S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7367
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 22, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to establish the New York city watershed east of the Hudson river
   road salt reduction task force, pilot plan and test program
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  1.  There is hereby established a New York city watershed
 east of the Hudson river road salt  reduction  task  force  which  shall
 consist of the following fifteen members:
   (a) the commissioner of the department of transportation, commissioner
 of department of environmental conservation, commissioner of the depart-
 ment of health, or the designees of such commissioners;
   (b) the mayor of the city of New York, or his or her designee;
   (c) four appointees by the governor;
   (d) one designee of the attorney general;
   (e) two at large appointees by the Senate majority;
   (f) two at large appointees by the Assembly majority;
   (g) one appointee by the Assembly minority;
   (h) one appointee by the Senate minority.
   2.  The  at  large members of the task force shall include individuals
 with expertise in the science of road salt contamination  and  the  best
 practices  of  road  management.    Task  force members shall receive no
 compensation for their services but shall be reimbursed for  actual  and
 necessary  expenses  incurred in the performance of their duties, to the
 extent funds are appropriated for such purpose. The  co-chairpersons  of
 the  task force shall be the commissioners of environmental conservation
 and transportation or their designees. Each member of the council  shall
 be  entitled  to one vote. The task force's approval and adoption of the
 final report pursuant  to  this  section,  and  any  subsequent  interim
 updates  thereto,  shall  require  a supermajority of the task force. No
 action may be taken by the task force unless there is  a  quorum,  which
 shall  be  a majority of the members of the task force. Any vacancies on
 the task force shall be filled in the manner provided  for  the  initial
 appointment.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14723-01-0

 S. 7367                             2
 
   3.  The  task  force shall assess current department of transportation
 policies and practices, establishing levels of service for state roadway
 management in winter weather for the New York city watershed east of the
 Hudson river.   This assessment shall be based  on  the  best  available
 science  concerning  road  salt  contamination and the nature, scope and
 magnitude of associated impacts to our surface and ground waters, public
 and private lands, property and infrastructure.
   4. The task force shall prepare and submit to the governor, the tempo-
 rary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chairs of
 the senate committees on transportation, environmental conservation  and
 health,  the  chairs of the assembly committees on transportation, envi-
 ronmental conservation and health, on or  before  September  first,  two
 thousand twenty-one, a report containing:
   (a)  findings  of an initial assessment of nature, scope and magnitude
 of associated impacts to surface and ground waters, public  and  private
 lands,  property,  health  and  infrastructure  in  the  New  York  city
 watershed east of the Hudson river using  the  best  available  science.
 This  assessment  shall  include  but not be limited to measures of salt
 contamination to drinking water and estimates of the  cost  of  salt-in-
 duced  property  damage  across  the New York city watershed east of the
 Hudson river;
   (b) a review of current state road management practices and levels  of
 service for state and local roadways in the New York city watershed east
 of the Hudson river;
   (c)  a list of actions to be taken by members of the task force, state
 and local governments and the public to:
   i. enhance winter road maintenance levels of service and best  manage-
 ment  practices  and  road salt reduction techniques to reduce road salt
 contamination of  surface  and  ground  waters  in  the  New  York  city
 watershed east of the Hudson river;
   ii.  respond  rapidly  to surface and groundwater contamination in the
 New York city watershed east of the Hudson  river  with  the  intent  to
 mitigate  and  remediate  impacts  of  sodium and chloride pollution for
 homeowners;
   iii. establish a training program for  state  and  local  winter  road
 maintenance workers; and
   iv.  advance  a  public  education campaign to inform the public about
 road salt contamination and how the public can reduce the need for  road
 salt;
   (d)  a proposal to offer relief for owners of property in the New York
 city watershed east of the Hudson river who can demonstrate  harm  as  a
 result of the application of road salt along state roadways;
   (e) a calculation of the amount of road salt applied on state roadways
 annually  for the years 2008 through 2018 in the New York city watershed
 east of the Hudson river between October and April of each  winter  road
 management season to serve as a baseline amount;
   (f) a publicly accessible record-keeping database system for road salt
 purchases  with  information  on  applications  across the New York city
 watershed east of the Hudson river;
   (g) road salt reduction targets for the New York city  watershed  east
 of  the Hudson river which shall serve to guide the department of trans-
 portation, department of health, and department of environmental conser-
 vation in measurably reducing sodium and chloride levels in surface  and
 ground waters; and
   (h)  recommendations  for a robust New York city watershed east of the
 Hudson river road salt reduction pilot plan and test  program  including

 S. 7367                             3
 
 monitoring  and  operational plan goals, objectives, and activities that
 will subsequently be implemented during a multi-year pilot program  from
 2021 through 2024.
   §  2. 1. There is hereby established a New York city watershed east of
 the Hudson river road salt reduction pilot plan and  test  program.  The
 department  of  transportation,  in  partnership  with the department of
 environmental conservation, shall  conduct  a  multi-year  pilot  study,
 between  October  15 and June 30, for the years of 2021 through 2024, to
 test best management practices, updated levels of service,  and  overall
 road  salt reduction targets. The pilot plan shall be implemented on all
 state-owned roadways within the boundary of the New York city  watershed
 east of the Hudson river.
   2.  For  the duration of the pilot plan, the department of transporta-
 tion and department of environmental conservation shall test  a  variety
 of  application  techniques  and  road  management strategies, and shall
 issue a report on the effectiveness of such  techniques  and  strategies
 which shall include the resulting impacts to water quality and levels of
 service  for  each technique and strategy. The techniques and strategies
 employed shall include, but not be limited to:
   (a) varying application methods, rates and frequencies with the intent
 to measurably reduce road salt applied to  state  roadways.  This  shall
 include  test  comparisons of applications consisting primarily of abra-
 sives and applications consisting primarily of deicers, especially anti-
 icing and deicing brines;
   (b) implementation of well-established best practices such as  cutting
 back  the  canopy where legal and appropriate, and pre-wetting abrasives
 or solid deicers;
   (c) use of the best available technology and equipment for winter road
 management;
   (d) changes to traffic management or reducing speed limits when weath-
 er events make road conditions unsafe;
   (e) third party organizations monitoring water quality of surface  and
 ground  waters on downhill slopes of state roadways in the New York city
 watershed east of the Hudson river, with all results  disclosed  to  the
 public in the pilot plan report;
   (f) monitoring road conditions with cameras along state roadways;
   (g) monitoring truck operators using post-trip reporting and real time
 truck operation monitoring;
   (h) tracking accident rates in the New York city watershed east of the
 Hudson river that have a connection to poor weather; and
   (i)  launching  a  public  education and outreach campaign keeping New
 York city watershed east of the  Hudson  river  residents  and  visitors
 informed  of  changes to winter road maintenance practices, speed limits
 and engaging the public to change behaviors to  support  salt  reduction
 efforts.
   3.  Following  the  completion  of  the  pilot plan, the department of
 transportation and department of environmental conservation shall submit
 a summary report to the New York city watershed east of the Hudson river
 road salt reduction task force by August 30, 2024, identifying effective
 and ineffective techniques  for  winter  road  maintenance  and  revised
 levels  of  service  in  the  New York city watershed east of the Hudson
 river.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.