Task force members and Adirondack nonprofits urge Gov. Hochul to follow through on report recommendations
By Zachary Matson
In a pair of letters sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul last month, the members of a salt reduction task force and a coalition of Adirondack nonprofits urged action on proposals to reduce salt use in the Adirondack Park.
All 10 of the task force members appointed by Hochul joined the letter, while the other members represented the departments of Transportation, Health and Environmental Conservation and the Adirondack Park Agency.
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The members in the letter wrote that state agencies “need to be empowered to embrace its findings and take the immediate steps necessary to reduce salt use.” The letter called on Hochul to direct DEC and DOT to develop a salt reduction action plan and a “specific timetable for implementing the report’s recommendations.”
While in the Adirondacks on Friday, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said he was proud of the department’s work on the task force, noting recommendations would enable the state to “begin weaning ourselves off of salt, while keeping the roads safe for transit.”
“It’s going to be an important focus of ours moving forward in the Adirondacks and elsewhere in the state where you have sensitive natural features and ecological concerns,” Seggos said.
Since the report was released in September, some task force members have expressed frustration that it didn’t include a specific action plan or accountability mechanism to carry out the recommendations.
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When the task force was still developing the report, some members had sought to establish an oversight committee, but that idea was passed over at the behest of state officials, according to task force members.
A Hochul spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Groups eye interagency council
Seven Adirondack organizations – Adirondack Watershed Institute, Adirondack Council, AdkAction, Ausable River Association, Adirondack Lakes Alliance, Adirondack Mountain Club and Upper Saranac Foundation – joined a separate letter to the governor.
That letter offered a more detailed policy request. The organizations requested Hochul establish an interagency council and appoint a state coordinator on salt reduction efforts. The council could be modeled on an invasive species workgroup that helps organize state responses among different agencies.
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“I think that would be a great achievement if we could get that to work,” said Zoe Smith, director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute. Smith said it was important to maintain focus and attention on road salt reduction, prompting the groups to urge continued action. “We don’t want to lose momentum.”
While the standard would do little for Adirondack lakes, where the greatest chloride concentrations weigh in around 60 mg/l, it could serve as the basis for establishing lower target concentrations in the Adirondacks.
A DEC spokesperson recently said the water division was evaluating a chloride standard. Agency proposals and public comment opportunities could be available next year.
The letter also detailed what could be included in a plan to implement the task force recommendations. It suggested investing in current DOT projects to study salt reduction while detailed a longer term plan for scaling salt reduction efforts statewide by 2030. The letter proposed reallocating part of DOT’s salt budget to reduction efforts – an approach some local departments have used.
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“We thought this was such a great opportunity for her administration to build on the success of the report and make some big strides,” said Sawyer Bailey, executive director of nonprofit AdkAction.
The groups also backed a task force recommendation to adopt a state chloride water standard for aquatic environments. The federal Environmental Protection Agency in 1988 recommended a chronic standard of 230 mg/l, and many states have adopted that or a similar standard – but not New York.
The seven organizations represent a mix of hikers, lake associations, scientists, watershed stewards and policy advocates. The groups started discussing actions they could take following the report’s release. By pressing for a more structured approach to salt reduction, they hope to see the report’s recommendations made real – even if it takes years to do so.
“Now that it’s here, it’s a good report, but what are we going to do about it?” said Scott Ireland, executive director of the Adirondack Lakes Alliance, which represents lake and river associations across the park.
With all the terrible things going on in this state we waste ti of salt on highways.Time would be better spent finding industry and work for those in Adirondacks APA and others have chased business out while promoting their own interests. The state is heading to record underfunding,loss of residents to states not taxed so heavy and lack of justice for crimes committed.r
I am a truck driver that travels 87 through the Adirondack Park 6 days per week hauling doubles. The reduction of not just salt but plowing as well has made my job unsafe not just for myself but other motorists as well. Cars, trucks, and SUVs in accidents. Big trucks avoiding cars trying to pass when roads are unsafe or loosing control in front of a big truck causing a accident. Big trucks unable to make the large hills, spinng out and getting stuck in the middle of interstate, or worse sliding backwards blocking interstate or into other motorists. (Not just going south but north as well. ) Last year the Governor’s decision to shut down 87 from Plattsburgh to Albany for certain traffic caused more problems on side roads and small towns than it did good. This thought is going to get people seriously injured or worse killed, which then leads the state of New York into law suits which the tax payers can’t afford. Citizens of NY can’t afford not to work because some people in Albany trying to keep others happy for other reasons. The governor needs to start looking at big picture and what is the right thing for everyone not just a few.
You are absolutely right,I am a retired tractor trailer driver of 35 yrs ,I also worked plowing for nys dot and a town crew for a short time ,I used to plow around lake george ,we used the green salt it was better in the lake areas ,the town used a mixture of sand and salt which worked good ,and I know about coming up hills in the snow on rt. 22 on my way to ticondaraga ,sliding sideways not knowing if I was going to make it ,these clowns in office don’t know anything about their own laws,nys has a bare roads policy ,so unless they want lawsuits for major accidents ,they might want to consider carefully
Salting roads in the Adirondacks is a big issue. Too much salt will kill the waterways (streams lakes, etc.). If the waterways are destroyed, tourism will die. With no tourism, there will be no jobs.
If you don’t think this can happen, it happened to the Salten Sea in California. Read about how the great depression affected the Adirondacks. It took over sixty years for property values to recover.
The economy in the Adirondacks is as fragile as the ecosystem. Short sighted decisions do more harm in the long run than carefully considered decisions based on what the long term effects of a policy can be. The mountain roads weren’t salted until the 1980 Olympics. The winter tourism industry wanted the roads cleaned down to the asphalt so people from southern cities could drive up to spend their money skiing, skating, and partying. Thus improving the profitability of the winter tourism industry.
When I was a kid, people drove over roads packed with snow all winter long and the cars didn’t handle nearly as well as they do now. Admittedly, I’m old; but I was under the impression that old people were totally inept at everything we did, so I’m sure the younger generation is capable of learning how to drive on packed snow.
So the question is pretty simple. Do you want your kids to be able to work (and live) in the Adirondacks, or do you want to drive fast (over the speed limit?) on the highways during the winter?