Dear Jonty Wareing

Thank you for your request relating to Annual National Salt Reserve
reduction dated 27/10/2021. 

The due date for issuing a response is 24/11/2021.

Please feel free to contact our team if you have any queries quoting
FOI/2676 in any future communications

Kind regards

FOI Advice

FOI Team

Dear Jonty Wareing

Annual National Salt Reserve reduction

Thank you for your information request dated 27/10/2021 regarding Annual
National Salt Reserve reduction. We have dealt with your request under the
provisions of the Environmental Information Regulation 2004.

You asked -

Dear Highways England Company Limited,

I would like to request information on the amount of salt lost from the
National Salt Reserve each year, and the environmental reasons for this
occurring.

This is in reference to a statement by Trudy Harrison in Parliament, where
she says that "No salt has been added or removed from these piles since
2015, though the totals gradually reduce each year due to environmental
factors" -
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id...

Yours faithfully,
Jonty Wareing
 

I can confirm that we hold the information you have requested.

Information provided

Associated losses by year:

2016 –  4407 tonnes

2017 -  1658 tonnes

2018 –  14428 tonnes

2019 –  363 tonnes

2020 –  1195 tonnes

2021 -  5570 tonnes

Reason for losses:

Movement and handling Most stockpiles have been relocated, or reprofiled,
since 2015. Loading and transport of the salt will introduce additional
losses.

Re-sheeting – losses will occur when sheeting needs replacing as salt is
uncovered and exposed to rain and wind for a limited period of time.

Settlement – over time stockpiles will compact down slightly altering the
volumetric survey calculations

Environment – despite being covered, salt is hygroscopic and will draw
moisture into it causing some material to be lost into the environment.
Despite being covered with sheeting, rainwater will sometimes find a way
through the sheeting causing some losses.

Survey accuracy – changes in ground level, baseline ground level
measurement, whether or not sheeting is present, environmental aspects and
stockpile changes all contribute to accuracy variances.

Advice and Assistance

If you are not satisfied with your response you may ask for an internal
review within 40 working days of receiving the response, by replying to
this email. You can learn more about the internal review process [1]here.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
[2][email address]

            Information Commissioner’s Office

            Wycliffe House

            Water Lane

            Wilmslow

            Cheshire

            SK9 5AF

Please remember to quote reference number FOI/2676 in any future
communications about this response.

Kind regards

Sadie Tovey

You can make new FOI requests and review published responses by
visiting [3]https://foiform.highwaysengland.co.uk/

References

Visible links
1. https://highwaysengland.co.uk/media/a14h...
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://foiform.highwaysengland.co.uk/