quiz Box. Each question was meant to be fairly simple yet contain information on air quality and actions that are good for the environment.

For adults, the Air Program display also featured a Pledge Tree with the theme “Do a Little…Save a Lot!” Fairgoers selected a pledge card, wrote in their name, and hung it on the tree. Each pledge was based on a simple action that produced a global warming emission reduction and an economic benefit. At the conclusion of the fair, pledges and results totals were posted on the Air Program's Do A Little, Save A Lot web page, and on the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air website [exit DNR].

The WDNR Air Management booth at the 2008 State Fair collected 971 personal pledges from fair-goers promising to take one of six personal actions. Each pledge under the exhibit theme of Do a Little...Save a Lot! was hung on the exhibit's pledge tree and collected at the end of each day. The one-year grand total will result in a reduction of 355 tons of carbon dioxide.

The Passport to Fun and the Pledge Tree activities were a popular learning experience. Children were excited to get the stamp and those who made pledges were impressed with the impacts of the personal action tips. As one of the Air Program staff volunteers put it, “The Passport was a really fun way to engage children and their parents. At times we had a large crowd around the Quiz Box.”

The air exhibit in the DNR Park offered an opportunity for children and adults to not only beat the heat but to also learn about air quality and actions we can all take to reduce air pollution and save some money.

Medinger is a Transportation and Air Monitoring Supervisor and is located in Milwaukee.

Shea names deputy administrator and bureau director

In July 2008, Air & Waste division administrator Al Shea named Sue Bangert as deputy administrator. At the same time, he announced the appointment of John Melby as Air Management bureau director, succeeding Kevin Kessler, who retired in April.

Bangert previously served as director of the Bureau of Waste and Materials Management. Melby returns from Milwaukee, where he served as the Southeast Region’s Air and Waste leader.

Bangert had served as director of the Waste and Materials Management bureau for 10 years. She joined the DNR in 1978 as an engineer the Bureau of Wastewater. Bangert served as supervisor of the Superfund Unit in the Bureau of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management and of the Industrial Wastewater Unit in the Bureau of Wastewater. Subsequently, she was the assistant to the bureau director for both Watershed Management and Air Management, before becoming bureau director of Waste and Materials Management.

“Sue brings to her new job a wealth of experience in environmental program management, including wastewater, watershed management, solid and hazardous waste, recycling and mining,” said Shea. “I look forward to working with her and using her strong policy and management skills in furthering the division's public health mission.”

Shea also noted Bangert’s leadership on the two critical emerging issues of electronic waste and pharmaceuticals. She comes to her new position with national-level experience with the Environmental Council of States(ECOS) and the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO) and a close relationship with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region V staff.

Melby has diverse environmental quality experience

Melby, who has worked for the DNR for almost 32 years, possesses a diverse array of experience. He joined the department in August 1976, as a water planning specialist in the SER. Since that time, he has been a plan review engineer and supervisor in the Municipal Wastewater program; a section chief in the Air Management program; and, a section chief in the Waste Management program; and most recently, SER Air and Waste leader.

Melby also has private sector, local government and federal government experience.

“I believe John’s enthusiastic attitude, common sense approach to problem solving, knowledge and experience in multiple program areas in the field and central office, as well as his attention to detail and follow-up will be vital to the continued success of the air program,” said Shea.

 

 

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