SULLIVAN COUNTY  — The recent brutal and unrelenting winter season has depleted supplies of rock salt across Sullivan County as residents and business owners struggle to maintain a clear driveway for their families and customers. This winter has delivered numerous snow, sleet, rain, and wind storms, and persistent low temperatures have made it increasingly difficult to ensure that steps, walkways, and driveways are safe for walking and parking vehicles.

On Friday February 21, manager Phil Simms at Monticello Farm, Home and Garden, said he was receiving a tractor trailer of rock salt delivered from Buffalo. Simms said the order usually takes a few days but he’s been waiting for this delivery for two weeks because suppliers haven’t been able to keep up with demand. 

Despite the shortage, “our pricing hasn’t changed,” said Sims, who saw prices of up to $30 a bag for 4300 Safe Step, a product he sells for $16. Sims explained that they source rock salt through a broker who draws on suppliers from upstate New York, “Pittsburgh, and even out West,” although shipping costs from out of state suppliers carry a hefty surcharge. As the manager of a local business, Sims said the needs of his store are next in line to the needs of municipalities that use rock salt to keep their roads clean.

Town of Callicoon Highway Superintendent Ryan Bose said “we’ve been alright [with our supply of rock salt], but when the salt gets low, we just add more sand to the mix to add traction.” Bose explained that they usually use a mixture of one bucket of salt to three buckets of sand, but when there is extreme precipitation like the recent ice storm, it takes more material and they will use a one to one salt to sand ratio. The Highway Department gets the rock salt from Cargill Deicing Technology, a supplier in Lansing, NY, and the supplier is selected by a New York State contract bid. The Town of Callicoon orders 2,000 tons of rock salt a year, and at $72 a ton, they spend approximately $144,000. 

Old Foundation chef and owner Ian Boyle said this was his fourth winter running his restaurant in Kenoza Lake and that it was “by far the iciest winter.” Boyle relies on a local plow service to keep his parking lot clear for customers, and the plow operator lays down sand but doesn’t include rock salt in the mix. Boyle confirmed that it has been the coldest winter of his tenure in Kenoza Lake and has had two instances of pipes bursting this year alone. 

The Democrat reached out to the nation’s largest producing salt mine, American Rock Salt, who responded with a recent press release acknowledging the increased demand and the subsequent shortage. 

“American Rock Salt has been working diligently to meet the demand from local government customers across New York State for salt supply. We realize some municipalities are concerned about supply…with this very difficult winter stressing our supply chain.”

American Rock Salt, located in Hampton Corners, NY, produces up to 18,000 tons of salt per day and according to their website, the history of their mine began 350 million years ago when an ancient saltwater ocean engulfed a large area of New York State; after the land dried up, multiple layers of Halite (commonly known as rock salt) remained and that is the salt they mine today.