House Environment Committee reviews H.86, a voluntary salt‑reduction certification bill with limited‑liability protections

The Vermont House Committee on Environment reviewed H.86 (draft 3.2) on April 8, a bill that would create a voluntary training and certification program for commercial salt applicators and offer limited civil‑liability protection to certified applicators and to property owners who hire them.

The bill, presented to the committee by Michael Grady, lays out definitions, required best management practices (BMPs) for applying salt and salt alternatives, certification terms, recordkeeping, and a narrowly drawn liability shield that would not apply in cases of gross negligence or reckless disregard. Grady summarized the state’s objective as preventing chloride from causing water bodies to reach “impairment” that would require a total maximum daily load plan. "The state is required to set water quality standards and manage the water of the state so that those water quality standards support all the traditional uses of the water," Grady said.

The proposal would direct the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), after consulting the Agency of Transportation (AOT), to adopt BMPs for commercial applicators and establish a voluntary certification program that could be run by state staff or a third‑party vendor. Certified applicators would submit an annual summary of…