–Via Vivian Doyle, EPA Region 4–

As a result of the Feb. 2008 Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (KEEC) and TDEC conference entitled, “Green Development: Good for Water and the Bottom Line,” EPA-HQ gave TDEC and KEEC a grant to fund locals that are planning to implement green infrastructure demonstration projects.The primary goals of the project is to:

Inform city/county officials of the benefits of green development and the codes/regulations that can be implemented to encourage green development in their communities;
and Promote dialogue and exchange among developers, architects, contractors and state and local officials on the aspects of green development and its contribution to the efficient use and quality of waters.

TDEC developed a plan to partner with some other organizations and conduct competitive grant offering for municipalities. The recipients would use the funding to implement green infrastructure and LID practices in their communities.

Information on “best practices” identified through the grant program would be posted on TDEC’s green development website, http://state.tn.us/environment/greendev.

The TDOT and TVA’s Growth Readiness program confirmed their intent to participate as financial and administrative partners in demonstrating best practices.

Vivian M. Doyle, MSPH
Tennessee Watershed Coordinator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4
Atlanta, GA
doyle.vivian@epa.gov

–Forwarded from Louis Bordenave–

BOSTON, June 25, 2008 - The Product Stewardship Institute (PSI) praised The Home Depot®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, for launching a national in-store, consumer compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) recycling program. The program includes all 1,973 The Home Depot locations and is the first such program initiated and publicly promoted nationwide by a U.S.-based retailer. “Retailers play a key role in providing consumers with a convenient way to safely recycle CFLs and other products whose improper disposal can harm the environment,” said Scott Cassel, PSI’s Executive Director. “We are pleased that The Home Depot has taken this important step to join the national effort to improve the environment by recycling CFL bulbs in-store.”

Switching from traditional light bulbs to CFLs is an easy change consumers can make to reduce energy use at home. According to the EPA, if every American switched one incandescent bulb to a CFL, it would save over $600 million in annual energy costs and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from 800,000 cars.  Creating safe and easy ways to recycle these products is necessary in order for consumers to feel comfortable about adopting the new energy-efficient bulbs.See the full story here.

 –Forwarded from Louis Bordenave–

LCL Industries, Inc., (LCL) will initiate a glass processing operation using primarily triple mix container glass.  This is the color mixed fraction of clear, brown, and green glass that is a consequence of many recycling programs, and will be used to manufacture grit abrasives and potable water filtration media.  At full production, the facility will utilize 30,000 tons of recycled glass per year using technology that is 75% less energy intensive than conventional glass processing.  This project received financial support from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Recycling Markets Infrastructure Development Grant, which awarded the company $500,000 in startup money.

See the full link here.

I would like to know if anyone else has a Comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure Manaual for their Public Works or Solid Waste Department. We developed ours last year and want to give our employees some examples of others to see how they can be done and some better ideas of doing various tasks. We are going to review and update ours every year and would like comments and other examples if available. I know of a few other departments across the state that are also developing their SOP and I am sure we would all benefit from sharing this information. Shawn Lindsey

Historically, diesel fuel prices were half the price of gasoline.  Yet in today’s market, diesel is climbing higher relative to increased prices for gasoline.  As diesel prices pass the $4.oo mark, those of us with municipal fleets or VW’s are starting to feel the pinch!

Here is a link to a brochure published by the Energy Information Administration.  This brochure is scheduled for revision in May of 2008, however the 2007 publication describes the infrastructure of the diesel market and how this impacts consumers.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/bookshelf/brochures/diesel/

This same brochure suggests visiting the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, to read how businesses are approaching calculation and implementation of fuel surcharges.

(http://www.ooida.com/Swimming_sharks/more_swimming_sharks.html)

No recommendation implied.

The City of Athens is going to be using an ARC GIS extension called Network Analyst which helps you find the most efficient routes for destinations using your current road network. We are applying this software to our Residential and Commercial Garbage Routes. We need to know if anyone else is doing this and what their experience has been. We are looking for any way possible to save on fuel cost if anyone has other ideas they would like to share.

Memo on Fuel Savings

Fuel-and-energy-savings-plan-2008-2.doc

Local Government Energy Loan Program

The Local Government Energy Efficiency Loan Program offers low interest loans to municipal and county governments for energy efficiency-related projects in courthouses, administration buildings, schools, maintenance facilities, and any other building owned by the city and/or county. Eligible projects include energy efficient lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and boiler rebuilding, replacement or modification. Local governments may borrow up to $500,000 and repay the loan annually for 7 years. A zero percent (0%) interest loan is available for businesses located in Three-Star and Main Street communities. Free energy audits and technical assistance are available to all local government institutions regardless of whether they borrow loan funds. For local governments located in all other communities, the loan is available at the rate of three percent (3%) loan. More information here.

–Forwarded from Louis Bordenave, TDEC–

Tennessee businesses interested in upgrading the level of energy efficiency in their buildings and improvements in their manufacturing processes may qualify for low-interest loans of up to $300,000 through the Small Business Energy Loan Program. These loans are available for those businesses with fewer than 300 employees or less then $3.5 million in annual gross sales or receipts.

Under the program’s guidelines, all renewable energy technologies, including landfill gas, are eligible. Projects funded under the loan must involve an existing building. In other words, the loan will only finance energy efficient measures that are part of an existing building that an applicant uses in their operations. For instance, a new pipeline would not be financed, but perhaps the cost and installation of new fixtures in the building that would use the gas could be financed.

The loan is offered by the Tennessee Energy Division and has a maximum term of seven years. It is available with a zero percent interest rate for businesses in the Three-Star and Main Street Communities. For all other businesses, a three percent interest rate applies.

Free energy audits are available to help interested companies identify potential opportunities for increased energy efficiency. Loan amounts vary by project.

For More Information
Contact:
Clinton Berry, III
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
Energy Division
312 Eighth Avenue North- 10th Floor
Nashville, Tennessee 37243

615-253-1943
Fax: 615-741-5070
E-mail: clinton.berry@state.tn.us

Web site: http://www.state.tn.us/ecd/energy_sbel.htm

–Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution and EPA Region IV Environmental Stewardship News–

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) said the 100-percent goal is a long-term target.

One out of every two aluminum cans is recycled today, Coca-Cola said. Recycling aluminum is efficient and requires 95 percent less energy than creating aluminum from raw materials. It also reduces carbon emissions by 95 percent. Coca-Cola said it uses an average 60 percent recycled aluminum in its beverage cans. Coca-Cola has previously set a goal to recycle or reuse 100 percent of its PET plastic bottles. In 2007, it spent $60 million in a series of recycling initiatives, including support of RecycleBank’s curbside collection program and the construction of the world’s largest PET bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Spartanburg, S.C.

–From EPA Region IV Environmental Stewardship News–

Take the ENERGY STAR Challenge–a national call-to-action that encourages organizations to reduce energy use by 10 percent or more. EPA estimates that if the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings in the U.S. improved 10 percent, Americans would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to those from about 30 million vehicles while saving about $20 billion. The U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties have endorsed the ENERGY STAR Challenge, and over 450 businesses and organizations nationwide have already signed up. Learn more about the by visiting http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=challenge.bus_challenge