by BayKeeper Tom Kutcher
We’re already waist-deep in snow, with more on the way. In
some areas, there’s no more space between roads and sidewalks, or between
sidewalks and buildings. In other areas, snow piles are almost too high for
manual shoveling. So it’s easy to wonder: What do we do with all the snow?
The answer is NOT “dump it in the Bay”. In fact, Rhode
Island and Massachusetts have nearly identical snow disposal policies that
require towns and cities to exhaust all other options before dumping snow into
the Bay or other bodies of water, because pollutants, such as salt and sand,
and oil, gas and metals from our cars mix with and stick to the snow.
Freshly fallen, pristine snow is beautiful and unpolluted.
But not long into any snowfall, the snow gradually begins to turn brown and
black, as it mixes with melting chemicals, litter, and vehicle fluids. Consider
how filthy the snow gets on Route 95 or in the shopping mall parking lot.
That’s a great reminder of how dirty our roads actually are. Dumping this snow
into the water is basically equivalent to dumping those pollutants directly
into our rivers and Bay.
In Rhode Island and Massachusetts, towns and cities are
required to have a snow disposal plan that identifies and prioritizes disposal
sites by least environmental impact. For example, large open spaces, such as
dirt parking lots, located away from surface waters, where snow melt can be
captured by catch basins or gradually filtered into the soil as it melts are
least impactful. Areas adjacent to surface waters, such as wetlands, rivers,
streams, lakes, reservoirs, and the Bay itself, are to be avoided.
Of course, there can be extraordinary circumstances, such as
when public safety is at risk, and when all less impactful options planned have
been exhausted. In these cases, state agencies may exercise discretion and not enforce
against a community for dumping snow into the water without a pollution
discharge permit. The states’ snow disposal policies allow for the disposal of
snow that is not obviously contaminated with pollutants into certain
waterbodies if municipalities contact the agency and avoid environmentally sensitive
areas, such as wetlands, ponds, and areas prone to shoreline erosion.
