It’s fall in Minnesota, which means it is time to start thinking about preparing for the upcoming winter!

Those that take part in winter maintenance should look into Smart Salting trainings to learn practical winter maintenance while minimizing environmental impacts. This could be county, city, or state plow drivers; private winter maintenance staff and contractors; property managers; business owners; environmental professionals; and even environmental advocates.

MS4 permittees may wish to have their winter maintenance staff trained as a way to meet the new MS4 requirements aimed at reducing chloride pollution. The trainings touch on the new requirements and offer practical and technical information for better application and maintenance practices, salt storage, policy examples, and resources for community outreach.

Watch the Smart Salting Training for Winter Maintenance Professionals video to hear from maintenance pros that are now using less salt and still offering a high level of service!

See below for the Smart Salting Training classes taking place in October and November.

Smart Salting for Roads

Lean how to integrate science with practice winter maintenance on roads while minimizing impacts to the environment. Covers technical aspects such as application rates, calibration, using weather conditions to more accurately plan and apply, converting to de-icing and anti-icing, storage and more.

Who:

• City, county, or state plow drivers
• Private winter maintenance contractors and staff

When:

• (Thursday, October 7th – class is FULL)
• Wednesday, October 27th (Click to register)
• Thursday, November 4th (Click to register)

Smart Salting for Parking Lots & Sidewalks

Learn practical, more efficient winter maintenance practices for parking lots and sidewalks that can help save on costs and time while minimizing environmental impacts.

Who:

• Hands-on public or private winter maintenance staff (e.g., staff at parks, hospitals, or colleges)
• Those who hire or supervise winter maintenance staff
• Private contractors

When:

• Thursday, October 14th (Click to register)
• Wednesday, October 20th (Click to register)
• Friday, November 5th (Click to register)
• Tuesday, November 9th (Click to register)

Smart Salting for Property Management

Learn how to reduce damages caused by salt, that reducing salt use can save money while providing safe surfaces, ways to encourage your maintenance crew to use sustainable practices, address liability concerns, and the basics of snow and ice management tools.

Who:

• Management-level property managers
• Environmental professionals and advocates
• Business owners
• MS4 and Wastewater permit staff

When:

• Wednesday, October 6th (Click to register)
• Tuesday, November 2nd (Click to register)
• Wednesday, November 17th (Click to register)

Visit the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Smart Salting Training website for the training calendar and list of certificate holders.

Questions about the trainings? Email smartsalting.pca@state.mn.us.