ORCHARD PARK, NY (WKBW) — Southern Erie County snow removal contractors are bracing for a lack of rock salt after American Rock Salt, a mine in Livingston County, announced a shortage.
Care Ease Lawn co-owner Andrew Carey told me he has not been given a final decision on whether he will get his shipment of rock salt or not.
" I hear from other contractors they have a third of their pile left. And once that's out, they're out. So, it's gonna be scarce if things continue the way they go," said Carey.
Carey's snow removal business is contracted to snow plow five fire departments in the Southtowns, which he said is concerning that he may not get the salt needed.
"If you don't have a signed contract, and you're not paying the companies upfront, you might not get any rock salt unless you can find it from another place or distributor," said Carey.
Carey and other contractors have concerns about how early into the winter season this was announced, as the shortage could cause major issues.
" We are very early into the season, and with Buffalo weather, it's unpredictable," said Carey. "The lake is starting to freeze, so we will now start seeing, in my opinion, less major snowstorms and more frequent events, which we rely on having the salt."
Other contractors like Connor Kolb said he is asking his customers if they need salt ahead of time to prepare for the shortage.
"That's why we stress to the customers: if you're going to want something done at the business, you tell us from the start that this is something you're gonna need so that we have enough allocated for everybody so that we don't run into issues," said Kolb.
I reached out to American Rock Salt for comment and received this statement:
"Our priority is public safety. Our union miners are working hard to provide lifesaving salt to our communities. The magnitude of this year’s early storms obviously has caused some challenges. We work very hard to not have anyone run out of our product and will continue to do so as the winter continues."