WESTMORELAND CO., Pa. -- Road salt is expensive and hard to find, so many area communites are finding ways to conserve it.

In Penn Township, Westmoreland County, they have even developed special policies governing how salt will be spread this winter, and Penn Township is not alone.

Channel 4 Action News Westmoreland Bureau Chief Jeffiner Miele explains why road conditions may be a little different this year.

There are nearly 2,000 tons of salt in the salt storage bin in Penn Twp. That may seem like a lot of salt, but folks said it is barley enough to last the winter. So the bosses are laying down the law about laying down salt.

“Our policy was developed in order, as you say, to conserve salt, “said Penn Twp Manager Bruce Light. “We will be treating the straight and level areas with one pass down the middle of the road instead of two passes both directions.”

In Hempfield Township, workers will do the same, and could be disciplines if they do not follow orders.

In Brighton, Beaver County, they will add anti-skid to their salt so the mixture will last longer, and the same thing will happened in Penn Township, Butler County.

In Charleroi, Washington County, the road crews are waiting on a shipment from PennDOT and depending on how much they get, they may need to ration.

“I babysit them,” said Jerry Gyer, a resident of Penn Township. “Does that worry you? Scares the daylights out of me, terribly, really does, scares the daylights out of me.”

“The thing we want to stress is that on curves hills and intersections, there's an awful lot of them in Penn Township., they'll still be treated as they always were, so we wont be jeopardizing safety at all.” Said Gyer.

Communities like North Huntington are fully stocked with salt, and PennDOT said they are, too.

Everyone is paying more for salt, so there is more reason to treat it like gold.

Penn Township is so concerned the salt will run out, they've asked PennDOT for another 2,000 ton, and they are expected to know soon if they are going to get it.

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