Guthrie County has a new dust control policy for gravel roads.

Guthrie County Engineer Josh Sebern says that the policy was brought about to try and avoid having parts of gravel roads being treated randomly throughout the summer, causing inconveniences for those using it. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that now there will be a permit system in place, and how the timeline looks for this first year.

“Part of what that does is set dates, so the approved vendor list is going to be completed in April. The permits have to be returned to us by May 1st, and then we have a two-week window where we’re really targeting for the application of the dust control.”

Sebern mentions that the Secondary Roads Department is working to put together a list of companies (vendors) that apply dust control treatment to gravel roads, which includes several that rural residents may already use. Residents seeking to have a dust control treatment applied to a stretch of road near their homes will be able to contact one of the approved vendors, with both filling out their part of the paperwork, including the permit. The vendor will then collect the monies for the service and the permit fee, and turn in the paperwork and the permit fee to the county.

Sebern explains that this means everything runs similarly to how it did previously, but makes everything more organized.