Requires that the department of transportation and every municipality, locality and public authority shall not spread road salt at a rate higher than three hundred pounds per lane mile on average during each snow and ice management season.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9561
SPONSOR: Magnarelli TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the transportation law, in relation to imposing certain
requirements for the distribution of road salt
PURPOSE:
To impose a reasonable minimum spreading standard on all appliers of
road salt to reduce unnecessary use and reduce road salt pollution.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends the Transportation Law by adding a new § 23 to limit
the amount of road salt spread by the state and municipalities to a rate
of no higher than 300 lbs per lane mile on average during each snow and
ice management season. For parking lots and sidewalks, the limit is set
at 4.7 lbs per 1000 square feet. Additionally, it requires that all salt
spreading equipment be metered and calibrated. Finally, it directs the
Department of Transportation to provide annual data on its website
regarding road salt use.
Section 2: Establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
A growing environmental issue in New York is salt pollution from road
salt entering our waterways. In 2020, the State Legislature passed
legislation to create the Adirondack Road Salt Reduction Taskforce.
This taskforce produced a report in 2023 that highlighted the growing
danger of salt pollution in the watersheds of the Adirondacks that
threatens private wells, municipal water supplies, farms, and wildlife.
The report also discussed several best practices for reducing salt use
while maintaining safe roads.
In 2025, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection also
released a report that showed rising salt pollution levels in the reser-
voirs and watersheds that provide drinking water to New York City and
surrounding municipalities. It found that if left unchecked, critical
reservoirs could be rendered unusable by the end of the century.
As a result of these reports, the NYS Assembly Transportation, Environ-
mental Conservation and Health Committees convened a roundtable to
discuss this issue with government agencies and experts and to discuss
ways to reduce salt use. One recommendation from that meeting was to set
a limit on the rate at which road salt can be spread to limit pollution
but still allow for safe maintenance. This bill sets that limit at 300
lbs per lane mile over the average of a season, which is above the
current spreading rate used by NYSDOT and serves as a baseline to
provide guidance to other highway departments.
Additionally, the Roundtable highlighted the need for all road salt
equipment to be properly maintained and calibrated to reduce the unnec-
essary waste of salt and to provide good data on how much is being
spread each season. The bill requires that all equipment used to spread
road salt be metered and calibrated. Finally, it requires that NYSDOT
annual provide data on road usage on its website to provide transparen-
cy.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9561
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the transportation law, in relation to imposing certain
requirements for the distribution of road salt
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The transportation law is amended by adding a new section
2 23 to read as follows:
3 § 23. Distribution of road salt. 1. The department, every munici-
4 pality, locality, and public authority shall not spread road salt at a
5 rate higher than three hundred pounds per lane mile on average during
6 each snow and ice management season. The limits for application on
7 parking lots and sidewalks is set at 4.7 pounds per one thousand square
8 feet.
9 2. For the purposes of this section, the term "road salt" shall mean a
10 mineral form of sodium chloride to melt snow and ice on roads by lower-
11 ing water's freezing point.
12 3. All road salt equipment shall be metered and calibrated.
13 4. The department shall provide annual data on its website to the
14 public regarding the use of road salt.
15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13870-02-5
