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Carl Baden, Pine Plains Highway Superintendent, shown in a photo last year with one of the town’s trucks. A study is underway by Dutchess County Comptroller Gregg Pulver to determine whether using a brine mixture on county roads instead of rock salt for winter storms would help save both the environment and money for Dutchess County.
Robin Roraback
POUGHKEEPSIE — Dutchess County Comptroller Gregg Pulver has launched a study to consider alternatives to using road salt on county roads.
Pulver said, “We are always looking to save taxpayer’s money and launching environmentally friendly road salt is a great way to accomplish both saving your money and protecting our environment.
“The brine solution may significantly reduce costs for our highway department while removing the harmful impact traditional road salt has on our waterways, roads, and soil in Dutchess County, not to mention the excessive damage it does to vehicles by prematurely rusting.”
Pulver said he has long been aware of the effects road salt can have.
“My parents well was contaminated from road salt years ago. Since then, I’ve always advocated for less usage.”
The inspiration for the study came from Rhinebeck where highway superintenden Bob Wyant saw a video on how to make a brine mixer.
The brine mixer churns salt and water to make a mixture, which when applied to winter roads has been shown to be more effective and cheaper than the traditional rock salt used now. It is also safer for the environment.
Once it is applied, the water in the brine evaporates, leaving a coating of salt which sticks to the roads. Traditional rock salt tends to bounce and roll off the roads and into waterways where it gets into drinking water and raises salinity, which can be unhealthy, especially for people with high blood pressure.
It also affects fish, plants, gets into soil, and affects ecosystems, according to “ROAD SALT, The Problem, The Solution, and How to Get There,” a study by the Cary Institute of Ecosystems Studies in Millbrook.
Where rock salt must be applied right before or during a storm, brine can be applied up to forty-eight hours before a storm, which also can save on labor.
The Cary study recommends “a 23% salt brine solution to pre-treat roads before the onset of storms. Estimates suggest that road pre-treatment with brine can yield a 75% savings in total salt applied.”
It is noted that brine, while a good solution, is not a perfect one.
Studies note winter rains can wash brine away and into waterways. Brine may not be as effective as rock salt in certain conditions. Rock salt is more effective on ice caused by freezing rain.
In Halifax, Canada, municipality spokesperson Erin DiCarlo noted, “Conditions must be correct in order to apply this liquid chemical to a roadway and be effective. If the storm is forecast to begin with rain, the city may avoid using brine. Also, the temperature can’t be too low, and the humidity can’t be too high.”
It is also more caustic than rock salt and can cause rust on cars and trucks.
As brine sticks to roads, it will also adhere to automobiles. It is recommended to wash cars periodically.
According to ADK Action (Adirondack Mountain Club), which has studied the effects of salt on the environment, particularly in the Adirondacks, brine should be used in conjunction with other methods of reducing salt use, such as precise application (computerized release of salt/brine), listening to RWIS (Road Weather Information System) to plan ahead for storms, making a map of sensitives areas (such as near waterways), upgrading equipment, improved training of plow drivers, educating the public, good storage and clean-up of salt, including the possibility of recycling water from washing plow trucks for the brine mixture, and monitoring and evaluating salt use.
Comptroller Pulver said, “We are putting together the scope of the study now and hope to have that complete early next week. I have already reached out for preliminary information from several sources including Cornell Local Roads Program and Washington County DPW. Once we get the facts, we will be able to make evidence-based recommendations on whether or not to proceed.”
He added, “This is a brand-new study, we’re going to begin immediately, and I’m not sure I can place an exact timeline on an implementation. My office provides oversight and official recommendations. It would be on the Department of Public Works to implement.
“And to clarify, this would be for county roads. We will of course share the results of our studies with local municipalities like Pine Plains, but I have no control over their decision-making process,” he emphasized.
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Amenia approves several key initiatives
May 08, 2024
Amenia’s Town Hall gym floor replacement was approved by the Town Board.
John Coston
AMENIA — Resolutions approving progress on several initiatives including a new Town Hall gym floor, environmental assessments for a new town garage and engineering services for the water district all won unanimous approval by the Town Board at its regular meeting on Thursday, May 2.
The need to replace the 2,436 square feet of flooring in the Town Hall gym has been under consideration for months, leading to a decision by the Town Board to utilize the services of local architect Tracy Salladay whose work will be to invite proposals from contractors for the project. The resolution indicates that the contractors’ proposals will need to be submitted by Friday, May 31.
Underlying the layers of gym flooring is an original maple floor, but the overall condition is unknown. Part of the project will be to uncover and assess the condition with Town Supervisor Leo Blackman and the architect to determine whether restoration might be an option.
If the maple floor turns out to be in poor condition, then the alternative as explained in the resolution will be to install a rubber-base floor of Herculan.
Because plans to build a new town garage measuring 13,000 square feet with additional storage buildings would involve below-ground infrastructure including a well, buried fuel tank, buried propane tank and a septic system, a state environmental assessment review process is required.
Preliminary planning work had been completed by LaBella Associates, architects, leading the Town Board to vote unanimously to invite that firm to proceed with the environmental assessment step.
The local water district needs professional engineering services to assess the current well systems and propose future capital projects. By unanimous vote, the Town Board agreed to move ahead with seeking proposals for those services. The engineers would be charged with assessing the entire water district reviewing sources, storage and distribution systems, and to make recommendations for capital improvements along with potential funding sources.
The Town Board has also defined topics to be discussed at its next meeting on Thursday, May 16, assigning each topic to a councilmember.
In response to some residents’ comments that the town should impose term limits on elected positions, councilmember Paul Winters said that he would prefer to poll public opinion in preparation for his report to the board. He said that he would like residents’ feedback on two questions. The first is whether residents feel that elected officials should be limited to a certain number of consecutive terms totaling perhaps 12 or 16 years of service in a given position. The other question asks for feedback on the length of individual terms on the Town Board. At present each councilmember serves a four-year term, but the Town Supervisor serves a two-year term. Winters is seeking input on whether the Town Supervisor’s term should also be four years in length.
Residents may email Winters at pwinters@ameniany.gov to offer their thoughts on the questions. He plans to report results to the board on May 16.
Winters will also be submitting a preliminary draft of possible regulations that could support the town’s opting in to the state’s regulations governing cannabis distribution.
Review of the town’s procurement policy is assigned to councilwoman Rosanna Hamm for report at the next meeting.
Supervisor Blackman will be reporting on his effort to define the scope of the Comprehensive Plan Committee.
Also up for discussion at the next meeting will be the Wassaic Kilns and the prospect of the town assuming responsibility for the site. Under discussion will be proposed hours when the site will be open for visitors, security, and maintenance.
Appropriate zoning changes to allow multi-family housing will be another topic discussed on May 16. Once the Town Board reaches a consensus on a proposed change, the discussion would be passed on to the Plannng Board for their review in advance of Dutchess County review.
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Little League game day
May 08, 2024
Webutuck’s Crown Energy players exchange game-over handshakes with the Taconic Brewers on Saturday, May 4 .
John Coston
Pink Flamingo and Cocktails
May 08, 2024
"Flamingo" by Andrea Sanchez at The Art Bar.
Alexander Wilburn
The Art Bar, the new cocktail lounge located on the second floor of Great Falls Brewery in North Canaan, unveiled a splashy series of paintings on its walls on Friday, May 3. Artist Andrea Sanchez is a Connecticut native with ancestral roots in the Caribbean Sea. With ties to Puerto Rico through both of her parents, Sanchez’s acrylic on canvas works draw inspiration from the island’s scenery and wildlife, and possibly from Puerto Rican artists like Raul Ortiz Bonilla, whose bold-colored scenes of nature are housed in the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. For more on Andrea Sanchez, follow her on Instagram @kisstheheavens_art.
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