S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
2706
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
January 24, 2023
___________
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 East of Hudson watershed road salt reduction
task force and pilot program; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon expiration thereof
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 an East of Hudson watershed
road salt reduction task force, hereinafter referred to as the "task
force", to conduct a comprehensive review of road salt contamination and
roadway, parking lot, driveway, and sidewalk management best practices
within the East of Hudson watershed. Such task force shall consist of
fourteen members which shall include the commissioner of transportation
or their designee, the commissioner of environmental conservation or
their designee, the commissioner of health or their designee, the
commissioner of the department of environmental protection, or their
designee, and ten other members to be appointed by the governor as
follows: two upon the recommendation of the temporary president of the
senate, two upon the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly, one
upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the senate, one upon
the recommendation of the minority leader of the assembly, and four
without recommendation from any other person. The appointed members of
the task force shall include a representative of local governments with-
in the East of Hudson watershed and individuals with expertise in at
least one of the following: civil engineering, hydrology, geology, the
science of road salt contamination, highway maintenance and operations,
and public health. For the purposes of this act, the East of Hudson
watershed shall include portions of Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester
counties that make up the drainage basin for the New York city reservoir
system, consistent with the boundaries delineated by geographic informa-
tion system maps created by the department of environmental protection.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07100-01-3
S. 2706 2
2. 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 commissioner of environmental conservation and the
commissioner of transportation shall serve as joint chairs of the task
force. A majority of the members of the task force shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business or the exercise of any power or
function of the task force. Any vacancies on the task force shall be
filled in the manner provided for in the initial appointment.
3. The task force shall be authorized to hold public hearings and
meetings, and to consult with any organization, educational institution,
or other government entity or person, to enable it to accomplish its
duties. To effectuate the purposes of this act, the task force may
request and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau,
commission or other agency of the state or any state public authority
such assistance to the extent funds are available, and any such informa-
tion and data as will enable the task force to properly carry out its
powers and duties hereunder, provided however that any request for
information and data shall be reasonable in scope and volume, and
provided further that any and all information received by the task force
from the department of transportation shall not be redisclosed absent
specific authorization by the department of transportation.
4. The task force shall undertake a review and assessment of road salt
contamination within the East of Hudson watershed and assess current
state, local, and commercial policies and practices with respect to
state and local roadway, parking lot, driveway, and sidewalk management
in winter weather within the East of Hudson watershed. This review and
assessment shall take into consideration the best available science
concerning road salt contamination and the nature, scope and magnitude
of associated impacts to surface and ground waters, public and private
lands, property and infrastructure. This assessment shall also be based
on due consideration of public safety and the safety of the traveling
public.
5. 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, and the chairs of the assembly committees on transportation,
environmental conservation and health, on or before December first, two
thousand twenty-four, a report containing:
(a) findings of an initial assessment of the nature, scope and magni-
tude of associated impacts of road salt on surface and ground waters,
public and private lands, property, health and infrastructure in the
East of Hudson watershed. This assessment shall include the identifica-
tion of possible sources of salt contamination;
(b) a review of current state, local, and commercial winter road
management practices and levels of service for state and local roadways,
parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks in the East of Hudson watershed;
(c) recommendations, including consideration of estimate environ-
mental, implementation, and liability costs for state and local govern-
ments and the public with respect to:
i. enhancement of winter road maintenance levels of service and best
management practices and road salt reduction techniques to reduce state
and local roadway, parking lot, driveway, and sidewalk salt contam-
ination of surface and ground waters in the East of Hudson watershed,
with due consideration of public safety and the safety of the traveling
public;
S. 2706 3
ii. recommendations for rapid response best practices to surface and
ground water contamination in the East of Hudson watershed, including a
determination of cost, with the intent to minimize impacts for homeown-
ers to be developed in cooperation with the department of health and the
department of environmental conservation;
iii. establishment of a training program for state and local winter
road maintenance workers and best practices for commercial applications
of road salt used on any surfaces; and
iv. advancement of a public education campaign to inform the public
about road salt contamination and how the public can reduce the need for
road salt;
(d) recommendations for a publicly accessible record-keeping database
system for road salt purchases and applications within the East of
Hudson watershed;
(e) recommendations for road salt reduction targets for the East of
Hudson watershed that may be used to guide the department of transporta-
tion, department of health, department of environmental conservation,
local governments in the East of Hudson watershed and commercial enti-
ties in measurably reducing sodium and chloride levels in surface and
ground waters, provided, however, that such targets represent recommen-
dations that may be adjusted by the department of transportation or
local governments if the department of transportation or local govern-
ments determine that adjustments are necessary to maintain the state and
local roadways in a reasonably safe condition; and
(f) recommendations for an East of Hudson watershed road salt
reduction pilot program including monitoring and operational plan goals,
objectives, and activities that may be used as guidance for a future
pilot program, subject to appropriation, including:
i. varying application methods, rates and frequencies with the intent
to measurably reduce road salt applied to state and local roadways,
parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks within the East of Hudson
watershed. This shall include test comparisons of applications consist-
ing primarily of abrasives and applications consisting primarily of
deicers, especially anti-icing and deicing brines;
ii. implementation of well-established best practices such as cutting
back the canopy where legal and appropriate, and pre-wetting abrasives
or solid deicers;
iii. use of the best available technology and equipment for winter
road management;
iv. changes to traffic management when weather events make road condi-
tions hazardous;
v. monitoring of water quality of surface and ground waters on down-
hill slopes of state and local roadways, parking lots, driveways, and
sidewalks in the East of Hudson watershed;
vi. monitoring of road conditions along state roadways within the East
of Hudson watershed;
vii. monitoring of truck operators using post-trip reporting;
viii. tracking of weather-related crash rates on state and local road-
ways within the East of Hudson watershed; and
ix. the conducting of a public education and outreach campaign to
inform East of Hudson watershed residents and visitors of changes to
winter road maintenance practices and engaging the public in changing
behaviors to support road salt reduction efforts.
§ 2. 1. The department of transportation and the department of envi-
ronmental conservation shall review the report of the East of Hudson
watershed road salt reduction task force, established pursuant to
S. 2706 4
section one of this act, shall conduct water sampling and analysis, and
shall incorporate into a road salt pilot program in the East of Hudson
watershed those recommendations that, in the discretion of the commis-
sioner of transportation, will not jeopardize the health and safety of
the traveling public and for which an appropriation is available. Such
road salt pilot program shall be established two years after such water
sampling and analysis has been completed to establish necessary baseline
data. Local governments in the East of Hudson watershed may review the
report of the East of Hudson watershed road salt reduction task force,
established pursuant to section one of this act, and may incorporate
into a road salt pilot program in their jurisdiction those recommenda-
tions that, in the discretion of the commissioner of transportation and
the local government, will not jeopardize the health and safety of the
traveling public and for which funding is available.
2. Following the incorporation of the recommendations into a road salt
pilot program, the department of transportation and department of envi-
ronmental conservation shall submit a summary report to the governor,
temporary president of the senate, and speaker of the assembly by August
30, 2028, of the results of such pilot program, including the identifi-
cation of effective and ineffective techniques for winter road mainte-
nance and revised levels of service in the East of Hudson watershed.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire 5 years
after the pilot program established pursuant to section two of this act
is conducted when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be
deemed repealed.
