A pair of state House members want to see PennDOT reduce the amount of road salt it uses each winter.

Rep. Joe Webster, D-Collegeville, and Rep. Benjamin Sanchez, D-Abington, are circulating a co-sponsorship memorandum for legislation they are drafting that would ask the state Transportation Department and Department of Environmental Protection to collaborate on best practices for the use and reduction of road salt in Pennsylvania.

“PennDOT reports having used an average of over 801,000 tons of salt on its roadways over each of the last five winters,” Webster and Sanchez wrote. “This staggering number does not include the amount that municipal governments, businesses, and individuals used. It takes only one teaspoon of salt to permanently contaminate five gallons of water, and salt is permanently changing the chemistry of our freshwater streams. Even salt concentrations generally recognized as safe can negatively affect our freshwater ecosystems, and high salt concentrations are toxic to fish and other wildlife that absorb or drink it.”

The lawmakers say their bill will be based on a state law in Maryland.

Maryland uses salt brine – a liquid solution that is 22 percent salt and 78 percent water – before, during and after winter weather events and has two “tow plows” – separate plows towed behind a salt/plow truck to clear an additional travel lane. The state also has designated routes where only salt brine is used as a direct liquid application for the duration of a storm, using less salt overall when compared to routes where rock salt only is used. The agency pre-wets rock salt with salt brine to reduce the “bounce and scatter” effect of salt solids ricocheting off the highway.

Maryland’s Department of the Environment is monitoring streams and reservoirs and is working with jurisdictions to control salt use and improve water quality through the agency’s Nonpoint Source Program. Local governments are required to implement practices to reduce salt use.

“Salt corrodes and destroys our infrastructure and vehicles, costing about $5 billion worth of damage in the U.S. each year. Some cities have implemented alternative practices, such as applying anti-icing brine solutions made with biodegradable substances to reduce the amount of salt needed. For example, PennDOT used 12.6 million gallons of salt brine in the winter of 2021-2022. Others have opted to mix their rock salt with sand or chips that can help create more traction on roads and be reused in future winters,” Webster and Sanchez wrote. “Other road applications or plowing practices can keep our roads safe for winter driving without putting the environment and wildlife at such a risk.”