CITY OF TALLAHASSEE
CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED ON: October 28, 2009
SUBJECT/TITLE: Think About Personal Pollution – TAPP Program Update
TARGET ISSUE: Environmental and Energy

STATEMENT OF ISSUE

Over the past three and a half years, the City Commission has authorized multiple grant funding agreements with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to implement a collaborative (public/private) outreach and education campaign to improve stormwater quality. This award-winning educational campaign is entitled Think About Personal Pollution, commonly referred to as TAPP. The program supports regional efforts to protect water bodies such as Wakulla Springs from nutrient pollution, and has had a regional impact due to the wide coverage area of the media outlets airing TAPP ads.

The purpose of this item is to report to the City Commission the progress of the long-term environmental education component of the program, and the success of the Spring 2009 TAPP media campaign. The campaign included the use of billboards, utility bill inserts and television ads to educate the public on the polluting effects of dog waste and phosphorous-containing fertilizers. The ads recommend specific practices that individuals can adopt to reduce pollution to local surface waters, and in the process, save water and costs associated with lawn maintenance and the treatment of polluted runoff. The campaign, which has become well known for its cutting-edge television ads, has had a significant positive impact on the personal habits of residents in our community. The TAPP 2009 survey results indicate that the media campaign was successful in changing the behaviors of many area residents.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

No formal action is required.

FISCAL IMPACT

This update has no funding requirement. Since acquiring the project in 2006, the City’s total contribution to the cost of the TAPP program has been $161,858, approximately 11% of the total campaign value of $1,491.912. Notably, the annual average cost of TAPP activities of $459,050 per year (which includes funding from EPA/DEP and in-kind resources), produced a 30% increase in the pickup of pet waste, which compares to a minimum cost of $2.5 million per year that would be required to provide equivalent treatment for stormwater pollution using conventional treatment technologies.

Cynthia S. Barber, Director, Environmental Policy and Energy Resources

Anita Favors Thompson, City Manager

For information, please contact: Ms. Koren Taylor, Environmental Policy and Energy Resources, 891-8703

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL/ISSUE ANALYSIS

HISTORY/FACTS & ISSUES

1. For over three years the City has implemented various educational outreach efforts, with funds provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and administered through FDEP, to educate individuals on specific measures that can be taken to reduce the detrimental effects of excess fertilizers, pesticides, pet waste and other sources of pollution associated with urban stormwater runoff. The TAPP program utilizes a multi-media approach to deliver its messages and information, which includes public presentations, television ads, billboards, utility bill inserts and grants to construct rain gardens.

2. During spring and summer 2009, the TAPP program mounted a major educational campaign to bring attention to pollution from two significant sources: dog waste and phosphorous. Public service announcements (ads) were aired from March 1 through June 30, 2009. An ad addressing pet waste offered an exceptional opportunity to generate attention for the TAPP campaign while addressing this nonpoint pollution source, and prompted community-wide discussions about pet waste. Other ads addressed fertilizer use, and encouraged homeowners to “look for the zero” relative to the phosphorous content when purchasing these products. The ads have successfully delivered important nonpoint source pollution messages to our region, evidenced by the large volume of calls received during the campaign, from as far away as Suwannee County.

3. A post-campaign survey, conducted by Oppenheim Research, Inc. (see Attachment 1), consisted of questioning 669 Tallahassee residents living in one of three lake basins: Lake Jackson, Lake Lafayette and Lake Munson. Members of the public were randomly contacted and asked if/how they received information from TAPP, if the TAPP messages are being effectively communicated, and if the public is changing behaviors. Specific questions on dog ownership and dog waste disposal were also asked, to try to determine if the current media campaign on proper disposal of pet waste was effective in persuading dog owners to pick up waste. The survey has a margin of error of 3.8%. Highlights of the survey results include:

• Nearly 90 percent of those surveyed now recognize that personal habits contribute to water pollution.
• Respondents indicated three predominant sources of media where they became aware of TAPP: television, billboards and utility bill inserts. The number of respondents who found the TAPP TV ads to be very or somewhat informative increased 21% from 2007.

4. The goal of the 2009 campaign was to promote action and move beyond simple awareness of polluting practices in the community affecting our water resources. The survey shows an unprecedented level of success in this regard.

• Of dog owners who reported that they pick up after their dogs, nearly 30 percent began picking up their pet waste in the last six months.
• Respondents indicated that their overall use of fertilizer decreased by 13.8%.
• Eighteen percent of respondents changed to non-phosphorous fertilizer in the last six months.

5. The TAPP survey results show that City residents are increasingly aware of the polluting effects of dog waste, and that they have made positive changes to pick up after their pets and prevent stormwater pollution. These data indicate that the messages in the campaign successfully increased awareness of the issue and prompted action by dog owners. The survey also indicates an overall reduction in the use of fertilizers, as well as an increase in the number of residents who have switched to using non-phosphorous fertilizers on their lawns.

6. The ultimate test of a management practice or educational program, however, centers on the cost and effectiveness of the effort. The following analysis of survey results shows that the TAPP campaign has been highly effective.

• Survey results indicate an estimated 43,000 dogs within Tallahassee city limits.
• Other research sponsored by EPA shows that this number of dogs would generate approximately 16 tons of waste per day. Dog waste is twice as contaminating as human waste in terms of bacteria. Highly sophisticated bacteria source tracking also indicates that dog excrement accounts for about 20% of the fecal coliform loading in an urban environment. The nutrient value of dog waste is about 2.5 times the nitrogen level associated with cow manure and equivalent in terms of phosphorous.
• If only 10 % of this waste per day enters our storm sewer system, this level of contamination would be double the state standard for Fecal Coliform bacteria in the first 1/2 half inch of runoff. Clearly pet waste poses a major water quality problem, and the City is at the forefront of addressing this pollution source; most municipalities are only recently recognizing and attempting to address the problem.
• Survey results show that the TAPP media campaign persuaded nearly 30% more dog owners to begin regularly picking up after their pet(s) in the past six months.
• The cost to achieve an equivalent level of fecal coliform pollution reduction employing conventional stormwater treatment would be approximately $2.5 Million / year, compared to the average annual cost of $459,050 (including EPA / DEP and in-kind contribution) for the City's TAPP campaign over the past three and a half years. Clearly educational outreach is the most cost effective option.
• Similarly, based on the cost of conventional methods to treat nutrients (phosphorous and nitrogen), even larger cost savings overall would be associated with reductions in nutrients due to the TAPP campaign. These results have not yet been tabulated.

7. The value of in-kind services from private partners has been much higher than expected, as described below:

• From June 2006 through September 2009 the total dollar value of the campaign has been $1,491,912, of which the City has contributed $161,858 (primarily staff time), or 11% of the total campaign value.
• Private sector partners (see Attachment 2) have contributed $854,968 in matching/in-kind services, or 57% of the total campaign value, which far surpasses the 40% required for a grant of this type.
• The City’s portion constitutes 19% of the matching funds.
• Private sector partners have provided 81% of the match.
• As an example of matching activity, TAPP aired 11,298 television ads during the period of March through June, of which 6,855 were aired free of charge, along with 4,443 paid ads.

8. Additionally, the effective value of the campaign is larger than the monetary funding represents, because of the following:

• the regional distribution of the television ads;
• the state-wide distribution of information through presentations by TAPP staff and volunteers; and
• the countrywide, and potential worldwide, distribution of information through the TAPP Web site www.TAPPwater.org (tracking data show that during the period from February 2009 through June 2009, the Web site received visits from 77 countries).

9. The City Commission, Mayor John Marks, the City Manager and the Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) are to be commended for embarking on this somewhat controversial campaign. The campaign employed a more aggressive advertising approach than usual to prompt action to pick up after pets, and to switch to zero-phosphorus fertilizers. The results of this survey show that these efforts have brought about significant changes in public behavior.

CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS

N/A-Vendor Preference points are not applicable to this item.

OPTIONS

N/A- No action required.

ATTACHMENTS/REFERENCES

1. Complete survey report
2. TAPP Team and private-sector partners