Missoula County opposes SB 117 – Revise highway de-icer laws, before Senate Highways and Transportation this afternoon. Missoula County has already reduced our liquid deicer use from 82,000 gallons/year in 2007-2010 to 44,000 gallons/year the past 3 years. We feel that we’re at a minimal point already. Liquid deicer provides a better service on main routes for getting to bare, wet asphalt through the winter and reduces the amount of gravel we’d have to use in the same areas, which reduces sweeping efforts in the spring to meet air quality and MS4 standards.
Per Travis Ross: I would recommend opposing this bill. It requires a 10-percent reduction in chloride-based products on public highways. I’m not sure how/if it would apply to county roads but might affect the costs of purchasing magnesium chloride and sodium chloride for local government if the state shifts to a more expensive product (Potassium Acetate). My fear from a water quality standpoint is that traction sand will become the preferred method. Though sodium chloride does degrade soil structure and can burn vegetation, many streams paralleling highways and county roads have been assessed and found to be degraded due to sanding materials. City of Missoula (and five miles out) regulates the chemical constituents in deicer to reduce impacts on water resources. It’s important to recognize the public safety costs to limiting the use of chloride-based products. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to use them, but it’s a tool. Taking it away could lead to some unintended consequences.
Missoula County opposes SB 117, Revise highway de-icer laws, on the Senate floor this afternoon. The bill requires a 10 percent reduction in chloride-based products on public highways, and, if passed, could have unintended consequences. Limiting the use of chloride-based products could shift entities to purchasing a more expensive product, such as potassium acetate. Because of this added expense, it could also lead to the increased use of traction sand, which could have devastating effects on water quality. While sodium chloride does degrade soil structure and can burn vegetation, assessments show that sanding materials lead to worse degradation for streams that parallel highways and county roads. Also, Missoula County has already reduced our liquid deicer use from 82,000 gallons/year in 2007-2010 to 44,000 gallons/year the past three years. We feel that we’re at a minimal point already. Liquid deicer provides a better service on main routes for getting to bare, wet asphalt through the winter. This reduces the amount of gravel we’d have to use in the same areas, which reduces sweeping efforts in the spring to meet air quality and MS4 standards. While the bill may be well-intentioned, it’s important to recognize the public safety costs to limiting the use of chloride-based products. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to use them, but it’s a tool. Taking it away could lead to unintended consequences.
Sent afternoon of Jan. 22:
ReplyDeleteSenators Bennett and Sands,
Missoula County opposes SB 117 – Revise highway de-icer laws, before Senate Highways and Transportation this afternoon. Missoula County has already reduced our liquid deicer use from 82,000 gallons/year in 2007-2010 to 44,000 gallons/year the past 3 years. We feel that we’re at a minimal point already. Liquid deicer provides a better service on main routes for getting to bare, wet asphalt through the winter and reduces the amount of gravel we’d have to use in the same areas, which reduces sweeping efforts in the spring to meet air quality and MS4 standards.
Please oppose SB 117.
Per Travis Ross: I would recommend opposing this bill. It requires a 10-percent reduction in chloride-based products on public highways. I’m not sure how/if it would apply to county roads but might affect the costs of purchasing magnesium chloride and sodium chloride for local government if the state shifts to a more expensive product (Potassium Acetate). My fear from a water quality standpoint is that traction sand will become the preferred method. Though sodium chloride does degrade soil structure and can burn vegetation, many streams paralleling highways and county roads have been assessed and found to be degraded due to sanding materials. City of Missoula (and five miles out) regulates the chemical constituents in deicer to reduce impacts on water resources. It’s important to recognize the public safety costs to limiting the use of chloride-based products. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to use them, but it’s a tool. Taking it away could lead to some unintended consequences.
ReplyDeleteSent morning of Feb. 1:
ReplyDeleteSenators,
Missoula County opposes SB 117, Revise highway de-icer laws, on the Senate floor this afternoon. The bill requires a 10 percent reduction in chloride-based products on public highways, and, if passed, could have unintended consequences. Limiting the use of chloride-based products could shift entities to purchasing a more expensive product, such as potassium acetate. Because of this added expense, it could also lead to the increased use of traction sand, which could have devastating effects on water quality. While sodium chloride does degrade soil structure and can burn vegetation, assessments show that sanding materials lead to worse degradation for streams that parallel highways and county roads. Also, Missoula County has already reduced our liquid deicer use from 82,000 gallons/year in 2007-2010 to 44,000 gallons/year the past three years. We feel that we’re at a minimal point already. Liquid deicer provides a better service on main routes for getting to bare, wet asphalt through the winter. This reduces the amount of gravel we’d have to use in the same areas, which reduces sweeping efforts in the spring to meet air quality and MS4 standards. While the bill may be well-intentioned, it’s important to recognize the public safety costs to limiting the use of chloride-based products. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to use them, but it’s a tool. Taking it away could lead to unintended consequences.
Please oppose SB 117.