Rock salt cost pinches budgets

from the Bergen Record

Monday, December 8, 2008 Last updated: Monday December 8, 2008, 6:43 AM BY JENNIFER H. CUNNINGHAM STAFF WRITER, HERALD NEWS Rising transportation costs, coupled with an increase in demand, has caused rock salt prices to skyrocket by as much as 40 percent for some North Jersey municipalities. And with weather forecasters predicting this winter will be colder and wetter than average, budget-conscious local officials say they are scrambling to figure out how to keep roads safe without overspending. "We've got about a 38 percent increase," Hawthorne Administrator Eric Maurer said of rock salt expenses. "It's big. It's going to cost us significantly. Anything that goes up causes a budget problem." The 2009 Old Farmer's Almanac predicts temperatures in New Jersey this winter will be below average, while snowfall is expected to be above average. "We can't not salt the roads," Al Greco, Clifton city manager, said in October. The city purchased 1,200 tons of rock salt for $50 a ton from the Morris County Cooperative Pricing Council, before the rate is scheduled to increase to $68 at the end of the year. But even with the recent purchase, Greco said the city only has enough to last until January. "Maybe we'll just use more sand to keep the costs down," he said, "but obviously, we need to keep the roads safe." Bergen County sent letters in the fall to the 64 municipalities that get their rock salt from the county's Department of Public Works, warning them about a steep price increase. "We sent a letter out from our DPW saying towns have to be much more judicious with the amount of salt that they use," Brian Hague, a county spokesman, said Sunday. Hague said sleet and freezing rain, rather than snow, accounts for the bulk of rock salt use. Increased transportation costs, along with rising demand, helped fuel the increase in rock salt costs, say industry experts. Mark Roberts, CEO of Pennsylvania-based International Salt, a major manufacturer that counts several North Jersey municipalities as customers, said rising fuel prices and shipping rates have caused prices to increase from 7 percent to 20 percent or more this year. "It did go up," Roberts said of rock salt prices. "We bring all our salt from our production site in Chile." Rock salt, also known as halite, is the remnant of ancient evaporated oceans. Salt deposits are located underground and are removed through mining. It melts ice by interacting with ice molecules, slowing ice crystal formation. Rock salt is mined throughout the U.S. and Canada along with South America, China, Australia and Europe. Transportation costs can account for as much as half the price of rock salt, according to Richard Hanneman, president of the Salt Institute, an Alexandria, Va.-based trade association that represents American and Canadian salt manufacturers. National demand for rock salt, which keeps roads clear of ice and snow in winter, has gone up, too, further inflating the cost, Hanneman said. Last year, rock salt producers sold 20.3 million tons. In 2006, they sold 12 million tons. Many states last year, particularly in the Midwest, were caught off guard by record snowstorms, officials said. Then, fearing a repeat of the same problem, many states increased their salt orders this year, Hanneman said. Illinois, for example, requested 34 percent more and Iowa's projections spiked by 52 percent. "As a result, people were scrambling (for salt)," Hanneman said. The handful of salt suppliers in North America have been running full throttle to try to meet demand, he said. Most of the salt for the East Coast comes from overseas. Now, states have little choice but to pay higher rock salt prices and to try to stretch supplies. The city of Passaic usually buys between 1,800 tons to 2,500 tons of rock salt for the winter. But with the tonnage price rising 21 percent, spokesman Keith Furlong said the city will most likely follow Clifton's lead and mix salt with sand to stretch out the supply. "It's a significant increase for an important commodity," Furlong said. "The trick is to try to stay in budget in these difficult financial times." In West Paterson, over the Thanksgiving weekend, municipal workers began spreading rock salt over the borough's hilly streets to keep the thoroughfares safe as a storm passed through, Borough Administrator Kevin Galland said. Although West Paterson allocated $20,000 for rock salt in this year's budget, the borough will likely need $30,000 to get through the winter, he said. West Paterson officials will have to transfer funds from other budget line items to pay for the additional cost, Galland said. The borough will likely ask the state for a waiver to spend more money on rock salt, as it did with fuel last year, according to Galland. In East Rutherford, which gets its rock salt from Bergen County, Mayor James Cassella said the borough will salt its roads regardless of cost in the interest of public safety. But given the rising cost, he said he is hoping the forecasts are wrong and winter turns out to be mild this year. "We're aware of the problem," Cassella said Sunday. "Whether we get the rock salt from the county or we go out and buy it [from another source] and appropriate for it," he said. "The best-case scenario is we get through the winter without needing a lot of it." Even state government is feeling the rock salt pinch. The price of rock salt for New Jersey jumped 21 percent, spokeswoman Erin Phalon said. But the state has already bought 118,000 tons of rock salt state officials have projected that is needed this winter at the lower amount, $55. Phalon said the state has enough on hand to get through the winter. Although rock salt's price increase hasn't affected New Jersey, if there is more ice and snowfall this winter than usual, additional salt will have to be purchased at the higher price, she added. "We've been fortunate that the cost increase has not affected the (transportation) department," Phalon said. "Should we need additional salt in the future … we will be impacted." Meanwhile, several local municipalities — including Paterson, Clifton, Little Falls, Bloomingdale, Totowa and Haledon — have joined the Morris County Cooperative Pricing Council, a shared services consortium. Participating member municipalities will now pay between $68 and $72 per ton for rock salt, said Gerald Giaimis, council administrator. In upper Passaic County, both Ringwood and West Milford officials said they didn't use much rock salt during last year's mild winter. As a result, they have stockpiles on hand to last through the beginning of the current winter season, which begins Dec. 21. "We have awarded a contract for rock salt for this coming season but have not ordered any as we are currently using our stockpile from last season," West Milford Engineer Richard McFadden said. "The added cost is requested in the proposed 2009 budget. Last year we paid $48.78 per ton. This year our cost is $68 per ton." But there are a few ways municipal officials can make sure they don't run out or pay higher rock salt prices, said Hanneman, president of the Salt Institute. "Build more storage," he said. "Buy more salt. It doesn't spoil."   — Staff Writers William Lamb and Barbara Williams contributed to this article, which includes material from The Associated Press. Reach Jennifer H. Cunningham at 973-569-7162 or Cunningham@northjersey.com.