Best Practice Action 23.1
GreenStep City Best Practices: Environmental Management
Local Air Quality No. 23
Prevent generation of local air contaminants so as to improve community health.
Best Practice Action Detail
Best Practice Action 1
Replace internal combustion engine yard equipment (such as lawnmowers, leaf blowers, weed whips, and snowblowers) with less-polluting electric equipment or manual tools.
- MPCA’s Air We Breathe report identifies neighborhood sources as the largest emitter of air toxics pollution most likely to affect people’s health. Sources include commercial and residential winter heating, backyard fires, yard equipment like lawnmowers and snowblowers, and small businesses like gas stations.
- Why you should care: air quality and health (MPCA).
Alternative Landscaping Equipment
- Read more about the benefits of alternative landscaping equipment.
- Learn more about the impacts of gas-powered lawn equipment emissions in the U.S. with Environment America’s interactive maps or go more in depth with their Lawn Care Goes Electric report (2023).
- A wide variety of electric lawnmowers, snow blowers, and other lawn equipment is available in the US. See manufacture agnostic resources (Shift2Electric) to help you choose the new, cleaner lawn equipment that works best for your needs.
- State grants may be available. Also, check with the State Master Contract, Sourcewell, or other procurement agencies when purchasing alternative landscaping equipment.
- Quiet Communities gathers news stories about electric lawn equipment and highlights the noise-pollution reduction benefits.
- A Colorado-based small lawn care business answers questions about electric lawn equipment on YouTube.
Education Campaigns
- American Green Zone Alliance promotes zero-emission landscape maintenance strategies.
- Mow Electric, a campaign based in Vermont to promote electric landscape tools, offers online resources including life cycle cost and CO2 saving calculators, lists of equipment options, and recent news articles.
- Use the MPCA Air Pollution Score map to identify areas with worse air quality to target with assistance and incentives.
- Xcel Energy offers a rebate program for residents buying electric yard equipment.
- Lake Country Power Co-op in Northern MN offers a $50 rebate for electric lawn equipment.
- Minnesota Tool Library is a non-profit based in the Twin Cities that offers a library of tools to paid members.
Policies and Ordinances
- List of actions cities across the U.S. are taking, including limiting the use of gas-powered equipment, banning their sale, or providing incentives to switch. Interactive map of lawn mower and leaf blower policies.
- Quiet Clean Alliance has resources for electric leaf blowers including example policies and outreach materials.
- See the Ann Arbor, MI ordinance that prohibits the use of lawn equipment with two-cycle combustion engines in the Downtown Development Authority district to reduce noise and air pollution.
- At least 25 California cities have banned or severely limited gas-powered leaf blowers.
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Who's doing it
Red Wing -
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In 2010 the city held public meetings and established new requirements for outdoor wood boilers that establishes standards for burning wood with low water content.
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Robbinsdale -
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Year action initially completed: 2010s
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Replacement of gasoline-powered small equipment with lower polluting equipment. Completed. The City has replaced gasoline powered small equipment used for parks maintenance with rechargeable battery powered equipment.
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For more information contact:
John Tingley (City Staff) | jtingley@ci.robbinsdale.mn.us | 763-531-1253
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Edina -
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Complete: In an effort to educate the public on the dangers of wood smoke and to set an example to the community, at the Nov.15, 2011 Edina City Council meeting, Council agreed to convert the two indoor wood burning fireplaces in the Centrum of the Hughes Pavilion, to gas. This generated much educational publicity in the Edina Sun Current, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and local Blogs. The conversion was complete in time for the winter 2011/12 season. The payback period for converting to gas was documented to be 7 years.
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For more information contact:
Grace Hancock (City Staff) | ghancock@edinamn.gov | (952)826-1621
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Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa -
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In 2007, FDL received a grant to retrofit our diesel fleet. These on and off road construction vehicles were retrofitted with pollution control equipment in the form of diesel oxidation catalysts.
FDL is also working to implement a no idling policy reservation wide.
FDL is also working to implement a no idling policy reservation wide.
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FDL operates four outdoor monitors that measure the concentrations of air pollutants on the reservation. This includes O-Zone monitoring, nitrogen oxides, fine particulate monitoring, and mercury deposition.
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For more information contact:
Shannon Judd (City Staff) | shannonjudd@fdlrez.com | 218-878-7123
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Hastings -
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We have educational materials/pamphlets for the public. In addition, this information is attached to our open burning permits and on the city website.
There is also educational materials/pamphlets for the public relating to the installation of stoves.
There is also educational materials/pamphlets for the public relating to the installation of stoves.
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For more information contact:
Mike Schutt (City staff) | mschutt@hastingsmn.gov | 651-480-6154
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La Crescent -
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Year action initially completed: No record available
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La Crescent received the Alternative Landscaping Equipment grant.
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For more information contact:
Jason Ludwigson (Contractor) | JDLudwigson@gmail.com | 5073139633
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Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe -
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The Leech Lake Environmental Department has a burn wise campaign that teaches how burning the right wood, the right way, in the right wood-burning appliance can protect your home, health, and the air around us.
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For more information contact:
Brandy Toft (City staff) | air@lldrm.org | 218-335-7429
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New Hope -
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Year action initially completed: 2018
Implementation details:
West Metro Fire-Rescue District has educational materials for recreational burning listed on their website.
The city published a story on recreational burning guidelines in September of 2018 on the city's website. It included information on New Hope's rules and guidelines related to recreational fires.
The city published a story on recreational burning guidelines in September of 2018 on the city's website. It included information on New Hope's rules and guidelines related to recreational fires.
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Descriptive links: https://www.newhopemn.gov/news___features/recreational_burning_guidelines
For more information contact:
Jeff Alger (City Staff) | jalger@newhopemn.gov | 763-531-5119
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Roseville -
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The city's website encourages residents to "think clean" when burning. Tips include use the right fuel and notes that manufactured fire logs burn cleaner than firewood.
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For more information contact:
Ryan Johnson (City staff) | Ryan.johnson@cityofroseville.com | 651-792-7049
Partners:
Greenstep Advisor
Lydia Godfrey, Neighborhood Air Pollution Control Lead, MPCA, Lydia.godfrey@state.mn.us, 651-757-2275, www.pca.state.mn.us/air-water-land-climate/air-quality