Bill Text: NY S02706 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the East of Hudson watershed road salt reduction task force, pilot plan and test program to conduct a comprehensive review of road salt contamination and road management best practices within the East of Hudson watershed.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION [S02706 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S02706-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2706 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE 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: 1 Section 1. 1. There is hereby established an East of Hudson watershed 2 road salt reduction task force, hereinafter referred to as the "task 3 force", to conduct a comprehensive review of road salt contamination and 4 roadway, parking lot, driveway, and sidewalk management best practices 5 within the East of Hudson watershed. Such task force shall consist of 6 fourteen members which shall include the commissioner of transportation 7 or their designee, the commissioner of environmental conservation or 8 their designee, the commissioner of health or their designee, the 9 commissioner of the department of environmental protection, or their 10 designee, and ten other members to be appointed by the governor as 11 follows: two upon the recommendation of the temporary president of the 12 senate, two upon the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly, one 13 upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the senate, one upon 14 the recommendation of the minority leader of the assembly, and four 15 without recommendation from any other person. The appointed members of 16 the task force shall include a representative of local governments with- 17 in the East of Hudson watershed and individuals with expertise in at 18 least one of the following: civil engineering, hydrology, geology, the 19 science of road salt contamination, highway maintenance and operations, 20 and public health. For the purposes of this act, the East of Hudson 21 watershed shall include portions of Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester 22 counties that make up the drainage basin for the New York city reservoir 23 system, consistent with the boundaries delineated by geographic informa- 24 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. LBD07100-01-3S. 2706 2 1 2. Task force members shall receive no compensation for their services 2 but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in 3 the performance of their duties, to the extent funds are appropriated 4 for such purpose. The commissioner of environmental conservation and the 5 commissioner of transportation shall serve as joint chairs of the task 6 force. A majority of the members of the task force shall constitute a 7 quorum for the transaction of business or the exercise of any power or 8 function of the task force. Any vacancies on the task force shall be 9 filled in the manner provided for in the initial appointment. 10 3. The task force shall be authorized to hold public hearings and 11 meetings, and to consult with any organization, educational institution, 12 or other government entity or person, to enable it to accomplish its 13 duties. To effectuate the purposes of this act, the task force may 14 request and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau, 15 commission or other agency of the state or any state public authority 16 such assistance to the extent funds are available, and any such informa- 17 tion and data as will enable the task force to properly carry out its 18 powers and duties hereunder, provided however that any request for 19 information and data shall be reasonable in scope and volume, and 20 provided further that any and all information received by the task force 21 from the department of transportation shall not be redisclosed absent 22 specific authorization by the department of transportation. 23 4. The task force shall undertake a review and assessment of road salt 24 contamination within the East of Hudson watershed and assess current 25 state, local, and commercial policies and practices with respect to 26 state and local roadway, parking lot, driveway, and sidewalk management 27 in winter weather within the East of Hudson watershed. This review and 28 assessment shall take into consideration the best available science 29 concerning road salt contamination and the nature, scope and magnitude 30 of associated impacts to surface and ground waters, public and private 31 lands, property and infrastructure. This assessment shall also be based 32 on due consideration of public safety and the safety of the traveling 33 public. 34 5. The task force shall prepare and submit to the governor, the tempo- 35 rary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chairs of 36 the senate committees on transportation, environmental conservation and 37 health, and the chairs of the assembly committees on transportation, 38 environmental conservation and health, on or before December first, two 39 thousand twenty-four, a report containing: 40 (a) findings of an initial assessment of the nature, scope and magni- 41 tude of associated impacts of road salt on surface and ground waters, 42 public and private lands, property, health and infrastructure in the 43 East of Hudson watershed. This assessment shall include the identifica- 44 tion of possible sources of salt contamination; 45 (b) a review of current state, local, and commercial winter road 46 management practices and levels of service for state and local roadways, 47 parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks in the East of Hudson watershed; 48 (c) recommendations, including consideration of estimate environ- 49 mental, implementation, and liability costs for state and local govern- 50 ments and the public with respect to: 51 i. enhancement of winter road maintenance levels of service and best 52 management practices and road salt reduction techniques to reduce state 53 and local roadway, parking lot, driveway, and sidewalk salt contam- 54 ination of surface and ground waters in the East of Hudson watershed, 55 with due consideration of public safety and the safety of the traveling 56 public;S. 2706 3 1 ii. recommendations for rapid response best practices to surface and 2 ground water contamination in the East of Hudson watershed, including a 3 determination of cost, with the intent to minimize impacts for homeown- 4 ers to be developed in cooperation with the department of health and the 5 department of environmental conservation; 6 iii. establishment of a training program for state and local winter 7 road maintenance workers and best practices for commercial applications 8 of road salt used on any surfaces; and 9 iv. advancement of a public education campaign to inform the public 10 about road salt contamination and how the public can reduce the need for 11 road salt; 12 (d) recommendations for a publicly accessible record-keeping database 13 system for road salt purchases and applications within the East of 14 Hudson watershed; 15 (e) recommendations for road salt reduction targets for the East of 16 Hudson watershed that may be used to guide the department of transporta- 17 tion, department of health, department of environmental conservation, 18 local governments in the East of Hudson watershed and commercial enti- 19 ties in measurably reducing sodium and chloride levels in surface and 20 ground waters, provided, however, that such targets represent recommen- 21 dations that may be adjusted by the department of transportation or 22 local governments if the department of transportation or local govern- 23 ments determine that adjustments are necessary to maintain the state and 24 local roadways in a reasonably safe condition; and 25 (f) recommendations for an East of Hudson watershed road salt 26 reduction pilot program including monitoring and operational plan goals, 27 objectives, and activities that may be used as guidance for a future 28 pilot program, subject to appropriation, including: 29 i. varying application methods, rates and frequencies with the intent 30 to measurably reduce road salt applied to state and local roadways, 31 parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks within the East of Hudson 32 watershed. This shall include test comparisons of applications consist- 33 ing primarily of abrasives and applications consisting primarily of 34 deicers, especially anti-icing and deicing brines; 35 ii. implementation of well-established best practices such as cutting 36 back the canopy where legal and appropriate, and pre-wetting abrasives 37 or solid deicers; 38 iii. use of the best available technology and equipment for winter 39 road management; 40 iv. changes to traffic management when weather events make road condi- 41 tions hazardous; 42 v. monitoring of water quality of surface and ground waters on down- 43 hill slopes of state and local roadways, parking lots, driveways, and 44 sidewalks in the East of Hudson watershed; 45 vi. monitoring of road conditions along state roadways within the East 46 of Hudson watershed; 47 vii. monitoring of truck operators using post-trip reporting; 48 viii. tracking of weather-related crash rates on state and local road- 49 ways within the East of Hudson watershed; and 50 ix. the conducting of a public education and outreach campaign to 51 inform East of Hudson watershed residents and visitors of changes to 52 winter road maintenance practices and engaging the public in changing 53 behaviors to support road salt reduction efforts. 54 § 2. 1. The department of transportation and the department of envi- 55 ronmental conservation shall review the report of the East of Hudson 56 watershed road salt reduction task force, established pursuant toS. 2706 4 1 section one of this act, shall conduct water sampling and analysis, and 2 shall incorporate into a road salt pilot program in the East of Hudson 3 watershed those recommendations that, in the discretion of the commis- 4 sioner of transportation, will not jeopardize the health and safety of 5 the traveling public and for which an appropriation is available. Such 6 road salt pilot program shall be established two years after such water 7 sampling and analysis has been completed to establish necessary baseline 8 data. Local governments in the East of Hudson watershed may review the 9 report of the East of Hudson watershed road salt reduction task force, 10 established pursuant to section one of this act, and may incorporate 11 into a road salt pilot program in their jurisdiction those recommenda- 12 tions that, in the discretion of the commissioner of transportation and 13 the local government, will not jeopardize the health and safety of the 14 traveling public and for which funding is available. 15 2. Following the incorporation of the recommendations into a road salt 16 pilot program, the department of transportation and department of envi- 17 ronmental conservation shall submit a summary report to the governor, 18 temporary president of the senate, and speaker of the assembly by August 19 30, 2028, of the results of such pilot program, including the identifi- 20 cation of effective and ineffective techniques for winter road mainte- 21 nance and revised levels of service in the East of Hudson watershed. 22 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire 5 years 23 after the pilot program established pursuant to section two of this act 24 is conducted when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be 25 deemed repealed.
