EPA 908-F-93-001 EPA908-F-93-001 December 1993 When Denver's new airport opens in 1994, it will be well^equipped to . handle-the 30 million passengers expected to pass through each year. The careful design of the nation's newest and largest airport will be evident in its : space-age architecture, park-tJike setting, and smooth flow of travelers and ' aircraft. Less obvious, but perhaps more revolutionary, is the environmental planning that went into the facility-^-a concept called "pollution-prevention." Planning and design for Denver's new airport included many features specifically intended to reduce the amount of pollution generated there. New Thinking Applied at DIA Unlike any previous airport, Denver International Airport (DIA) includes features specifically intended to reduce the pollution that-typically results from such a mammoth public works project. To help design and implement ^these features, the .regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) office in Denver worked closely with the City and County of Denver, and the- State of Colorado's Office of'Energy Conservation. An Intergovernmental. Personnel Act agreement, assigning • an EPA scientist to a one-year tour of .duty at DIA, made the partnership official. This unique collaboration between federal, state, and local interests has potential for use across a wide range of projects. Preventing pollution simply makes more economic and environmental sense than traditional "end-of-the- pipe" or "command-and-control" methods for reducing pollution. This new thi-nking about pollution reduction was percolating in the . regulatory world at- the same time that impetus was growing for a new airport, in the Denver metropolitan area,-Yet there were many obstacles to over- come—the first being-the single-focus approach that .regulato-rc develop by working on singular, aspects of pollu- tion control ('e.g., air, water, waste, toxics). Integrating pollution preven- tion measures into a $3.2 billion facility covering 53 square miles of land called for a "big picture," or "multi-media," approach. While most futurists expect the struggle to reduce pollution to continue well into the next Century, conscious'- choices made up front to prevent ------- Better air quafit^, reduced solid waste, and water conservation can be achieved through careful planning and coiiaboration ajnong partners. pollution at DIA will help substantially in keeping the new airport's negative impact to a minimum. Specific Measures to Prevent Pollution Following is a-sampling of the pollution prevention measures taken or planned at DIA. 5^ Embedding fly ash (unburned fuel particles from nearby coal-fired energy plants) in concrete to be used for run- ways and road surfaces, strengthening ' them and making them more durable. . The use .of 180,000 tons of fly ash at DIA will save enough landfill space to accommodate the solid waste.of a city of 40;000 people for 'nine years. >• Collecting and reusing 7.60 tons of glycol deicing fluids per year, thereby reducing the volume of these fluids sent to wastewater treatment by 95 percent. >• Irrigating airport and surrounding development landscaping with reclaimed wastewater not treated to drinking water-levels. Scheduled to . begin in 1-999, this effort is expected to save 542 million gallons.of drinking water per year. S» Conserving energy through design and operation features of the facility. These include a teflon-coated fiber- glass roof to take advantage-of natural light, and the use of natural gas- powered chillers for air conditioning. Despite the numerous energy-conser- vation measures taken, however, DIA will still need to.maintain its own central power plant for heating and cooling. Here, too, pollution prevention will be built in: low nitrogen-oxide emitting boilers and flue gas recircula- tion'will keep 90 tons of nitrogen oxide per year from polluting the Denver metro area air. >• Controlling the release of "volatile organic compounds"-j-smog-forming . vapors—through the use of floating •' roofs on fuel storage tanks and a'vapof recovery system at fleet vehicle fueling stations. These measures will keep an estimated 52 tons of vapors from being released each year. 3s* Landscaping with a predominance . of the West's own drought-resistant plants, especially prairie grasses, to yield water savings in the hundreds of millions of gallons per year. >»•'. Fueling airport fleet vehicles with natural gas rather than gasoline, thereby reducing emissions of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide. ••*- Designing and implementing a •solid waste plan aimed at cutting waste at its source, and reclaiming and recycling many waste materials with an initial goal of reducing landfill disposal by 16 tons per day. »• Offering airport employees staggered shifts, compressed work week's, and shuttle services to reduce their contribution to auto-related . particle emissions by an estimated 7,000 pounds per year. Planning Today for a Better Tomorrow Working c.ollaboratively to prevent pollution at Denver International Airport was an excellent experience for EPA. Once Colorado voters approved construction of the new' airport, EPA became immediately involved in the planning process by providing advice on using the latest technological tools to minimize DIA's environmental impact. Not only did EPA learn to apply new thinking and tools to technological challenges, but it also learned a new • way to collaborate with those it regulates. This success sets a positive precedent for "pollution prevention by design" to become the normal way of doing busihess^tomorrow, and into . the next century. FOR MORE INFORMATION Please contact: . U.S. EPA Region 8 Office of Policy & Management 999 18th Street, Suite 500 Denver, CO 80202,2466 '.:•" 1-800-227-8917 Printed on recycled paper wilft soy-based 'inks * •.:US. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1994-B4O-259 ------- |