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.