### 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 vehicl es (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 deic ing outfalls. EPA has revised the costing approach to base the costs on airport hub size.

 Commenters noted that the number of GCV’s re presented 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 s hould 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 in clude 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 costi ng approach for all in scope airports; and

 One commenter noted EPA needs to analyze co sts incurred by airports that meet the collection requirement; EPA has evaluated the effectiveness of GCV operation and
concluded that 20% collection of ava ilable spent glycol is obtainable.

### Memorandum October 8, 2010 Page 2

GCV Background

GCV’s are used for removing spent aircraft deic ing fluid from the pavement virtually anywhere
that aircraft are deiced and vehicles have acce ss. 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 un it, 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 vac uum 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 efflue nt 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 in dicates 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 Qu estionnaire. 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 va ry 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 airpor t specific and details are not available, EPA was unable to develop a specific approach to estimate th e cost of drain covers and the labor needed to
install them. 

### EPA has instead incorporated a cost in crease 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 Coll ection Vehicles, Transportation Research Board, Sponsored to Federal Aviation Administratio n, 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 cost s 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, st aff hours to affix and re move 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 GC Vs 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 fo llowing 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 = $215,182MemorandumOctober 8, 2010Page 4Table 1. Glycol Collection Vehicle Capital and Operation and Maintenance CostsSite IDHub SizeNumberof GCVsTotal GCVCapitalCostsCapitalCost BaseYear2007 GCVCapitalCostTotal GCVAnnualCostAnnualCost BaseYear2007 GCVAnnualCost($/yr)UnitCapitalCost($/GCV)AnnualO&MCost($/yr)1136 Medium 1 $361,355 2001 $415,558 $15,268 2004 $16,184 $415,558 $16,1841012 Medium 1 $273,840 2001 $314,916 $80,000 2005 $82,400 $314,916 $82,4001113 Large 1 $250,000 1997 $317,500 $5,000 2005 $5,150 $317,500 $5,1501066 Large 1 $353,000 2004 $374,180 $374,1801101 Medium 2 $700,000 1996 $910,000 $43,236 2004 $45,831 $455,000 $45,8311021 Medium 2 $530,000 2001 $609,500 $304,7501036 Large 1 $283,463 2006 $283,463 $214,516 2004 $227,387 $283,463 $227,3871065 Small 1 $325,000 2005 $334,750 $45,000 2005 $46,350 $334,750 $46,3501031 Small 2 $518,300 2001 $596,045 $35,000 2005 $36,050 $298,023 $36,050AVERAGE:$344,238 $59,773

### 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