Memorandum 

October 8, 2010 

Page 1 

TO: Airport Deicing Administrative Record 

FROM: Steve Strackbein and Mary Willett, ERG

DATE: October 8, 2010

SUBJECT: Estimated Capital and Operation and Maintenance Costs for Glycol 

Collection Vehicle Operation 

This memorandum estimates the capital and annual operating and maintenance (O&M) costs for 

an airport to operate glycol collection vehicles (GCV’s). EPA’s estimated costs assume the 

purchasing of GCV’s for those airports that are not currently in compliance with a 20% collection 

requirement. Storage tank costs for offloading material collected with the GCV’s are estimated 

separately in EPA’s costing model. In addition, EPA has added a cost factor to the O&M costs to 

account for the purchase of drain blockers and the labor associated with their placement. 

Revisions to the GCV costs from proposal are based on costing comments for the following 

issues: 

 Several commenters opposed the previous GCV costing basis which costed equipment on 

a sliding scale per the number of airport deicing outfalls. EPA has revised the costing 

approach to base the costs on airport hub size. 

 Commenters noted that the number of GCV’s represented by the proposal costs needs to 

be identified. In this revised costing approach, EPA identified the number of GCVs 

associated with each airport; 

 One commenter noted that the GCV costs should incorporate safety training and security 

clearance for the vehicle operators; EPA believes that safety training and security 

clearances are already in place for the operators of deicing related equipment. Training 

for the operation of GCV’s can be conducted concurrently; 

 One commenter noted that GCV costs may include additional infrastructure, storage 

costs, or human capital for operation; EPA evaluated the O&M costs for GCV operation 

and an estimate if these costs are included in EPA’s costing approach; 

 One commenter noted that EPA needs to take into account times when the GCV is taken 

out of service for tank emptying and maintenance; EPA addressed this comment by 

including at least two GCV’s in the costing approach for all in scope airports; and 

 One commenter noted EPA needs to analyze costs incurred by airports that meet the 

collection requirement; EPA has evaluated the effectiveness of GCV operation and 

concluded that 20% collection of available spent glycol is obtainable. 
Memorandum 

October 8, 2010 

Page 2 

GCV Background 

GCV’s are used for removing spent aircraft deicing fluid from the pavement virtually anywhere 

that aircraft are deiced and vehicles have access. There are two basic design approaches in 

commercial GCVs: truck chassis or trailer mounted. The truck chassis designs are adaptations of 

the street sweeper concept, with a vacuum unit, vacuum/sweeper head, and storage tank all 

mounted on a single self-propelled vehicle. Typically, a separate engine powers the vacuum 

system. Trailer-mounted designs have the vacuum unit, collection head, and storage tank on a 

towed platform with power provided by either an engine mounted on the trailer chassis or a 

power take-off from the tow vehicle, typically a tractor. Drain covers that bond to surfaces to 

quickly seal off drains are often used in conjunction with GCV’s in the area where aircraft are 

deiced to allow the GCV’s to collect high concentration spent deicing fluid. 

Performance data on glycol collection vehicle operations from several airports report glycol 

recovery of between 23 and 53 percent of glycol applied in the collection area on an annual basis. 

The upper end of this reported range should be considered as reflecting optimal conditions.1

Costing Approach

For EPA’s airport deicing operations effluent guidelines program, EPA used information 

provided by airports in EPA’s Airport Deicing Questionnaire to estimate total capital and O&M 

costs for purchasing GCV’s. EPA used airport hub size as a normalizing factor for the 

number of GCVs because hub size directly indicates the number of enplaned passengers 

and relative airport size compared to other airports. 

To develop a relationship between number of GCVs used and hub size, EPA examined GCV 

costing data provided in EPA’s Airport Deicing Questionnaire. All airports that provided costing 

information, regardless of hub size, maintained 3 or less GCV’s. EPA used the information 

presented in Table 1 to estimate a number of GCV’s by airport hub size and is assuming that 

Non-hub, Small hub, and Medium hub airports can operate effectively and efficiently with 2 

GCV’s. ERG assumes that large hub airports can operate effectively and efficiently with 3 

GCV’s. 

Control of drainage while operating GCV’s will vary by airport. For purposes of estimating GCV 

costs, EPA assumed the use of drain covers in combination with the GCV operation. Variables 

which could impact drainage control costs include the size of drain covers and number of drains 

to be covered. Because these variables are airport specific and details are not available, EPA was 

unable to develop a specific approach to estimate the cost of drain covers and the labor needed to 

install them. EPA has instead incorporated a cost increase factor of 20% to the annual 

O&M cost for the use of GCV’s. EPA assumes that a 20% increase in O&M costs for 

GCV’s will provide costs for the purchase and replacement of drain covers and labor to 

install and remove the drain covers as needed. 

 

1

 ACRP Fact Sheets, ACRP Report 23, Glycol Collection Vehicles, Transportation Research Board, 

Sponsored to Federal Aviation Administration, AIRPORT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 
Memorandum 

October 8, 2010 

Page 3 

EPA has estimated storage costs for collected deicing stormwater as a separate module in 

their costing model. Therefore, these costs are separate from the GCV capital and O&M 

costs presented in this memorandum.

Assessment of Drain Cover Costs

A variety of drain covers are available from several vendors around the country. Costs were 

obtained via the internet from 3 vendors of drain covers and cover multiple sizes and shapes. 

Table 2 presents the sizes and costs that represent the largest common drain covers and the most 

comment shapes (rectangle, circle, and square), on the market. EPA used the information 

presented in Table 2 to evaluate an average cost for drain covers which is approximately $500 per 

cover. Since the number of drain covers needed by airport cannot be estimated by EPA with the 

available data, EPA incorporated a cost increase factor of 20% to the annual O&M cost for the 

use of GCV’s. EPA assumed a 20% increase in O&M cost for GCV’s would provide sufficient 

cost coverage for the purchase of drain covers, staff hours to affix and remove drain covers and 

replacement of damaged or worn out drain covers. 

Capital and O&M Costing Equations

Total capital and O&M costs for the use of GCVs at airports for the collection of spent 

deicing fluid were calculated using data from the Airport Deicing Questionnaire and the 

internet. Capital costs for purchasing 2 or 3 GCVs and O&M costs for operating the 

GCVs are applied based on hub size. The following equations were used to estimate 

costs for the purchase and use of GCVs in EPA’s costing model.

Capital Cost for 2 GCVs: 

Number of GCVs * Capital Cost for 1 GCV 

2 x $344,238 = $688,476

O&M for 2 GCVs: 

(Number of GCVs * Operation and Maintenance for 1 GCV) * 1.2 

(2 x $59,773) * 1.2 = $143,455

Capital for 3 GCVs: 

Number of GCVs * Capital Cost for 1 GCV 

3 x $344,238 = $1,032,714 

O&M for 3 GCVs: 

(Number of GCVs * Operation and Maintenance for 1 GCV) * 1.2 

(3 x $59,773) * 1.2 = $215,182
Memorandum 

October 8, 2010 Page 4 

Table 1. Glycol Collection Vehicle Capital and Operation and Maintenance Costs 

Site ID Hub Size 

Number 

of GCVs 

Total GCV 

Capital 

Costs 

Capital 

Cost Base 

Year 

2007 GCV 

Capital 

Cost 

Total GCV 

Annual 

Cost 

Annual 

Cost Base 

Year 

2007 G

Annu

Cost 

($/yr

1136 Medium 1 $361,355 2001 $415,558 $15,268 2004 $16,181012 Medium 1 $273,840 2001 $314,916 $80,000 2005 $82,401113 Large 1 $250,000 1997 $317,500 $5,000 2005 $5,151066 Large 1 $353,000 2004 $374,180 1101 Medium 2 $700,000 1996 $910,000 $43,236 2004 $45,831021 Medium 2 $530,000 2001 $609,500 1036 Large 1 $283,463 2006 $283,463 $214,516 2004 $227,31065 Small 1 $325,000 2005 $334,750 $45,000 2005 $46,351031 Small 2 $518,300 2001 $596,045 $35,000 2005 $36,05

AVERAGE: 
Memorandum 

October 8, 2010 

Page 5 

Table 2. Drain Cover Average Costs 

Vendor Product 

Price per 

unit Website Accessed 

Date 

Accessed 

LSS UltraTech Ultra DrainSeals® 

Wall-Mount Holder, 48"W 

$197 http://www.labsafety.com/ 8/19/2010 

LSS UltraTech Ultra DrainSeal 

Plus® Drain Seal, 54"W x 

54"L 

$811 http://www.labsafety.com/ 8/19/2010 

LSS UltraTech Ultra DrainSeal 

Plus® Drain Seal, 48"W x 

48"L 

$681 http://www.labsafety.com/ 8/19/2010 

LSS UltraTech Ultra DrainSeal 

Plus® Drain Seal, 42"W x 

42"L 

$569 http://www.labsafety.com/ 8/19/2010 

LSS Drain Protector® Rectangle 

Safety Seal, 24"W x 48"L 

$295 http://www.labsafety.com/ 8/19/2010 

LSS Drain Protector® Square Safety 

Seal, 36"W x 36"L 

$367 http://www.labsafety.com/ 8/19/2010 

LSS Drain Protector® Square Safety 

Seal, 48"W x 48"L 

$559 http://www.labsafety.com/ 8/19/2010 

LSS Drain Protector II, 48" x 48" $379 http://www.labsafety.com/ 8/19/2010 

LSS Drain Protector II, 54" x 54" $449 http://www.labsafety.com/ 8/19/2010 

LSS LAB SAFETY SUPPLY® 

SpilMagnetTM Drain Cover, 

Rectangle, 24"W x 36"L 

$93 http://www.labsafety.com/ 8/19/2010 

Ben 

Meadows 

DRAIN PROTECTOR® 

Safety Seal, 24" x 24" 

$171 http://www.benmeadows.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig PIG® Drive-Over 

DRAINBLOCKER® Drain 

Cover 54" x 54" 

$706 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig PIG® Drive-Over 

DRAINBLOCKER® Drain 

Cover 48" x 48" 

$649 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig PIG® Drive-Over 

DRAINBLOCKER® Drain 

Cover 42" x 42" 

$549 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig PIG® Drive-Over 

DRAINBLOCKER® Drain 

Cover 30" dia. 

$251 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig DRAINBLOCKER® Drain 

Cover with DuPontTM 

Elvaloy® Technology 54" x 

54" 

$645 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig DRAINBLOCKER® Drain 

Cover with DuPontTM 

Elvaloy® Technology 48 x 48 

$593 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 
Memorandum 

October 8, 2010 

Page 6 

Vendor Product 

Price per 

unit Website Accessed 

Date 

Accessed 

New Pig DRAINBLOCKER® Drain 

Cover with DuPontTM 

Elvaloy® Technology 42" x 

42" 

$502 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig PIG® Drive-Over 

DRAINBLOCKER® Drain 

Cover 54" x 30" 

$529 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig PIG® Drive-Over 

DRAINBLOCKER® Drain 

Cover 36" x 60" 

$679 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig PIG® DRAINBLOCKER® 

Drain Cover 54" x 54" x 0.25" 

$614 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig PIG® DRAINBLOCKER® 

Drain Cover 48" x 48" x 0.5" 

$564 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig PIG® DRAINBLOCKER® 

Drain Cover 42" x 42" x 0.5" 

$478 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

New Pig PIG® DRAINBLOCKER® 

Drain Cover 60" x 36" 

$591 http://www.newpig.com/ 8/19/2010 

Average Cost $497