Rhode Island § 24-8-15 - Construction and Maintenance of State Roads

§ 24-8-15. Snow and ice removal — Notice of defects.

(a) Every town or city shall at its own expense keep state roads within its limits, respectively, sufficiently clear of snow and ice so the roads shall be reasonably safe for travel as now required by law, and shall at once notify in writing the director of transportation or his or her employees of any defect or want of repair of state roads within its limits.

(b)(1) All storage piles or areas where road de-icing agents are stored within the Scituate watershed shall be adequately covered and stored on an impervious base to mitigate runoff impacts to ground and surface waters. The director of the department of transportation shall ensure where funds allow, that all drivers, loaders and handlers of de-icing agents within any watershed participate in training sessions in the proper application and control of road de-icing agents; that de-icing vehicles, wherever feasible, operating within the Scituate watershed area equipped with sensor devices to control the spread rate of de-icing materials in relation to the speed of the vehicle.

(2) For purposes of this section the “Scituate watershed” shall mean the total drainage area into the Scituate Reservoir — an area of some 92.8 square miles in the towns of Scituate, Johnston, Foster, Glocester, and Smithfield — which because of its topography, soil type, and drainage patterns acts as a collector of rain waters which replenish or regorge existing public drinking water supplies in the Scituate Reservoir.