S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8663--A
I N S E N A T E
July 1, 2020
___________
Introduced by Sens. KENNEDY, LITTLE, KAMINSKY, PERSAUD -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Rules -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to establish the Adirondack road salt reduction task force, pilot
plan and test 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. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Randy
Preston road salt reduction act".
§ 2. 1. There is hereby established an Adirondack road salt reduction
task force, hereinafter referred to as the "task force", to conduct a
comprehensive review of road salt contamination and road management best
practices within the Adirondack park. 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 execu-
tive director of the Adirondack park agency 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 recommenda-
tion 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.
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.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13704-11-0
S. 8663--A 2
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, information and data as will enable the task force to
properly carry out its powers and duties hereunder.
4. The task force shall undertake a review and assessment of road salt
contamination within the Adirondack park, assess current department of
transportation policies and practices with respect to state roadway
management in winter weather within the Adirondack park, and roadway
management best practices. This review and assessment shall take into
consideration the best available science concerning road salt contam-
ination and the nature, scope and magnitude of associated impacts to
surface and ground waters, public and private lands, property and
infrastructure.
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 September first, two
thousand twenty-one, 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
Adirondack park;
(b) a review of current state road management practices and levels of
service for state and local roadways in the Adirondack park;
(c) recommendations for state and local governments 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 road
salt contamination of surface and ground waters in the Adirondack park;
ii. methods for rapid response to surface and groundwater contam-
ination in the Adirondack park with the intent to minimize impacts for
homeowners;
iii. establishment of a training program for state and local winter
road maintenance workers; 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) a calculation of the average amount of road salt applied on state
roadways annually for the years 2008 through 2018 in the Adirondack park
between October and April of each winter road management season to serve
as a baseline amount;
(e) recommendations for a publicly accessible record-keeping database
system for road salt purchases and applications within the Adirondack
park;
(f) recommendations for road salt reduction targets for the Adirondack
park to guide the department of transportation, department of health,
and department of environmental conservation in measurably reducing
sodium and chloride levels in surface and ground waters; and
(g) recommendations for an Adirondack park road salt reduction pilot
plan and test program including monitoring and operational plan goals,
S. 8663--A 3
objectives, and activities to be implemented pursuant to section three
of this act.
§ 3. 1. There is hereby established an Adirondack park road salt
reduction pilot plan and test program to be conducted by the department
of transportation, in cooperation with the department of environmental
conservation, between October 15 and June 30 each year beginning 2021
through 2024, to test best management practices, updated levels of
service, and overall road salt reduction targets within the Adirondack
park. The pilot plan and test shall be implemented on all state-owned
roadways within the boundary of the Adirondack park.
2. For the duration of the pilot plan and test, the department of
transportation and department of environmental conservation shall test a
variety of application techniques and road management strategies within
the Adirondack park, and shall issue a report on the effectiveness of
such techniques and strategies which shall include the resulting impacts
on water quality and state roadway 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 within the
Adirondack park. This shall include test comparisons of applications
consisting primarily of abrasives 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 when weather events make road condi-
tions hazardous;
(e) monitoring of water quality of surface and ground waters on down-
hill slopes of state roadways in the Adirondack park;
(f) monitoring of road conditions along state roadways within the
Adirondack park;
(g) monitoring of truck operators using post-trip reporting;
(h) tracking of weather-related crash rates on state roadways within
the Adirondack park; and
(i) the conducting of a public education and outreach campaign to
inform Adirondack park residents and visitors of changes to winter road
maintenance practices and engaging the public in changing behaviors to
support road salt reduction efforts.
3. Following the completion of the pilot plan and test, the department
of transportation and department of environmental conservation shall
submit a summary report to the governor, temporary president of the
senate, and speaker of the assembly by August 30, 2024, of the results
of such pilot plan and test, including the identification of effective
and ineffective techniques for winter road maintenance and revised
levels of service in the Adirondack park.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
deemed repealed December 31, 2024.
