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Minnesota Stormwater Manual

Smart Salting (S2) training information
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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.

Smart Salting Level 1 and Level 2 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 following training schedule is changed periodically as training events are completed/added.

Updated training schedule for Level 1 and 2 attached

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

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
  • Contractors
  • Staff maintaining private/public walkways and/or parking lots
  • Property managers writing contracts, distributors of anti-icing/de-icing products
  • Other snowplow drivers—those who make it happen

Why Is it important? This class will help:

  • Save you money
  • Keep our parking lots and sidewalks safe
  • Protect our water
  • Get you certified

Because of the expanded training schedule, we no longer maintain the schedule in the stormwater manual. The training calendar can be accessed here.

  • File:Winter Parking Lot and Sidewalk Maintenance.pdf (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.

Because of the expanded training schedule, we no longer maintain the schedule in the stormwater manual. The training calendar can be accessed here.

MPCA Smart Salting Level 2 (organization) certification: Smart Salting Assessment Tool (SSAt)

Level 2 is a certification for public and private organizations to help you assess your salt use and take steps to minimize it. entities.

To become Smart Salting Level 2 certified:

  • Using the Smart Salting Assessment tool (SSAt), complete the best management practices and salt savings assessments for the most recent fully completed winter maintenance season. For example, a report completed on January 1, 2018, would be based on the 2016/2017 winter maintenance season. An organization may submit one assessment for the whole organization or more than one, as long as each has a unique address. For instance, MnDOT may submit an assessment for each of its facilities, or a company may submit a separate assessment for each of its branch offices.
  • On the assessment tool's user home page:
  1. Click on the ‘Select Reports’ at the bottom right.
  2. Select the appropriate completed reports 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)
  3. Click the ‘Submit’ after the proper reports have been selected.
  4. After the reports have been submitted, if they are complete the tool will generate a certificate for your organization. Return to the user home page and select "Print Certificate." The "Certification status" section of the user home page will note when your Level 2 certification expires.

For questions please contact:

Maintaining Level 2 Certification Organizations with Level 2 certification remain certified as long as they update and resubmit their Best Management Practices and Salt Savings reports. Level 2 certification is valid for two years. Smart Salting Level 1 training is not required for Level 2 certification, but is recommended. The MPCA is interested in sharing positive, salt-saving changes. If you have reduced your salt consumption due to change in your practices, please let us know.

Model Snow and Ice Policies

Example Snow and Ice Policies


Additional Winter Maintenance Resources

Related pages

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