This winter, up your winter maintenance game! Attend a Smart Salting Training and earn a certification by learning how to maintain safety while reducing infrastructure damage, saving money and minimizing impact to the environment by reducing salt use. If you are an MS4 permittee, learn how these trainings can apply to your MS4 permit below.
January & February Smart Salting Training Classes:
Smart Salting for Roads:
This class shows you the essentials of winter maintenance for roads by teaching the technical aspects of:
- Calibration
- Application rates
- Proactive alternatives to deicing
- Using weather conditions to more accurately plan and apply
Who:
- City, county, or state plow drivers
- Private winter maintenance contractors and staff
- Those who hire out or supervise winter maintenance professionals
When:
Smart Salting for Parking Lots & Sidewalks:
Learn more efficient winter maintenance practices for parking lots and sidewalks.
Who:
- Hands-on public or private winter maintenance staff (e.g., staff at parks, hospitals, or colleges)
- Those who hire or supervise winter maintenance staff
- Private contractors
- Those who may influence others or are interested in making a difference at work
When:
Smart Salting for Property Management:
Learn how to reduce costly indoor and outdoor infrastructure damage to your properties caused by salt use, know if your maintenance crew is using sustainable practices, discuss liability/regulation issues, resources for managing customer expectations, and more.
Who:
- Management-level property managers
- Business owners/private contractors
- Environmental professionals
- MS4 permit staff
- Public works directors
- Local government decision-makers
- Public and private property owners and managers
- Those who hire or supervise winter maintenance staff
When:
- Wednesday, Feb. 9 Register HERE
Hear more: Smart Salting training for property management video
Visit the MPCA Smart Salting Training website for the training calendar and list of certificate holders.
Don’t see a class on the calendar that works for you or have questions about the trainings? Contact us at smartsalting.pca@state.mn.us
*Meet your chloride requirements in the 2020 MS4 permit
The 2020 MS4 General Permit includes new requirements for MS4 permittees aimed at reducing chloride pollution, including:
- Education and outreach about the water quality harm posed by excessive salt use
- Implement a written snow and ice management policy
- Require annual training, for those who perform winter maintenance activities for the permittee, such as staff or those they hire
- Proper deicing salt storage practices
- Additional measures for permittees subject to a chloride waste load allocation (WLA)
If you are an MS4 permittee, one way to meet the new requirements is to have your winter maintenance staff, or those you contract for winter maintenance, attend an appropriate MPCA Smart Salting Certification training class. The trainings touch on the new requirements and offers practical and technical information for better application and maintenance practices, salt storage, policy examples, and resources for community outreach. Watch the MPCA Smart Salting Training for Winter Maintenance Professionals video to hear from maintenance pros that are now using less salt and still offering a high level of service!