Politics & Government

DEP Relaxes Snow Disposal Regulations to Deal With Mounting Piles

The move by the state agency aims to strike a balance between public safety and environmental protection.

State environmental officials are loosening their snow disposal rules to give towns that are running out of places to dump snow more options, including letting them dump plowed snow in rivers and streams.

“The DEP recognizes that the amount of snow accumulating this winter is creating unique issues for cities and towns,” said DEP Commissioner Amy Marrella.  “DEP has, however, adjusted its guidance on this issue to say that snow can be disposed in salt water and certain waterways when upland locations are no longer available and other options, such as snow melting, are not practical.”

Record snowfall so far this winter has strained the budgets and disposal options for many Connecticut cities and towns.

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Under its revised rules the DEP will allow municipalities to dispose of some snow in a limited number of waterways, but only snow plowed from streets and contaminated just with sand and salt. 

In Hamden, crews have been working around the clock and on weekends removing snow from streets. The town hired private contractors to help truck the snow to the town's transfer station, which is temporarily closed for regular garbage dropoffs. It also made space at the Town Center Park for snow loads to be dumped.

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One prominent environmental group said Friday that allowing the dumping of snow into waterways should be used only as a last resort.

“Taking the massive buildup of snow we currently have and dumping it in our waterways is the equivalent of dumping municipal garbage into our rivers and Long Island Sound — it should remain illegal in all but the most extreme and controlled circumstances,” said Roger Reynolds, senior attorney for the New Haven-based Connecticut Fund for the Environment. “The snow that is currently on the ground is not just water — it contains garbage, motor oil and feces from animals, among many other toxic and bacterial pollutants.”

But Marrella said the revised guidelines are in recognition of mounting public safety concerns regarding the large snow banks along roadways in many communities. Some local roads have become narrowed to one lane because of the encroaching snow banks, creating safety hazards.

“When it comes to disposing of all this snow, we must strike the right balance between environmental protection and public safety,” Marrella said. “The preferred practice has been – and remains – for plowed snow to be stockpiled at upland locations, such as parks and playing fields, due to the presence of contaminants in the snow that can adversely impact water quality and aquatic life.”

Under the temporarily revised rules, municipalities must either notify the DEP prior to disposing of snow in any waterways, or contact the agency as soon as possible after doing so.

The revised guidelines also require that towns and cities exhaust all other options for disposing of snow before dumping it in local waterways and make sure it is not visibly contaminated with substances other than salt or sand. Coastal communities are encouraged to dump snow in saltwater areas instead of rivers or streams and disposal of snow in lakes or ponds is discouraged.

When dumping snow in a river or stream, the DEP guidelines say, officials should make sure they limit it to water bodies that have adequate flow and are not prone to ice jams.

The revised rules mandate that no snow be disposed of in “coastal or freshwater wetlands, eelgrass beds, vegetated shallows, vernal pools, shellfish beds mudflats, public water supply reservoirs and their tributaries, or others areas designated as being environmentally sensitive.”


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