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Greater Sudbury City of - (Municipality)

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Since 2005, the City of Greater Sudbury has been operating with a comprehensive Salt Management Plan that is updated every three years. The plan sets out a policy and procedural framework to ensure the City of Greater Sudbury's Linear Infrastructure Services (Road Operations) continuously improves the effective delivery of winter maintenance services and the management of road salt used in winter maintenance operations (as outlined in Environment Canada's ‘Code of Practice for the Environmental Management of Road Salts’ -April 2004The current plan was updated January 18, 2018, and a copy of this document was provided with the 2018 Policy Implementation Report. Several best management practices identified in the Salt Management Plan have already been implemented/partially implemented at the City. Some of the major initiatives include: • Pre-wetting salt to reduce the application rate by 20% • Calibrating and optimizing material dispensing equipment (multi function snowplows) • Storing salt inside covered structures • Minimizing salt brine runoff into environmentally sensitive areas • Continually discuss the usage of salt with Operations Staff and Contractors • Provide annual training to snowplough operators • Continuous winter patrol to ensure the right material is used at the right time • VAMS (value added meteorological services) weather report • Annual reporting to Environment Canada In 2022, the City has engaged with its Consultant to prepare the Salt Management Plan update. The updated Salt Management Plan was in development in 2023 and should be finalized early in 2024. Salt is used to ensure the City meets its Bare Pavement Policy for the municipality’s class one (1) through three (3) roadways when weather conditions permit. There is significant liability associated with not achieving this Council approved and provincially legislated winter control policy. The City must ensure that this Policy is also adhered to in order to balance the use of salt with the safe passage of motorists and pedestrians during the winter months. In 2023, the City of Greater Sudbury retained GHD Limited to undertake a focussed update of the City’s Salt Optimization Plan (SOP) and recommend an option for salt application based on road re-classification (Appendix D). The focussed update is required due to the re-classification of portions of the City’s road network under Ontario Regulation (O.Reg 239/02: “Minimum Maintenance Standards for Highways” made under the Municipal Act, 2001.). The City of Greater Sudbury retained GHD Limited to evaluate the salt vulnerability of the re-classified roadways and recommend areas where salting should be reconsidered. The updated SOP was presented to the City’s Operations Committee during the Summer of 2023 to support a change to how winter control operations improve the responsible use of road salts through out the City of Greater Sudbury. In 2023, the City of Greater Sudbury received a report from GHD Limited, in association with TULLOCH Engineering, concerning surface water samples which were collected in November 2022 to assess the effectiveness or road salt storage and handling best management practices at the City of Greater Sudbury’s Frobisher Depot site (Appendix E). The 2022 surface water sample results were compared to baseline and previous surface water sample results from 2017 and 2019. As per the final report, all sampling locations showed an improvement for both sodium and chloride concentrations over time. There was no visual evidence of vegetative stress or deterioration downstream of Frobisher Depot. Based on the 2022 sampling results, it appears that the implementation of the City’s Salt Management Plan in conjunction with the Risk Management Plan’s best management practices have been effective in reducing the sodium and chloride runoff from Frobisher Depot. With continued best management practice implementation, it is anticipated that future surface water sampling events will continue to show improvement. The area surrounding Ramsey Lake is considered high priority during the spring road-sweeping season to minimize debris and sediment from entering the drinking water source. This action also assists the function of oil/grit/water separators that are currently installed (and those to be installed) in the Ramsey Lake watershed. In 2022, the City of Greater Sudbury secured a Consultant/Architect to assist with the detailed design of a salt/sand handling facility. Some of the main principles that were considered in the design include; covered storage of both pickled sand and salt, chemical storage facility which will enable the City to expand programs such as direct liquid application and integrated wash stations with collection systems that will potentially allow the City to wash their vehicles, capture the runoff, reuse the solution in their pre-wetting and/or direct liquid application or direct the discharge away from any/all environmentally sensitive areas. The design, procurement, and tender for construction phase was planned to begin in 2023. Unfortunately, over the past year, there have been several operational issues which significantly impacted the design and the cost of the salt/sand handling facility at Frobisher Depot. This resulted in the project being much higher in cost than originally estimated/budgeted. The City of Greater Sudbury will explore new options in 2024 to achieve a cost-effective design solution for the salt/sand storage facility at Frobisher Depot. For more information on Roads and Transportation’s Winter Control Program, please visit: https://www.greatersudbury.ca/live/transportation-parking-and-roads/road-maintenance/salting-and-sanding/

Policy Text:

To manage the existing and future application and the handling and storage of road salt, the City of Greater Sudbury shall identify in its Salt Management Plan the vulnerable areas where the activities could be a significant threat.

The City of Greater Sudbury shall optimize its use and management of salt and implement practices to minimize the loss of salt to the environment and the impact of salt on drinking water sources. Primary, arterial and collector roads in the vulnerable areas shall be prioritized for snow removal and street sweeping and cleaning during or soon after the spring snow melt.

The City of Greater Sudbury shall also include information about drinking water source protection (including the contents of the Source Protection Plan as it relates to the application and the handling and storage of road salt) in its annual training for employees who are responsible for the application and storage of road salt. The required updates to the Salt Management Plan and to city operations shall be completed within one year of the date the Source Protection Plan takes effect.

Monitoring policy M11 applies.

Monitoring Text:

M11: By February 1 of each year, the City of Greater Sudbury shall report to the Source Protection Authority on the status and implementation of the Salt Management Plan including a description of the actions and measures taken to implement the policy. The report may also provide the annual usage amounts by the City of salt, sand/salt mixture and brine applied in the vulnerable areas.