The Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force will be meeting in Lake Placid on April 11th from 1-3 pm. The meeting is open to the public and there is an opportunity for public comment, both for those attending in-person and virtually.
Chapter 67 of the Laws of 2021 (A.990/S.1306) establishes the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Task Force (Task Force) to assess the impacts of road salt on the environment and to conduct a comprehensive review of best management practices for the use of salt on roadways, parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks within the Adirondack Park, while also considering public safety.
The second public meeting of the Task Force, which will provide the public an opportunity to make comments both in-person and virtually, has been scheduled for Monday, April 11 at 1 p.m. at the Olympic Regional Development Authority, 2634 Main Street in Lake Placid. The meeting will take place in the second-floor conference room.
Research by the Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI) at Paul Smith’s College has indicated that surface and groundwater is being contaminated by winter road salt runoff that is high in sodium and chlorides. AWI estimates that the salt load on roads in the Upper Saranac Lake watershed is approximately 1,242 tons annually. Upper Saranac Lake has a substantially higher concentration level of salt compared to Adirondack lakes without paved roads — 10 times higher for sodium, 35 times higher for chloride — and nearly 4 times greater than it was in 1991.
The Task Force will update the public on its progress to date, accept any/all public comments for the record, establish a framework for future meetings and public information sessions, and discuss steps for developing recommendations to the Governor and Legislative leaders.
Those attending in person will have an opportunity to provide comments directly to Task Force members at the meeting. Those wishing to access the meeting virtually can register here. The general public and those attending virtually can also provide comments to the Task Force via email at: ADKSaltReductionTaskForce@nysemail.state.ny.us.