Revision: Jan. 3, 2024, 4:01 p.m.
SB 511-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2024 SESSION
24-2918
11/08
SENATE BILL 511-FN
AN ACT relative to salt reduction in Merrimack.
SPONSORS: Sen. Chandley, Dist 11; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Rep. Healey, Hills. 12; Rep. N. Murphy, Hills. 12; Rep. Rung, Hills. 12; Rep. W. Thomas, Hills. 12
COMMITTEE: Transportation
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ANALYSIS
This bill specifies salt application requirements and procedures in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2918
11/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT relative to salt reduction in Merrimack.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Salt Reduction; Town of Merrimack. Amend RSA 489-C by inserting after section 5 the following new section:
489-C:6 Salt Reduction; Town of Merrimack.
I. The department of transportation shall use liquid brine only, and not crystallized salt, for anti-icing and de-icing on Industrial Drive west of the Everett Turnpike to Continental Blvd, and on Continental Blvd from Industrial Drive south to Camp Sargent Road and north to Greens Pond Road, provided that temperatures are greater than 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
II. Departmental brine application trucks used in Merrimack and within the dedicated wellhead protection area will be calibrated monthly.
III. The department shall maintain a salt to water solution for its brine near or at 23.3 percent.
IV. The department shall pretreat with a direct liquid brine application to the road 24 hours before the storm when temperatures exceed 20 degrees.
V. The department shall pre-treat Industrial and Continental Blvd with prewetted crystallized salt only when temperatures are below 20 degrees.
VI. Only department trucks, and no subcontracted plows or salt or brine applicators shall be used on Continental Blvd or Industrial Drive within the designated wellhead protection area unless approved by the Merrimack Village District (MVD).
VII. Operators of the brine application and plow truck drivers shall be educated in anti-icing techniques and shall be SnoPro certified or possess other equivalent salt reduction education.
VIII. When the temperatures are below the minimum recommended for brine application, all department trucks applying crystallized salt in Merrimack shall be equipped with salt spreaders which include mechanical or electronic applicators paced with the speed of the trucks, so that no salt can be applied automatically when the trucks are stopped.
IX. The department shall accurately track brine and crystallized salt use within the Naticook Brook Aquifer watershed area using appropriate and common technology capable of meeting this objective. This data will be provided to the Merrimack Village District and the Town of Merrimack on a monthly basis.
X. The rates of crystallized salt applied in the Naticook Brook Aquifer watershed shall be less than 200 lbs. per lane mile during any storm that occurs that is below 20 degrees.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
24-2918
Revised 1/3/24
SB 511-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to salt reduction in Merrimack.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
|
| |||||
Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | None | |||||
Expenditures | $0 | $415,600 | $177,200 | $177,900 | ||
Funding Source(s) | Turnpike Fund | |||||
Appropriations | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | None | |||||
• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No | ||||||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill specifies salt application requirements and procedures for the Department of Transportation, in its winter maintenance, in the town of Merrimack. Under this bill, the Department would be required to utilize liquid brine only as anti-icing for temperatures greater than 20 degrees Fahrenheit. The Department states this will require the Bureau of Turnpikes to purchase a tanker truck to apply the brine and an additional storage tank at the Merrimack shed, as well as hire an additional employee to operate the truck and focus primarily on these areas of the Turnpike. The Department states that due to current economic conditions and a reduction in the manufacturing of this type of tanker truck, it may not be available until the winter of 2025-2026, at the earliest. Below is a summary of estimated costs associated with this bill:
| FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 |
Tanker Truck - Purchase | $297,000 | $0 | $0 |
Storage Tank - Purchase | $40,000 | $0 | $0 |
Tanker Truck - Maintenance | $0 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
Brine | $0 | $90,700 | $90,700 |
New Position (Highway Maintainer III)* | $77,100 | $80,000 | $80,700 |
Training | $1,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
Total | $415,600 | $177,200 | $177,900 |
* Assuming a hire date of 7/1/24 (the Department anticipates the new hire should have one year of state winter maintenance experience to be familiar with its normal operations, and possibly test the new operation of brine only through use of its brine trailer in certain areas).
The Department states that since this bill includes no new funding, should turnpike funds be expended to meet the bill’s requirements, there would be a reduction required to offset in operations and maintenance (e.g., removal of graffiti, removal of homeless encampments, etc.).
It should be noted that this bill provides neither appropriation nor authorization for new personnel.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Transportation