Environmental Impact Statement Purpose and Need: In Wisconsin snow is inevitable.

If you live here you know that once the snow comes, it is not going away anytime soon but people still need to travel to various locations no matter the snow conditions. To keep these people safe, Milwaukee County deploys 90 salt trucks to clear over 7,000 lane miles of streets (Milwaukee City Department of Public Works, 2009). While it is important to keep travelers safe the use of 55 tons of road salt with calcium chloride additive is not only dangerous to humans but wildlife as well (Lins, 2000). Milwaukee currently uses sodium chloride to deice the streets. Once the temperatures drop below -4C Milwaukee County mixes in an additive of calcium chloride into the road salt (Milwaukee City Department of Public Works, 2009). Both sodium chloride and calcium chloride additive can be harmful to the environment. Sodium to chloride easily contaminates ground water which can affect humans as well as other organisms which rely on ground water. Sodium Chloride can also be a potential financial woe for cities that use an excessive amount. Due to its corrosive nature of sodium chloride cities around the globe, including Milwaukee, will have to repair the roads and bridges more often in order to keep their travelers safe (Vitaliano, 1992). The additive that Milwaukee adds to its rock salt, calcium chloride, maybe able to work at lower temperature conditions but Milwaukee is flirting with danger using this very toxic chemical. Calcium chloride is extremely toxic to aquatic systems due to the fact that chlorine is highly soluble in water and is also a very strong oxidizing agent (Brungs, 1873). The chlorine tends to be more toxic in environments with lower pH due to the increased number of free chlorine (Brungs, 1873). Although the toxicity of the chlorine does depend on the concentration found within the water, the chlorine does attack the gill tissues even in lower concentrations, which often cause death in many different fish species (Brungs, 1873). Not only is calcium chloride toxic to aquatic life it is also toxic to

humans, it causes burns on the skin and in the respiratory tract and can cause major eye irritation (MDOT). People who work with the chemical are urged to wear thick rubber gloves, protective clothing and respirators and yet they are spreading this dangerous chemical all over Milwaukee roadways (MDOT). So why does Milwaukee like many other cities still use sodium chloride and the calcium chloride additive? Because its cheaper. Just sodium chloride by itself is 20-40 dollars per ton, and the calcium chloride additive is an extra 205 dollars per ton (MDOT). The alternative we suggest Milwaukee to implement is calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) in place of the road salt. CMA works differently than road salt, instead of chemically altering the ice from the top down, CMA prevents the bond between the snow particles and the roads surface (MDOT). Though initially slower acting, CMA stays on the road much longer than rock salt, leading to the need of fewer applications (MDOT). CMA has fewer environmental side effects than the combination Milwaukee currently employs.CMA is biodegradable and does not move swiftly through the soil (MDOT). Because of this fact, CMA has less of a chance of contaminating ground water. It is also much less toxic to humans with relatively low skin and eye irritation (MDOT). The one drawback of the use of CMA is its cost. CMA costs 650-675 dollars per ton but in the long run the use of CMA could greatly reduce the amount of money Milwaukee spends on repairing road ways and bridges due to its less corrosive nature (MDOT). And if more research is put towards finding more cost effective way of producing acetic acid, it could reduce the price of CMA greatly. In the next five to ten years, Milwaukee should slowly switch over to using CMA instead of the current combination of chemicals being used. We suggested a slower implementation because of the fact that the even though in the long run CMA will save Milwaukee money; the initial costs are quite high.

Implementation should start in the high traffic areas in the first few years. Progressively branching out to the lower traffic areas as the years progress. By the end of the change over, Milwaukee should no longer be using sodium chloride with the calcium chloride additive. Because of the different ways it affects the snow, CMA should be applied before or in the beginning stages of heavy snow fall. Due to the fact that CMA works differently than the road salt, guidelines for the drivers should be set up to reduce the amount of CMA waste. There is no need to change the truck equipment for the use of CMA. During the first heavy snowfall of the year, travelers should be warned to wait an hour or two longer to allow the CMA to react more affectively. Alternatives: A really cheap alternative to both of these options is using sand instead. Sand only cost 5 dollars a ton Sand is used as an abrasive; it helps create friction between the car and road. Sand only works if applied after the fact. If applied during a storm the sand will just freezes with the snow and in high traffic areas the sand will just get packed down into the snow leading to less traction. When sand is used, it is usually mixed with sodium chloride or calcium chloride to prevent it from freezing in to clumps. Because of sands composition it is not biodegradable so when the snow melts it takes the sand with it. When it ends up in storm drains it could lead to a clog which would cost taxpayers money. These are the reasons why sand is only used in essential traction areas like hills, curves and stops in lower traffic areas (MDOT). Another alternative is to do nothing, to leave Milwaukees snow removal policy as it is. Doing this may initially save the city money but in the long run is going to really cost the city. Money will be needed to fix roads, bridges and other structures because of the extreme corrosiveness of the sodium chloride (Vitaliano, 1992). Not only will that be a cost but the city will have to pay to fix the water systems, the ground water and the aquatic systems, that it is messing up with the application of the sodium chloride. Staying with Milwaukees current snow removal policy seems like a better choice financially, but in the

long run it will cost the city a lot of money and in the process kill many organisms that rely on Milwaukees water to live. Affected Environment: Our affected environment is the city of Milwaukee. Milwaukee has a climate that is highly affected by its proximity to Lake Michigan. The lake keeps the temperature of the city from dropping to the extremes that you see in other areas of Wisconsin that are not located along the lake. Milwaukees elevation is 188 meters above sea level. The soil characteristic of south eastern Wisconsin, where Milwaukee is located, is mainly comprised of silt with some areas of stream bottom and wetland soil. (UW-Extention, 1968) .

Figure 1: Shade relief topographical map of Wisconsin created by David Woodward, retrieved from http://www.shadedreliefarchive.com/wisconsin.html

Environmental Consequences 1. Noise: Not Applicable 2. Compatible Land Use: Not Applicable 3. Disruption of human communities: Travelers at risk while the city is getting used to the new system. The mitigation for this would to be to post guideline and information for citizens to use to better prepare them for the change. 4. Social or Socioeconomic Impacts: Initial cost will be high. This will mitigate on its own. The initial cost will be offset by the money the city saves in road and bridge repair/maintenance in the future. 5. Air Quality: Not Applicable 6. Water Quality: Will improve over time 7. Historic, Architectural, Archeological, and Cultural Resources: Will be in less danger of corrosion by sodium chloride. 8. Biotic Communities : Will benefit by having less chloride in the system 9. Endangered and Threatened Species of Flora and Fauna: Will benefit by having less chloride in the system 10. Wetlands: Will lessen the amount of sodium chloride and calcium chloride contamination 11. Floodplains: Will lessen the amount of sodium chloride and calcium chloride contamination 12. Coastal Zones: Not Applicable 13. Coastal Barriers: Not Applicable 14. Wild and Scenic Rivers: Water quality will get better because of the reduction on chloride contamination. 15. Farmland: Not Applicable 16. Energy Supply and Natural Resources: The production of the acetate comes from the reaction between acetic acid and dolomite (MDOT). The mitigation is the continued research into finding a better alternative for the production of acetate. 17. Light Emissions: Not Applicable 18. Solid Waste Impact: Not Applicable 19. Construction Impacts: Not Applicable 20. Recreation: Not Applicable Other Consideration: The main conflict between the proposed action and the objectives of the government is the cost. The government has a set budget and is even trying to lower budgets. This initial cost of the proposed action goes against the objective of the government to save money.

Appendix: Literature Cited: Brungs, W. (1873). Effects of residual chlorine on aquatic life. Water Pollution Control Federation, 45(10), 2180-2193. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/25038016 Lins, T. J. (2000, February). Keeping roads on a low-salt diet. Retrieved from http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/2010/02/salt.htm MDOT (Michigan Department of Transportation). (n.d.). Current deicing practices and. 13-21. Retrieved from www.michigan.gov/documents/ch2-deice_51438_7.pdf Milwaukee City Department of Public Works. (2009, November). City of milwaukee snow & ice policy. Retrieved from http://city.milwaukee.gov/mpw/divisions/operations/environmental/sanitation/winter/SnowIc ePolicyOld.htm UW-Extention. (1968). Wisconsin geological and natural history survey. Retrieved from http://wisconsingeologicalsurvey.org/pdfs/pgszpdf/soil_regions.pdf Vitaliano D. F. (1992). An economic assessment of the social costs ofhighway salting and the efficiency of substituting a new deicing material . Association for Public Policy Analysis and ManagementAn Economic Assessment of the Social Costs of Highway Salting and the Efficiency ofSubstituting a New Deicing Material, 11(3), 397-405. Retrieved from URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3325069