Bill Text: NY S08663 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes the Adirondack road salt reduction task force, pilot plan and test program.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)
Status: (Passed) 2020-12-02 - approval memo.25 [S08663 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S08663-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8663--A IN SENATE 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: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Randy 2 Preston road salt reduction act". 3 § 2. 1. There is hereby established an Adirondack road salt reduction 4 task force, hereinafter referred to as the "task force", to conduct a 5 comprehensive review of road salt contamination and road management best 6 practices within the Adirondack park. Such task force shall consist of 7 fourteen members which shall include the commissioner of transportation 8 or their designee, the commissioner of environmental conservation or 9 their designee, the commissioner of health or their designee, the execu- 10 tive director of the Adirondack park agency or their designee, and ten 11 other members to be appointed by the governor as follows: two upon the 12 recommendation of the temporary president of the senate, two upon the 13 recommendation of the speaker of the assembly, one upon the recommenda- 14 tion of the minority leader of the senate, one upon the recommendation 15 of the minority leader of the assembly, and four without recommendation 16 from any other person. 17 2. Task force members shall receive no compensation for their services 18 but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in 19 the performance of their duties, to the extent funds are appropriated 20 for such purpose. The commissioner of environmental conservation and the 21 commissioner of transportation shall serve as joint chairs of the task 22 force. A majority of the members of the task force shall constitute a 23 quorum for the transaction of business or the exercise of any power or 24 function of the task force. Any vacancies on the task force shall be 25 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. LBD13704-11-0S. 8663--A 2 1 3. The task force shall be authorized to hold public hearings and 2 meetings, and to consult with any organization, educational institution, 3 or other government entity or person, to enable it to accomplish its 4 duties. To effectuate the purposes of this act, the task force may 5 request and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau, 6 commission or other agency of the state or any state public authority 7 such assistance, information and data as will enable the task force to 8 properly carry out its powers and duties hereunder. 9 4. The task force shall undertake a review and assessment of road salt 10 contamination within the Adirondack park, assess current department of 11 transportation policies and practices with respect to state roadway 12 management in winter weather within the Adirondack park, and roadway 13 management best practices. This review and assessment shall take into 14 consideration the best available science concerning road salt contam- 15 ination and the nature, scope and magnitude of associated impacts to 16 surface and ground waters, public and private lands, property and 17 infrastructure. 18 5. The task force shall prepare and submit to the governor, the tempo- 19 rary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chairs of 20 the senate committees on transportation, environmental conservation and 21 health, and the chairs of the assembly committees on transportation, 22 environmental conservation and health, on or before September first, two 23 thousand twenty-one, a report containing: 24 (a) findings of an initial assessment of the nature, scope and magni- 25 tude of associated impacts of road salt on surface and ground waters, 26 public and private lands, property, health and infrastructure in the 27 Adirondack park; 28 (b) a review of current state road management practices and levels of 29 service for state and local roadways in the Adirondack park; 30 (c) recommendations for state and local governments and the public 31 with respect to: 32 i. enhancement of winter road maintenance levels of service and best 33 management practices and road salt reduction techniques to reduce road 34 salt contamination of surface and ground waters in the Adirondack park; 35 ii. methods for rapid response to surface and groundwater contam- 36 ination in the Adirondack park with the intent to minimize impacts for 37 homeowners; 38 iii. establishment of a training program for state and local winter 39 road maintenance workers; and 40 iv. advancement of a public education campaign to inform the public 41 about road salt contamination and how the public can reduce the need for 42 road salt; 43 (d) a calculation of the average amount of road salt applied on state 44 roadways annually for the years 2008 through 2018 in the Adirondack park 45 between October and April of each winter road management season to serve 46 as a baseline amount; 47 (e) recommendations for a publicly accessible record-keeping database 48 system for road salt purchases and applications within the Adirondack 49 park; 50 (f) recommendations for road salt reduction targets for the Adirondack 51 park to guide the department of transportation, department of health, 52 and department of environmental conservation in measurably reducing 53 sodium and chloride levels in surface and ground waters; and 54 (g) recommendations for an Adirondack park road salt reduction pilot 55 plan and test program including monitoring and operational plan goals,S. 8663--A 3 1 objectives, and activities to be implemented pursuant to section three 2 of this act. 3 § 3. 1. There is hereby established an Adirondack park road salt 4 reduction pilot plan and test program to be conducted by the department 5 of transportation, in cooperation with the department of environmental 6 conservation, between October 15 and June 30 each year beginning 2021 7 through 2024, to test best management practices, updated levels of 8 service, and overall road salt reduction targets within the Adirondack 9 park. The pilot plan and test shall be implemented on all state-owned 10 roadways within the boundary of the Adirondack park. 11 2. For the duration of the pilot plan and test, the department of 12 transportation and department of environmental conservation shall test a 13 variety of application techniques and road management strategies within 14 the Adirondack park, and shall issue a report on the effectiveness of 15 such techniques and strategies which shall include the resulting impacts 16 on water quality and state roadway levels of service for each technique 17 and strategy. The techniques and strategies employed shall include, but 18 not be limited to: 19 (a) varying application methods, rates and frequencies with the intent 20 to measurably reduce road salt applied to state roadways within the 21 Adirondack park. This shall include test comparisons of applications 22 consisting primarily of abrasives and applications consisting primarily 23 of deicers, especially anti-icing and deicing brines; 24 (b) implementation of well-established best practices such as cutting 25 back the canopy where legal and appropriate, and pre-wetting abrasives 26 or solid deicers; 27 (c) use of the best available technology and equipment for winter road 28 management; 29 (d) changes to traffic management when weather events make road condi- 30 tions hazardous; 31 (e) monitoring of water quality of surface and ground waters on down- 32 hill slopes of state roadways in the Adirondack park; 33 (f) monitoring of road conditions along state roadways within the 34 Adirondack park; 35 (g) monitoring of truck operators using post-trip reporting; 36 (h) tracking of weather-related crash rates on state roadways within 37 the Adirondack park; and 38 (i) the conducting of a public education and outreach campaign to 39 inform Adirondack park residents and visitors of changes to winter road 40 maintenance practices and engaging the public in changing behaviors to 41 support road salt reduction efforts. 42 3. Following the completion of the pilot plan and test, the department 43 of transportation and department of environmental conservation shall 44 submit a summary report to the governor, temporary president of the 45 senate, and speaker of the assembly by August 30, 2024, of the results 46 of such pilot plan and test, including the identification of effective 47 and ineffective techniques for winter road maintenance and revised 48 levels of service in the Adirondack park. 49 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 50 deemed repealed December 31, 2024.
