2016 Placement Newsletter #6

Placement Newsletter # 6 2016

In this issue:

1. LNT Outreach and Environmental Compliance Team priorities
2. Is a Bucket on your Burning Man List?
3. Gate and Exodus
4. Sleep, sound and ear plugs!
5. Fairy Shrimp - remember our tiny friends

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Citizens of Black Rock City!!!

Last week I broke my phone, cracked my sunglasses and spent 15 minutes looking for something right in front of me. What a great cue to stop, take a deep breath, sit quietly for a minute and pause.

Amazing what a small amount of down time can do. This week I am calmer, more productive and the lists are closer to being completed.

Be gentle with yourselves, realize what is possible and what will have to wait for next year, and spend some time looking at photos of the playa so far to get the butterflies in your stomach all aflutter.

Also, read this newsletter - a bit of good info, a bit of fun and a reminder to put a bucket in your vehicle, next to that last minute bag of stuff you just realized you can't live without.

Next week we'll be together, at long last. We'll build a city, we'll celebrate each other and we will BURN. We are such an extraordinary group of people, I can't wait to see what we do this year, how well we can treat each other, how we can inspire each other and how we can shine.

We are going to be dazzling, and we are going to do it together. Hurray.

- Answergirl

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1. LNT Outreach and Environmental Compliance Team priorities
Burning Man is the largest Leave No Trace (LNT) event on Federal land.
There is an entire crew — the LNT Outreach and Environmental Compliance team — whose mission is to cruise around BRC during the event, educate people about LNT practices tailored to the desert environment, and identify issues within camps that need to be remedied. They are Burners just like you, from Earth Guardians and Rangers. If this team comes to your camp, or leaves you a message, it means you need to fix something! You will have you 48 hours to make the fix, and they will help you do the trick, but if you don't comply, your issue may get escalated to law enforcement. So read up! These are the rules!

There are five common issues at Burning Man that need to be monitored.

● Burn barrels
● Engine oil leaks
● Fuel storage, spills, containment, and safety
● Gray and black water leaks
● MOOP

Burn barrels
● Burning directly on the alkaline playa bakes the surface into a dark, hard brick-like material and causes damage.
● Keep burn barrels off the playa surface. Look for ways to modify the barrel and/or to raise it up off the ground by at least two inches.

Engine oil leaks
● Engine oil leaks are common, especially in older vehicles, and they are bad for the playa.
● Check under your vehicle/RV every day. If your engine oil is leaking on the playa, use a drip pan, tarp, rug, plywood, or anything that can be secured to the ground so it catches the oil.

Fuel storage
Most fuel spills result from improper storage and transfer of fuel.

● Store fuel properly. All fuel must be stored in a designated fuel storage area located at least 10 feet away from any flammable materials, including vehicles and camping trailers. Keep fuel storage area away from potential vehicle collision.

● Fuel will expand with heat. Never fill your fuel containers past 80%, no matter whether you use a five-gallon container or a 55-gallon drum. When filled to only 80% capacity, the container can be in full sun but it's the best practice to store fuel in a shaded area.

● Protect the playa surface from fuel spills. All containers, regardless of size, must not be stored directly on the playa. If you're storing less than 20 gallons, place fuel on a tarp or piece of wood. If you're storing between 20 and 110 gallons, the fuel has to be within "secondary containment" basins that must be capable of holding 110% of the volume of the largest single fuel container stored within it. You cannot store more than 110 gallons in your camp at once. Contact fuel@burningman.com to arrange for an account for fuel deliveries to your camp if you need more fuel.

● Size of spill matters. Less than a bicycle wheel, dig it up and dispose of it. More than that, get help. BRC has a hazmat team that can handle any spilled substance. Find someone with a radio or go to any Ranger or ESD station.

● Fuel safety is critical. More tips here.
Gray and black water spills
Leaking is commonly caused by being overfilled or, worse, a crack in a tank or container.

Pre-Playa: Test Your RV Tanks
It is essential that you check underneath your RV for leakage from your potable, gray, and black water tanks. Also check for oil leaks.
Do this before you leave your RV rental site and before you leave for the playa:

● Fill your water – check for fresh water leaks
● Run your sink – (one minute) check for gray water leaks
● Flush your toilet – (a few times) check for black water leaks
● Check your caps – potable, grey, and black water caps go missing and sometimes RVs are even rented without them. Caps are easily replaceable at RV or hardware store.
● Check for vehicle fluid leaks – If you can, crawl under and inspect the underside of your RV, particularly around the engine compartment and drivetrain to look for wet spots where fluids might be leaking.

As a citizen of Black Rock City, you are responsible for preventing and remediating leaks — not the RV rental site or your camp manager.

On Playa: Tank Leak
Leaking is commonly caused by being overfilled or, worse, a crack in the tank. If you have a leak, here's what to do:

● Stop using it – First of all, stop. Until you fix it, no more showers, toilets or baths.

● Contain it – Use a bucket to collect the leaking fluids. If the spill is over one gallon, the amount of contaminated playa is five gallons. If you've got a spill, mark off the spill area with cones and get help from Rangers or ESD.

● Dig It Up – If all the contaminated playa can fit in a five-gallon bucket, use a shovel to dig up the contaminated playa and dispose of off playa. If the spill affects a playa surface larger than five gallons, and/or is out of control, find someone with a radio or go to any Ranger or ESD station. Be proactive.Leave No Trace.

● Fix it – If your spill is due to a crack or some other malfunction, you may have to stop using your RV tanks entirely. If it's overfilled, get your tank emptied or pumped by United Site Services. You can flag down a truck on site, but it's better to arrange for servicing pre-event. Call USS in Nevada to plan ahead, especially if you anticipate needing large gray water containment or regular pumping.

MOOP (Matter Out Of Place)
Never let it hit the ground. If you don't actively MOOP, you jeopardize the Burning Man permit and the annual Bureau of

Land Management (BLM) post-event site inspection.

● Monitor your camp. Don't leave cigarette butts, bottles and cans lying around. Before you leave your camp, make sure everything is secure; whiteouts and dust storms will happen while you are away.

● Pack it out. There are no trash cans. All of your waste, down to the last little millimeter of plastic from the seal of a water bottle top, is your responsibility to take home. Pick up everything. Conduct line sweeps of your camp before you drive away.

● PRO TIP: Manage your waste throughout the event so it isn't a burden at the end. Tie down and sort your trash. Crush and contain your cans. Separate your food waste and dry it out in the sun.

Get help!

Anything over 25 gallons spilled is considered an environmental emergency. Get help if something is not easily cleaned up, or is actively spilling with no way to stop. We don't want any spill to go unmitigated. Find someone with a radio or go to any Ranger or ESD station. Protect the playa and our community. You won't get in trouble for trying to fix something.

PRO TIP: Bring a five-gallon bucket.
A five-gallon bucket is very handy on the playa.

● A bucket underneath a leaky tank will capture any residual drips.

● If you have a small fuel leak or gray or black water spill and the contaminated playa fits in a five-gallon bucket, you can dig up the soil and dispose of the bucket off site.

● Use your bucket to gather MOOP as you clean up your camp.

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2. Is a Bucket on your Burning Man List?

All campers should include one 5 gallon utility bucket with lid on their packing list. 

Why?

#1. Our playa landlord, the Bureau of Land Management thinks it is a good idea - read the above information,

#2. Two words: "emergency toilet". 

In the unlikely event of sustained heavy rains, a five gallon bucket can serve as that special facility, should port-a-potty servicing be delayed, or travel to portas become difficult.  An inter-webs search for "Luggable Loo" will prove that this is not a new idea, and special lids can be obtained for a more 'familiar' experience, and less chance of experiencing the heart break of large butt ring. 
Go on, search. You'll find stuff like 'Double Doodie bags' with 'BioGel'. Wow.

Do not, under any circumstances, leave a used emergency toilet behind. Nope. That goes for pee jars too.  Seriously, it's yours, you deal with it.

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3. Gate and Exodus

http://burningman.org/event/preparation/getting-there-and-back/


The speed limit on Gate Road is 10 miles per hour. 10/mph. 10 MPH.
5 MPH when people are present.

Yes that is slow, but also safe, creates less dust, and won't inspire any of our law enforcement friends to comment on your speed.

Slower is better; speed equals dust.

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4. Sleep in Black Rock City?

Sound is a big issue in BRC. It's noisy, we do our best to have guidelines and consequences. But sometimes you just want to tune out the surrounding stimulation or maybe even try to sleep.

Our friends from DISTRIKT suggest these as a good item to have, and to gift to those around you.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J6BK04/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_djQLxb0RYQREE

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5. Fairy Shrimp


Dear People Who Build Black Rock City,

Surely you're already aware of this, but you're building Black Rock City atop a magical, fragile network of unborn primordial beings yearning to emerge. I'm talking, of course, about the Fairy Shrimp.

I write to you on behalf of Team Alex, a team of concerned scientists, propagandists, and propaganda scientists interested in the promulgation of vague awareness of the Fairy Shrimp amongst the citizens of Black Rock City. It just so happens that Burning Man 2016 falls during International Fairy Shrimp Awareness Week (IFSAW), and we need YOUR HELP to make sure that people in BRC hear just enough about the Fairy Shrimp this year to be like, "... OK seriously, what the fuck is with all these Fairy Shrimp?"

We ask you to remember to accommodate our Fairy Shrimp neighbors in BRC this year. Surely you can do better than the following bad examples:
If you run a Theme Camp, your bike rack could also have a Fairy Shrimp foot-washing station with 22 teensy little bowls, I dunno.
It could even start before the event, and you could just sneak Fairy Shrimp into your graphics, emails/posts, etc.

Do you see what I'm getting at here? We want citizens of BRC to see weird Fairy Shrimp stuff all over the place, so they're all talking about it. Think of it like the unofficial theme of this year's event, kinda like how in 2013 it was weirdly all churches and pyramids. You people are artistic geniuses. We can't wait to be dumbfounded by your Fairy Shrimp ideas we could never have come up with ourselves.

If you want help, we can help you. We can get you little Fairy Shrimp models. We've built alexthefairyshrimp.com as a repository of facts, pseudo-facts, and total non-facts about this amazing species lying dormant under our Hexayurts. Got ideas or questions? You can email Team Alex at the bottom of the home page.

Why are we doing this? Because once the Fairy Shrimp is a cultural Thing, it will become this beautifully bizarre, memorable symbol of what Leaving No Trace really means. The playa is not just dead and empty, you know? It's alive, we all need to remember that, and the Fairy Shrimp can help us remember.

Now, go forth and Fairy Shrimp.

— Team Alex

www.alexthefairyshrimp.com

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Thanks for reading and stay tuned!!

The 2016 Placement Team

Abdullah, Answergirl, Baulknaub, Bravo, the Flaggers, GetRich, Happy, HepKitten, Hot Water, KGB, Level, Machine, Muppet, Papa Bear, Pono, Retro, Shadow, SparkleBalls, SwAmPy, Sweetthang, The Governess and WhatsIt.

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