Difference between revisions of "Smart Salting (S2) training information"
Smart Salting (S2) training information

Latest revision as of 18:45, 13 December 2022

Link to the Smart Salt training calendar

Information: Because of the expanded training schedule, we no longer maintain the training schedule in the stormwater manual. The training calendar is found here.

Did you ever think about what happens to the tons of salt that goes on our roads, parking lots, and sidewalks each winter? Most of it ends up in our lakes, streams, wetlands, and groundwater. As a result, clean water in Minnesota is in jeopardy.

The MPCA’s Smart Salting trainings provide suggestions to improve operator effectiveness and for reducing chloride pollution while keeping the roads, parking lots, and sidewalks safe. Many organizations that have participated in the Smart Salting training have been able to reduce their salt use by 30-70%!

Learn how you and your organization can become Smart Salting certified.

1 Smart Salting (S2) training schedule
2 MPCA Smart Salting Level 1 Certification: Snow and ice control best practices
3 MPCA Smart Salting Level 2 training and organizational level certification
4 Smart Salting Assessment Tool (SSAt)
5 Other resources
- 5.1 Model Snow and Ice Policies
- 5.2 Model Snow and Ice Contracts
6 Related pages

Smart Salting (S2) training schedule

Because of the initial success of the pilot project, Fortin Consulting has received a 319 grant to conduct additional training sessions in Minnesota. The training calendar is found here.

Training sessions include the following.

Level 1 training
- Smart Salting for roads
  - 5 year individual certification
- Smart Salting for parking lots and sidewalks
  - 5 year individual certification
- Smart Salting for Property Management
  - 3 year individual certification
Smart Salting Level 2
- 2 year organizational certification

MPCA Smart Salting Level 1 Certification: Snow and ice control best practices

If you are involved with winter maintenance, you can learn how to significantly reduce your salt use, reduce damages to infrastructure and vegetation and save money while maintaining your current level of service.

Who should participate?

State, city, county, schools and other government winter maintenance staff
Private sector winter maintenance professionals
Property managers
Environmental professionals, law makers, researchers or anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of the chloride situation and ways to reduce salt use.
Manual that accompanies the Smart Salting for Parking lots and sidewalks (Note: Will be updated in 2020)
Manual that accompanies the Smart Salting for Roads (Note: Proposed update in 2021)
Manual that accompanies the Smart Salting for Property Management - coming soon

MPCA Smart Salting Level 2 training and organizational level certification

Level 2 training has been developed for winter maintenance leadership (public or private). It will help leaders assess their entire winter maintenance operation and chart a path towards salt reduction. The training centers around the use of the free online Smart Salting Assessment tool SSAt. Note that attending Level 2 training is not required to become Level 2 certified but using SSAt is required. Level 2 training walks attendees through how to use the tool and its many capabilities for assessments, salt saving projections and reporting.

Smart Salting Assessment Tool (SSAt)

Today SSAt allows the user to conduct assessments in winter maintenance and in dust control. Future additions are planned in Water Softening and likely Fertilizer.

Maintaining Level 2 Certification Organizations with Level 2 certification remain certified as long as they update and resubmit their reports every 2 years.

The MPCA is interested in sharing positive, salt-saving changes. Please share your success story with us at at this email address
If you have any questions about the certification process or the SSAt please contact us at this email address

Other resources

Model Snow and Ice Policies

Model Snow and Ice Contracts

Model Ordinances

Chloride Reduction Model Ordinance Language

Related pages

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[file:Smart salting training 1.jpg|300px|thumb|alt=smart salting photo]]
+[[File:Smart salt training icon.png|300px|thumb|alt=calendar image|<font size=3>[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/smart-salting-training-calendar/2019-08 Link to the Smart Salt training calendar]</font size>]]
+{{alert|Because of the expanded training schedule, we no longer maintain the training schedule in the stormwater manual. The training calendar [https://www.pca.state.mn.us/business-with-us/smart-salting-training is found here].|alert-info}}
 Did you ever think about what happens to the tons of salt that goes on our roads, parking lots, and sidewalks each winter? Most of it ends up in our lakes, streams, wetlands, and groundwater. As a result, clean water in Minnesota is in jeopardy.
@@ Line 7: / Line 10: @@
 Learn how you and your organization can become Smart Salting certified.
-Because of the initial success of the pilot project, Fortin Consulting has received a 319 grant to conduct additional training sessions in Minnesota. The following training schedule is changed periodically as training events are completed/added.
+==Smart Salting (S2) training schedule==
+Because of the initial success of the pilot project, Fortin Consulting has received a 319 grant to conduct additional training sessions in Minnesota. The training calendar [https://www.pca.state.mn.us/business-with-us/smart-salting-training is found here].
-[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/salt-application-training Updated training schedule for Level 1 and 2 attached]
+Training sessions include the following.
+*Level 1 training
+**Smart Salting for roads
+***5 year individual certification
+**Smart Salting for parking lots and sidewalks
+***5 year individual certification
+**Smart Salting for Property Management
+***3 year individual certification
+*Smart Salting Level 2
+**2 year organizational certification
+[[Category:Level 2 - Pollutants/Chloride]]
+[[Category:Level 2 - Management/Winter management]]
 ==MPCA Smart Salting Level 1 Certification: Snow and ice control best practices==
+If you are involved with winter maintenance, you can learn how to significantly reduce your salt use, reduce damages to infrastructure and vegetation and save money while maintaining your current level of service.
-Through education and outreach, applicators of road salt can learn best practices and significantly reduce their use while maintaining road safety. There are two types of Smart Salting Level 1 training classes.  The first is for high/low speed snowplow drivers (roads class), and the second is for anyone maintaining private/public walkways and/or parking lots and service roads (parking lot/sidewalk class).
 Who should participate?
-*State, city and county road maintenance staff
+*State, city, county, schools and other government winter maintenance staff
-*Contractors
+*Private sector winter maintenance professionals
-*Staff maintaining private/public walkways and/or parking lots
+*Property managers
-*Property managers writing contracts, distributors of anti-icing/de-icing products
+*Environmental professionals, law makers, researchers or anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of the chloride situation and ways to reduce salt use.
-*Other snowplow drivers—those who make it happen
+*[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/p-tr1-10.pdf Manual that accompanies the Smart Salting for Parking lots and sidewalks] ('''Note: Will be updated in 2020''')
+*[http://www.mnltap.umn.edu/publications/handbooks/documents/snowice.pdf Manual that accompanies the Smart Salting for Roads] ('''Note: Proposed update in 2021''')
-Why Is it important? This class will help:
+*Manual that accompanies the Smart Salting for Property Management - '''coming soon'''
-*Save you money
-*Keep our parking lots and sidewalks safe
-*Protect our water
-*Get you certified
-===Level 1 - Training schedule===
-<!--Access the latest Level 1 training calendar: [[file:MPCA S2 Level 1 training calendar.xlsx]]-->
-The following training schedule is changed periodically as training events are completed/added.
-{{:Smart Salting Level 1 training schedule }}
-*[[File:Winter Parking Lot and Sidewalk Maintenance.pdf |Clip Board Pages]] (October 2010) - applicators attending training will be given a clip board containing critical information. The hope is that this clip board will be a useful tool for applicators to keep in there their vehicles during storm events.
-==MPCA Smart Salting Level 2 Training==
-==Level  2 - Training schedule==
-The following training schedule is changed periodically as training events are completed/added.
-{{:Smart Salting Level 2 training schedule}}
+==MPCA Smart Salting Level 2 training and organizational level certification==
+Level 2 training has been developed for winter maintenance leadership (public or private).  It will help leaders assess their entire winter maintenance operation and chart a path towards salt reduction.  The training centers around the use of the free online Smart Salting Assessment tool SSAt.  Note that attending Level 2 training is not required to become Level 2 certified but using SSAt is required.  Level 2 training walks attendees through how to use the tool and its many capabilities for assessments, salt saving projections and reporting.
-===Smart Salting Level 2 Voluntary Certification===
+==Smart Salting Assessment Tool (SSAt)==
+Today SSAt allows the user to conduct assessments in winter maintenance and in dust control.  Future additions are planned in Water Softening and likely Fertilizer.
-Level 2 certification is an organizational certification for both private and public entities. An organization may provide one assessment submittal for the whole organization or multiple submittals, as long as each has a unique address. (i.e., the City of Medina, MNDOT’s Plymouth truck station, Ace Snow Removal west metro branch, or Johnson Lawn and Snow).
+Maintaining Level 2 Certification Organizations with Level 2 certification remain certified as long as they update and resubmit their reports every 2 years.
+*The MPCA is interested in sharing positive, salt-saving changes. Please share your success story with us at [mailto:smartsalting.pca@state.mn.us at this email address]
-To become Smart Salting Level 2 certified, an organization must:
+*If you have any questions about the certification process or the SSAt please contact us [mailto:smartsalting.pca@state.mn.us at this email address]
-*Login to the Smart Salting Assessment tool (SSAt) [https://www.wintermaintenancetool.com/].
-*Complete the BMP and Salt Saving assessment for the most recent fully completed winter maintenance season.
-**For example, a report completed on January 1, 2018, will be based on the 2016/2017 winter maintenance season.
-*On the User Home Page of the SSAt complete the following steps:
-# Click on the ‘Select Reports’ button on the bottom right-hand side of the screen
-#Choose the appropriate completed reports from the Assessment for your organization
-#*Reports should include all of the surface type(s) in which you are involved, not a separate report for each surface type
-#*BMP Reports: Response Summary (Current)
-#*BMP Reports: Comparison of Responses Between Assessment Periods (Current and Future)
-#*Salt Savings Reports: Summary Report (Current and Future)
-#Click the ‘Submit’ after the proper reports have been selected.
-#After the reports have been submitted, if they are complete the WMAt will generate a certificate for your organization
-#Return to the User Home Page of the WMAt and select ‘Print Certificate’
-#The Certification Status section of the User Home Page will notify you when your Level 2 certification expires
-*Smart Salting Level 2 certification is valid for 2 years
-*Smart Salting Level 1 Voluntary certification is not required to obtain Level 2 certification, however it is recommended
-For questions please contact:
-*Brooke Asleson, 651-757-2205
-*Rachel Olmanson, 651-757-2473
-'''Please note:''' The organization certification period will be indefinite as long as the organization updates and resubmits the Best Management Practices and Salt Savings reports. We are hoping for a shift in positive practices and salt savings, depending on where you are in your operations this may or may not be possible. You may want to comment on your situation. If you have any salt saving numbers from a change in practice, please share to help make the tool the best it can be.
+==Other resources==
 ===Model Snow and Ice Policies===
+*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=File:Model_Snow_Ice_Policy.docx Model Snow and Ice Policy Advisory Committee Minnesota Model Snow and Ice Management Policy File:Model Snow Ice Policy.docx]
+*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/index.php?title=File:Model_Contract_Exhibit_Language.docx Model Snow and Ice Policy Advisory Committee Guidance Document File:Model Contract Exhibit Language.docx]
-*Model Snow and Ice Policy Advisory Committee Minnesota Model Snow and Ice Management Policy [[File:Model Snow Ice Policy.docx ]]
+===Model Snow and Ice Contracts===
-*Model Snow and Ice Policy Advisory Committee Guidance Document [[File:Model Contract Exhibit Language.docx ]]
+*[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/p-tr1-51c.pdf Minnesota Model Exhibit for Private Snow and Ice Service Contract]
-*Minnesota Model Exhibit for Private Snow and Ice Service Contract [[File:Model Contract Exhibit Language.docx ]]
+*[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/p-tr1-52a.pdf Minnesota Model Private Snow and Ice Service Contract]
+Model Ordinances
-===Example Snow and Ice Policies===
+*[https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/p-tr1-54.pdf Chloride Reduction Model Ordinance Language]
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/images/f/f4/Roadsalt-scottpolicy.pdf Scott County Snow Policy]
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/images/8/88/Roadsalt-goodhuepolicy.pdf Goodhue County Snow Policy]
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/images/8/82/Roadsalt-olmstedpolicy.pdf Olmstead County Snow Policy]
-*[https://stormwater.pca.state.mn.us/images/a/aa/Roadsalt-eaganpolicy.pdf City of Eagan Road and Trail Snow Policy]
 <noinclude>
-==[[Smart Salting (S2) training information - Additional Winter Maintenance Resources|Additional Winter Maintenance Resources]]==
 ==Related pages==
 *[[How salt works]]
@@ Line 111: / Line 82: @@
 *[[References for Smart Salting (S2) and road salt winter maintenance]]
-[[category:Road salt and de-icing]]
+[[Category:Level 2 - Management/Winter management]]
 </noinclude>

Difference between revisions of "Smart Salting (S2) training information" Smart Salting (S2) training information