AdkAction has been awarded $50,000 by the Lake Champlain Basin Program for a new “Clean Water, Safe Roads” partnership to reduce salt polluting the 125-mile-long lake between New York and Vermont. Together with partners from Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute and Lake Champlain Sea Grant, this project will implement a comprehensive, personalized outreach and education program to municipal highway departments in the Lake Champlain Basin.

In 2017 AdkAction developed a Pledge to Reduce Road Salt for municipal partners which demonstrates a community’s commitment to work in good faith to reduce the levels of road salt application. “Clean Water, Safe Roads” will support continued education and outreach to Champlain Basin municipalities in New York State who have already signed on to the program’s Pledge to Reduce Road Salt and bring at least 10 additional municipalities on board.

“Recent NYS legislation has created a salt reduction task force and pilot program to address road salt pollution in the Adirondacks,” said AdkAction Executive Director Brittany Christenson. “We’re thrilled that with the support of this grant funding we will be able to provide training and resources for municipalities that will help them prepare for the pilot program. It will be an all-hands-on-deck effort to reverse the trend of rising road salt pollution affecting our waters, and we need a unified regional strategy to succeed.”

Through ongoing education and outreach, community leaders will stay informed about best practices for road salt reduction and be supported in the implementation of community action plans, resulting in a cleaner and healthier freshwater ecosystem for New York, Vermont, and Quebec communities in the Champlain Basin.

The Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) is a Congressionally-designated initiative to restore and protect Lake Champlain and its surrounding watershed. www.lcbp.org