Region 8 Campus Pollution Prevention Survey

Campus Pollution Prevention Survey

In September of 1998, Peaks to Prairies contracted with The Brendle Company to survey Region 8 P2 activities in the higher education sector. The survey goals were to: 1) identify higher education institutions within the six states including universities, community colleges, and tribal colleges; and 2) survey institutions to determine interests, plans, and existing activities in the areas of pollution prevention. Two hundred forty-four institutions were identified. The survey asked for information in six areas:

Profile Information - information about institutions participating in the survey.
Curriculum - courses the institution offers, or is interested in offering in the future.
Research - research underway and sources of funding.
Technical Assistance - P2 expertise offered to the community.
Internship Opportunities - availability of students interns for agencies and businesses.
Green Campus Initiatives - on-campus pollution prevention initiatives.

Participating Institutions

Twenty-four institutions participated in the survey.

COLORADO
City College of Colorado Springs, Administration
College America, Education
Colorado Mountain College, Environmental Technology
Colorado School of Mines, Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Colorado State University, Mechanical Engineering
Columbine Beauty School, Corp. Headquarters
U.S. Air Force Academy, Chemistry
University of Denver, Geography/Environmental Science
University of Northern Colorado, Environmental Studies Program

MONTANA
Montana State University, Extension Service - P2 Program
Fort Belknap College, Natural Resources Program
Montana Tech of the U of M, Environmental Engineering
Salish Kootenai College, Distance Education & Environmental
Salish Kootenai College, Environmental Science
University of Montana, Environmental Studies
University of Montana, Biology

NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota State University, Civil Engineering and Construction
North Dakota State University, Engineering
University of Mary, Chemistry
Valley City State University, Biology

SOUTH DAKOTA
Dakota State University, College of Natural Sciences
Lower Brule Community College, Communications & Geography

WYOMING
University of Wyoming, Mechanical Engineering
Wyoming Technical Institute, Business Office

Curriculum

Of the responses received, 48% indicated they are currently offering courses in P2 or related subjects. However, most of these are not dedicated courses in P2 but rather integration of P2 and environmental concepts into courses such as Water Quality Management, Watershed Management, Environmental Chemistry, Waste Water Engineering, Land Management, and Environmental Health. The five institutions offering dedicated P2 courses are listed below.

Institution: Colorado School of Mines
Department: Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Course Title: Pollution Reduction and Recycling
Text/Author: Not Provided
Number of Students who have taken the course: Not provided
How long the course has been taught: Approximately 5 years
How often the course is offered: Annually

Institution: Wyoming Technical Institute
Course Title: Pollution Prevention for the Automotive Service Industry
Text/Author: Pollution Prevention for the Automotive Service Industry/PETE
Number of Students who have taken the course: 600
How long the course has been taught: 9 months
How often the course is offered: 4 times/year

Institution: Colorado State University
Department: Mechanical Engineering
Course Title: Pollution Prevention
Text/Author: Pollution Prevention Handbook/Thomas Higgins
Number of Students who have taken the course: 40
How long the course has been taught: 3 years
How often the course is offered: Annually

Institution: Montana Tech of the University of Montana
Department: Environmental Engineering
Course Title: Pollution Prevention Engineering
Text/Author: Pollution Prevention Handbook/Thomas Higgins
Number of Students who have taken the course: 90
How long the course has been taught: 3 years
How often the course is offered: Annually

Institution: Montana State University
Department: Extension Service - Montana Pollution Prevention Program
Course Title: Pollution Prevention and Cultural Preservation in Native American Communities
Text/Author: MacFadden & Vogel
Number of Students who have taken the course: Unknown. Curriculum has been provided to 7 Montana Tribal Colleges and materials distributed to 100 institutions nationwide.
How long the course has been taught: 2 years
How often the course is offered: Varies with institution.

Research

Of the responses received, 40% indicated they are currently conducting research in P2 or related subjects. However, four institutions cited research that is not true P2 but rather remediation or control research.

Summary of Pollution Prevention Research

Institution	Funding Sources	Topic Areas	Partners
Air Force Academy	Air Force	Tire Recycling	City of Colorado Springs Montana State University
Salish Kootenai College	PETE/NSF	Chemistry Paper Recycling	Flathead Disposal
University of Wyoming	DOE-EPSCoR	Reduced VOC emissions for spray coating; Novel uses of supercritical CO2	Union Carbide Argonne National Lab
Colorado State University	EPA/NSF	Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing	Lexmark
MSU Extension Service	US EPA	Autobody and Construction Industries	Trade associations, other Regional P2 Centers, Region 8 State P2 Coordinators
University of Montana - Missoula	DOE-EPSCoR	Wind Energy

Technical Assistance

Of the responses received, 48% indicated they are currently offering technical assistance in P2.

Summary of P2 Technical Assistance Provided by Higher Education

Institution	Services Provided	Areas of Expertise
U.S. Air Force Academy	Onsite assessment Engineering Design Compliance Assistance Technology Development Training	Educational Facilities, Laboratories, Energy Conservation, Wastewater Treatment, Water Quality
North Dakota State University	Onsite assessment Engineering Design Compliance Assistance Technology Transfer Training	Agriculture (feed lot, sugar beets)
Colorado School of Mines	Onsite assessment Compliance Assistance Training	Metal finishing; Mining - Coal, Metal, Rock/Aggregate; Refineries; Wastewater treatment; Water quality
University of Montana	Onsite assessment Compliance Assistance Technology Development Technology Transfer	Agriculture, Mining - Metal, Water Quality
Salish Kootenai College	Compliance Assistance Technology Transfer Training	Agriculture, Air quality, Educational facilities, Energy conservation, Laboratories, Painting, Wastewater treatment, Water quality
University of Wyoming	Engineering Design Technology Development	Painting, Wood Furniture Finishing
Wyoming Technical Institute	Compliance Assistance Technology Transfer Training	Air Quality, Auto Repair, Autobody, Educational Facilities
Colorado Mountain College	Onsite Assessment Training	Agriculture, Autobody, Educational facilities, Mining - Metal, Wastewater treatment, Water quality, Other, land rehabilitation/erosion control
Colorado State University	Onsite Assessment Technology Transfer Training	Air quality, Auto repair, Autobody, Educational Facilities, Electronics, Energy Conservation, Food Processing, Laboratories, Manufacturing, Medical, Metal Finishing, Painting, Photoprocessing, Printing, Wood Furniture Finishing, Wood Treatment
University of Montana - Missoula	No Response	Energy conservation, Mining - Coal, Mining - Metal, Mining - Rock/Aggregate
MSU Extension Service	Onsite assessment Compliance Assistance Technology Transfer Training Other: loan library, newsletter, materials exchange, web-site, toll-free phone assistance	Air quality, Auto repair, Autobody, Construction/demo, Dry Cleaning, Educational Facilities, Energy Conservation, Household/Consumer, Hospitality, Local Government, Printing, Water Quality, Wood Furniture Finishing
Montana Tech of the University of Montana	No Response	Air quality, Drycleaning, Educational facilities, Electronics, Energy conservation, Metal finishing, Mining - Coal, Mining - Metal, Painting, Refineries, Wastewater treatment, Wood furniture finishing

Internships

Of the responses received, 36% indicated they offer P2 internship opportunities for students.

Survey Results - Internship Opportunities

Institution	# of Internships	Description/Comments
University of Montana	Varies	Students help develop watershed conservation plans.
Salish Kootenai College	No Response	None
Fort Belknap College	No Response	Internships available through grant to MSU-Bozeman
Colorado Mountain College	~ 7/year	An internship is required of all students in the program. Many are related to P2.
Colorado State University	Varies	None
University of Montana - Missoula	8	Energy related internships
Valley City State University	1-2/Summer	Students work for the health department in water quality and wastewater treatment and do field ecological research for the Northern Prairie Research Center.
MSU Extension Service	12 (through 9/99)	Environmental Justice P2 Internship Program - provides scholarships and internships to tribal college faculty and students interested in pursuing practical working experience in P2 issues relevant to Native Americans.
North Dakota State University	40	An active co-op program placing students in engineering firms and state/local agencies.

Green Campus Initiatives

Of the responses received, 40% indicated they are practicing some form of P2 or recycling on campus. Most responses referred to on-campus recycling while 3 cited additional P2 initiatives.

Summary of Green Campus Initiatives

Institution	P2 Practices
University of Montana	Minimizing herbicide use
Wyoming Technical Institute	Used oil is sent for energy recovery; Anti-Freeze recycling; Solvent recycling; Energy star computers and hardware; Media blasting paint removal; Aerosol can puncturing device; In-house processing of sump waste
Colorado Mountain College	Composting biodegradable food waste from campus cafeteria. Compost is used in program greenhouse for potting plants.