FROSTBURG — Street sweeping of Frostburg’s thoroughfares is on hold because the Maryland Department of Environment said the fine stone grit the city uses is hazardous, according to Public Works Commissioner Susan Keller.
“Every city treats snowy streets differently,” Keller said Friday. “Some use just salt. Some use salt and ash. We use salt and also a grit material,” she said.
After past winters, the city has simply swept the streets and dumped the material at a county site used for such purposes, according to City Administrator John Kirby, but MDE has ruled out that option, claiming it absorbs the gas, oil and lubricants from motor vehicles.
After $2,000 of laboratory testing, the grit was cleared to be placed in the public landfill just down the road from Frostburg. The problem is, according to Keller, the grit must be dried first, another major expense to an already shrinking budget and actually a capability the city does not currently have.
“Just the cost of dumping it at the landfill would be $15,000 to $20,000,” Kirby said at Thursday night’s public meeting of the mayor and council. “We would pay $42 a ton and we get 500 tons of it in a normal year.”
Keller said the city used substantially more grit this year than in other winters.
“We are in a tough spot with this,” Keller said. “I have written a letter to the secretary at MDE asking that if we can’t do what we have done in the past, what can we do.”
Keller said the fine stone grit is everywhere, including on sidewalks and in yards. She said it can be dangerous for pedestrians because it slides beneath feet.
Keller said residents often clean the material themselves. “We don’t want them putting it in a bucket and placing it for us to pick up because we can’t take it,” she said. “The best thing would be to collect it an put it on their property somewhere.”
Contact Michael A. Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.
Local News
Frostburg can’t use street sweeper
Material used to treat snowy streets deemed hazardous
- Local News
-
-
UNDEFEATED STATE CHAMPS!
Mountain Ridge softball head coach Martha Mauzy and players react after the Miners’ 4-3 win over Mardela in the Maryland 1A state championship game at the University of Maryland on Saturday.
-
Officials hoping flight school takes off
Opening a flight school at the Greater Cumberland Regional Airport and further developing the health care corridor along Willowbrook Road are two ways officials think the local economy can grow.
-
Former mayors seek Keyser council seat
Challenger Terry Liller, incumbent Ed Miller Sr., former Mayor Roger Newlin and former Mayor William “Sonny” Rhodes, all candidates for Keyser City Council, all have an opinion on the recall election and citizen complaints and concerns made during recent council meetings.
-
Parents’ dilemma: Let children play football?
Already uneasy about the idea of letting her 7-year-old son Jason start playing tackle football, Elizabeth Giancarli made up her mind when former NFL star Junior Seau committed suicide.
-
Slow going
-
Neighbors battle brush on Woodside Ave.
You could sweat sitting still on Woodside Avenue Saturday afternoon, to say nothing of the perspiration that pulling weeds, gathering trash and painting a guardrail would bring on.
-
DelFest, county fairgrounds continue to evolve
Allegany County Fairgrounds manager Kevin Kamauf talked Saturday of the logistical aspects of putting together DelFest and the ever-expanding fairgrounds that plays host to the annual Memorial Day event.
-
Just waiting for their day to come
The annual Memorial Day Super Cruise spanned along six businesss on Industrial Boulevard Saturday.
-
Summer school options varied
The Allegany County Public School System is offering a variety of summer school options that require registration by Friday.
-
Farmers markets due at two new sites
The Allegany Mountain Fresh Producers Association will have farmers markets at two new locations this year and add four new vendors, according to co-chairman Jack Miltenberger.
- More Local News Headlines
-
