Metropolitan Council takes Stock of Environmental Achievements

In Honor of April 22 Earth Day

ST. PAUL--April 20, 2006—Taking the bus reduces air emissions and flushing the toilet ensures adequate treatment and preserves water quality. But those are just the day-to-day environmentally-friendly services of the Metropolitan Council.

Behind the scenes, the Council works day in and day out to improve upon its environmental record. In recognition of the 37th Earth Day on April 22, the Council has identified just a few of its accomplishments.

Within the Council’s Environmental Services Division, which operates the region’s wastewater collection and treatment system, a host of plant upgrades and innovative processes have built upon a long history of air and water quality improvements.

Environmental successes include:

New wastewater solids incinerators at the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant in St. Paul that are significantly reducing air emissions, odors and energy costs. In their first year of operation, emissions of pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, mercury and lead were reduced by more than 95 percent. The $159 million, state-of-the-art solids management facility is the result of nearly a decade of planning. The new technology replaced the plant’s previous incinerator system, which had reached the end of its useful life.

Biological treatment processes at the Metro Plant and several other regional treatment facilities that are dramatically reducing the discharges of phosphorous into the Mississippi River and other waterways. “Bio-P,” short for biological phosphorus removal, employs naturally occurring bacteria to remove phosphorous from the wastewater stream. With the help of Bio-P and other processes, the Council has reduced the total discharge of phosphorous from its eight treatment plants by nearly 50 percent since 2003.

Nearly 100 percent of metro area dental offices are now participating in a program to keep mercury-containing dental amalgam out of wastewater. Developed in partnership with the Minnesota Dental Association, the program has reduced mercury levels in wastewater entering the regional treatment plants by 50 percent since 2003. Dentists participate voluntarily, by installing special equipment that removes 99 percent of amalgam particles from their clinic wastewater.

The Council owns and operates eight regional treatment facilities and 600 miles of regional sewers that collect and treat approximately 300 million gallons of wastewater each and every day, while achieving near-perfect compliance with federal and state clean water standards.

Metro Transit, another service of the Metropolitan Council, is doing its part as well. Metro Transit is the region’s largest transit provider, providing about 90 percent of the region’s transit service. By using Metro Transit buses and trains, customers save 2.6 million miles of driving each weekday, reducing emissions of carbon monoxide and other harmful pollutants.

Transit also reduces dependence on foreign oil. For every passenger mile traveled, Metro Transit uses about half the energy consumed by cars, and a third of the energy used by SUVs and light trucks.

If Americans used public transportation at the same rate as Europeans -- for about 10 percent of their daily trips -- the U.S. would reduce its dependence on foreign oil by more than 40 percent -- nearly the amount imported from OPEC each year.

Metro Transit is environmentally-friendly in other ways as well:

Metro Transit has three diesel hybrid electric buses currently in use, with plans to order 20 more this year. The buses have about half the tailpipe emissions and 20 percent better fuel mileage than standard transit buses.

As major consumers of fuel, to the tune of 10 million gallons a year, Metro Transit and Metro Mobility are now using a cleaner burning fuel. Beginning in 2004 the Council began to incorporate the use of ultra-low sulfur (ULSF) diesel fuel in its fleet, with a two-percent biodiesel fuel mix. This year, assuming pricing is competitive, Metro Transit will increase the ULSF biodiesel mix to five percent and undertake a comprehensive test of an eight percent biodiesel blend.

The American Consulting Engineers Council last year awarded Metro Transit for innovative use of “bio-retention basins” to contain and treat stormwater at the Cottage Grove park-and-ride.

“Environmental protection and preservation are key elements of Council planning and operations,” said Council Chair Peter Bell. “The natural features and air and water quality we enjoy in this region are valued assets that contribute significantly to livability and quality of life in the metropolitan area. I’m very proud of the agency’s environmental accomplishments.”

The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning organization for the seven-county Twin Cities area. It runs the regional bus and light rail system, collects and treats wastewater, coordinates regional water resources, plans regional parks and administers funds that provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The Council board is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the governor.

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