PARTNERS IN PREVENTION

Funding Available for Auto Shops through Clean Air Minnesota

Funding is available for auto body shops to switch to safer products and modern equipment and for service shops to fix the emission systems in cars of low-income Minnesotans.

Switch to safer chemicals and upgrade equipment

Auto body shops are encouraged to switch to safer chemicals and upgrade equipment to reduce PERC and VOC emissions through the Clean Air Assistance Project. Reducing emissions improves air quality in the shop and the surrounding neighborhood. Owners of eligible businesses in the city of Minneapolis and Ramsey County can receive free technical assistance and financial support of up to 75 percent of project costs to help purchase safer equipment. The program is administered by Environmental Initiative with resources from the Green Cost Share Program and Ramsey/ Washington Recycling and Energy.

Roering Auto Body in Saint Paul converted from solvent to waterborne paint and upgraded their paint booth with support from Complete Health, Environmental & Safety Services (CHESS). Lisa Roering, owner of the shop, reports that customers are pleased that their cars do not smell like paint and the color matches look great. “I just wanted to be a leader in the automotive industry, and better for the environment, and most of all, for the employees at the shop.”

If you own an auto body shop in Ramsey County or the city of Minneapolis and are interested in reducing the use of harmful chemicals, email or call Christina VangDixon at cvang@en-in.org or (612) 334-3388, ext. 8126 to learn more.

Fixing emission control systems

Currently, an estimated 90 percent of vehicle air pollution comes from just 25 percent of passenger vehicles, mostly older ones with outdated or malfunctioning emission controls or exhaust equipment. Project Clean Air Repairs (Project CAR) partners with garages to provide targeted repairs to clean up some of the highest polluting cars on the road while reducing the barriers to reliable transportation. Partner garages provide repairs to four priority components of the emission control system: catalytic converters, evaporative emission control systems, oxygen sensors and exhaust gas recirculation valves.

Cathy Heying is the Operation Director of The Lift Garage, an organization that provides low-cost car repair to low-income Minnesotans and one of the original Project CAR partners. She notes, “Many cars come in that have check engine lights that indicate faulty oxygen sensors or a catalytic converter that’s failing. Quite honestly, without Project CAR, those things often don’t get addressed. Now customers can address the emissions related issues with their car and it doesn’t have to be an either-or anymore. Without this program, that just would not happen.”

Do you own a garage serving low-income residents in your community? Project CAR hopes to add new partner garages to increase the impact of the program and we would like to hear from you. As a partner garage, your technicians would identify and repair defective components of emission control systems and receive reimbursement for those repairs. We work with each individual garage to set up a process that works with their business model and existing processes. Reach out to Gillian Greenberg at ggreenberg@en-in.org or (612) 334-3388, ext. 8127 to learn more.

Clean Air Minnesota is a diverse coalition of air quality leaders convened by Environmental Initiative working together to reduce emissions from mobile sources, small businesses and wood smoke. Partners develop projects to reduce emissions from Minnesota’s smaller, widespread and less regulated sources of air pollution which contribute nearly 75 percent of air pollution emissions in the state.

Have you taken the MPCA’s survey?

A seven-question survey for Minnesota businesses was mailed out with April’s edition of AASP-MN News. Is that still sitting around? We have heard from a few members but we would really like to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to tell us what you think of our content and how the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency can better serve you in the future. A pre-paid envelope was included to make responding easy and quick.

continued from pg. 10 decline, as they were hit particularly hard by the onslaught of COVID-19. Lang Marketing estimates that service stations and garages lost a total of nearly 30,000 bays between 2015 and 2020. • Despite increasing their bay count between 2015 and 2019, dealers suffered a loss of several hundred outlets during 2020. Consequently, their 2020 service bay population was lower than five years earlier. • Tire stores, discount stores/mass merchandisers with bays and retail auto parts stores with bays each suffered declines in their service bay populations between 2015 and 2020. • Foreign specialists recorded the largest gain in bay count between 2015 and 2020, adding nearly 5,000 light vehicle service bays. Repair specialists also increased their repair market capacity by adding over 4,200 bays in the past five years, despite a loss of bays last year (2020). • Independent (non-dealer) DIFM outlets fell from a 75 percent service bay share during 2015 to 73 percent at mid-year 2020.