Skilled personnel at all levels within a maintenance organization are absolutely essential to a successful snow and ice control program. Managers and supervisors need to be skilled at interpreting road and weather information. Operators need to be skilled in equipment operation, calibration, “reading the road” and common sense. These skills do not just happen. They are the result of comprehensive training programs.

Training documentation should be factual. The following quote regarding road salt effects on the environment was taken directly from the Cornell Local Roads Program training manual (Amsler, 2006):

“Wildlife and Aquatic Life

Salt is an essential nutrient for animals as well as humans. Animals will not consume more salt than necessary. Salt licks are widely used as a source of necessary salt for both wild and domestic animals. The high incidence of deer kills on highways is due to their normal migration patterns, and the fact that vegetation near highways is usually lush and highly concentrated. This makes feeding in that area very efficient. The level of salt present in roadside grasses is unlikely to make it taste different.

Trout and salmon are tolerant to huge concentrations of salt. They thrive in the ocean environment that is about 30,000 parts per million salt. Most fresh water fish can tolerate 7,500 to 10,000 parts per million salt in water. This is far in excess of any possible level resulting from normal highway salting. There is no evidence to suggest that salt levels in water resulting from highway de-icing have any significant impact on aquatic life.

There is a possibility of creating saltwater inversions in deeper lakes with excessive road salt use. This did happen in a bay of Lake Ontario several years ago. Since then, there has been a concentrated effort to use salt sensibly in that area and all around the state. The condition has not recurred.”

The information conveyed in the above quote is factually incorrect based on the accumulation of scientific evidence. If this is the message being conveyed to local operators, then what incentive do they have to consider the environment in their salt management plan?

All personnel involved in snow and ice control should be required to participate in training programs, and training programs should be reviewed and updated frequently to ensure that the latest and correct information is communicated. There should be a requirement of periodic retraining, continuing education.

Article found at (protectadks.org) Adirondack Watershed Institute Paul Smith's College