PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 22, 2022
Maine should develop a statewide plan for reducing the amount of salt it uses to treat roads in the winter, a new report said. The report, from the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said the state needs to make salt reduction a priority in parts of the state that are environmentally sensitive. The study, done in collaboration with the Maine Department of Transportation, also said officials should increase the monitoring of chlorides in water bodies and set up a dashboard to inform the public about its findings.