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Ontario should cut its reliance on road salt by lowering speed limits in winter and making winter tires mandatory, a report by environmental groups says.
In a study released Tuesday, the Sierra Legal Defence Fund and the RiverSides Stewardship Alliance say road salt should be regulated in the same manner as other environmentally toxic substances.
READ THE REPORT: A Low-Salt Diet for Ontario’s Roads and RiversSpecifically, the study says the province should have rules for the storage of salt, its application on roads and the disposal of salt-contaminated snow. It says consistent and enforceable guidelines for salt storage and handling would reduce the amount of salt that finds its way into soil and drinking water sources.
“While voluntary road salts management programs exist and legal remedies can be used to redress the harm caused by road salt, there is currently no comprehensive road salts management regime to provide an appropriate balance between ecosystem protection and winter road maintenance,” the study says.
It calls on Ontario to decrease reliance on salt by using other, more environmentally friendly compounds to remove ice and snow from its roads and highways.
The study also says that less salt would be needed if speed limits were reduced in snowy weather, and if winter tires were made mandatory for all vehicles in the province.
The report is part of an application to overturn an Ontario regulation that exempts road salt from the terms of the Environmental Protection Act.