{"id":24834,"date":"2015-08-31T17:38:36","date_gmt":"2015-08-31T22:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=24834"},"modified":"2015-09-29T14:56:00","modified_gmt":"2015-09-29T19:56:00","slug":"when-public-safety-and-water-quality-collide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2015\/08\/when-public-safety-and-water-quality-collide\/","title":{"rendered":"When Public Safety and Water Quality Collide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greater environmental protection and increased public safety are often believed to be synonymous, or at least to go hand-in-hand.\u00a0 Sometimes, though, those goals are arguably in tension.\u00a0 The application of salt to de-ice roads, parking lots, and sidewalks for safe travel is one such case.\u00a0 Those who have lived and worked in northern climates are no doubt familiar with the sensation of excess de-icing salt crunching underfoot during the winter months, and have probably lamented the im\"Striflingpact of excess salt on shoes, clothes, and vehicles.\u00a0 Recent studies have shown<\/a> that disproportionate application of deicing salt also has a significant and negative impact on water quality in the form of elevated chloride concentrations.<\/p>\n

Not much attention has been paid to this problem from a legal or policy standpoint, and it\u2019s unlikely that it can be addressed with traditional regulatory tools providing only limited authority over so-called \u201cnon-point sources,\u201d such as farm fields and \u2013 as relevant to the problem of excess de-icing salt \u2013 roads and parking lots.\u00a0 Alternative policy tools to address the issue might include a salt tax, green infrastructure<\/a>, integrated watershed assessment and management<\/a>, and self-governance at the community or individual levels incentivized by regulators or demanded by customers and the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These concerns are not purely academic; municipalities may face environmental \u201ccitizen suits\u201d over salt application practices.\u00a0 Earlier this month, a federal district court dismissed a pro se<\/em> complaint seeking to hold the City of Omaha, Nebraska, liable under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act over the city\u2019s use of road salt, arguing that it violated the statute\u2019s prohibition against open dumping of solid waste.\u00a0 Krause v. City of Omaha<\/em>, No. 8:15CV197 (D. Neb. Aug. 19, 2015); see also <\/em>42 U.S.C. \u00a7 6945 and 40 CFR \u00a7257.3-1(a).\u00a0 The court found that the plaintiff had not shown that the salts were \u201cdiscarded\u201d and \u201cno longer wanted\u201d as would have been required for liability; instead, the court decided, Omaha used the salt consistent with its intended purpose as a de-icer.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, however, earlier this year a different federal court reached a different outcome in a similar action.\u00a0 In Community Association for Restoration of the Environment, Inc. v. Cow Palace, LLC<\/em>, — F.3d —, 2015 WL 199345 (W.D. Wash. 2015) (\u201cCARE<\/em>\u201d).\u00a0 In CARE<\/em>, a Washington dairy applied manure for the purpose of crop fertilization, a common practice.\u00a0 However, the court determined that the rate of application was far in excess of actual crop fertilization needs, and therefore constituted open dumping of a solid waste.\u00a0 At least theoretically, a similar argument could be made when a municipality or business owner applies salt at rates far in excess of industry-standard rates.\u00a0 The pro se <\/em>plaintiff in Krause <\/em>appears not to have made that argument, but nothing would foreclose it in a future case.<\/p>\n

Broadly speaking, this kind of issue \u2013 which combines aspects of law, policy, and technology \u2013 is one example of what Marquette Law School\u2019s newly expanded Water Law and Policy Initiative<\/a> seeks to explore.\u00a0 Known as \u201cblue gold\u201d<\/a> or \u201cthe new oil\u201d<\/a> by investors and environmentalists alike, water affects all of us.\u00a0 Water issues arise locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.\u00a0 I look forward to growing the Law School\u2019s role in this rapidly changing field.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greater environmental protection and increased public safety are often believed to be synonymous, or at least to go hand-in-hand.\u00a0 Sometimes, though, those goals are arguably in tension.\u00a0 The application of salt to de-ice roads, parking lots, and sidewalks for safe travel is one such case.\u00a0 Those who have lived and worked in northern climates are 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