Road Salt Symposium

Model Snow and Ice Policy

A Model Snow and Ice Management Policy Advisory Committee was convened in the summer of 2016 in response to an extraordinary interest in risk management expressed by attendees of the February 2016 Road Salt Symposium.

The framework offers a tool for cities and counties to prepare clear and complete snow and ice management policies and to help them limit the potential liability risk from these activities. Snow and ice management requires balancing public interests including public safety, equipment and material cost, environmental impact, and other concerns. The law governing public operations largely protects cities and counties from liability, in recognition of the fact that these local units must exercise judgment based on expertise, experience, and the circumstances of the occasion. The law says, however, that to merit this protection, a city or county must be able to show that competing public concerns are in play, that these concerns have been weighed, and that judgment was used in making both policy and operational decisions. The Model Policy is a tool for cities and counties to establish this foundation for their snow and ice management policies and practices.

Cities, counties, and other users of this Model Policy are encouraged to adapt and modify the Policy as appropriate to local circumstances with guidance from their respective attorneys.