We need to oppose sb 365 which would phase out the use of Chloride-based liquid de-icers on sections of public highways that are within 1 mile of the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Bighorn, Bitterroot, Clark Fork, Flathead, Kootenai, Madison, Milk, Missouri, 14 Musselshell, Swan, and Yellowstone rivers.
Reasons:
1. Deicer use on public roads and highways are an integral part of our operational plan to meet PM-10 air pollution standards. We cannot meet air quality standards and provide reasonable safe driving conditions without the widespread use of chloride based materials on the roads.
2. The use of sanding materials for winter traction has been shown to cause the violation of Human Health Air Standards ( the PM-10 standard) in several Montana communities when the snow melts and all of the winter sanding materials are disturbed by traffic.
3. The Missoula Water Quality district has conducted literature searches in the past and has found no literature that indicates that salt is a measurable concern for aquatic life at the rate of application that occurs from runoff due to road ice melt.
4. If Missoula and other communities that use deicer to attain Federal Air Quality standards fail to comply with it's Federally mandated State Implimentation Plan which requires the use of deicer to control dust caused by sanding material, we could loose all Federal Transportation Funds coming to those communities which is many millions of dollars per year.
5. There is quite a lot of documented adverse aquatic impact from the use of sanding materials where run-off goes into the streams because of sedimentation.
6. The Highway Department and some local government has materials specifications or regulations for deicers and salt to insure that other toxins in the deicers are not a problem for aquatic life. This includes nitrates, heavy metals and pesticides.
7. The bill apparently applies to all roads because the only definition of "public Highway" I found is: in MCA 69-12-101 (12) "Public highway" means a public street, road, highway, or way in this state.
We need to oppose sb 365 which would phase out the use of Chloride-based liquid de-icers on sections of public highways that are within 1 mile of the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Bighorn, Bitterroot, Clark Fork, Flathead, Kootenai, Madison, Milk, Missouri, 14 Musselshell, Swan, and Yellowstone rivers.
ReplyDeleteReasons:
1. Deicer use on public roads and highways are an integral part of our operational plan to meet PM-10 air pollution standards. We cannot meet air quality standards and provide reasonable safe driving conditions without the widespread use of chloride based materials on the roads.
2. The use of sanding materials for winter traction has been shown to cause the violation of Human Health Air Standards ( the PM-10 standard) in several Montana communities when the snow melts and all of the winter sanding materials are disturbed by traffic.
3. The Missoula Water Quality district has conducted literature searches in the past and has found no literature that indicates that salt is a measurable concern for aquatic life at the rate of application that occurs from runoff due to road ice melt.
4. If Missoula and other communities that use deicer to attain Federal Air Quality standards fail to comply with it's Federally mandated State Implimentation Plan which requires the use of deicer to control dust caused by sanding material, we could loose all Federal Transportation Funds coming to those communities which is many millions of dollars per year.
5. There is quite a lot of documented adverse aquatic impact from the use of sanding materials where run-off goes into the streams because of sedimentation.
6. The Highway Department and some local government has materials specifications or regulations for deicers and salt to insure that other toxins in the deicers are not a problem for aquatic life. This includes nitrates, heavy metals and pesticides.
7. The bill apparently applies to all roads because the only definition of "public Highway" I found is: in MCA 69-12-101 (12) "Public highway" means a public street, road, highway, or way in this state.
-J. Carlson