Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
$1 Billion for Stormwater Projects Related
To Transportation Called 'Modest Amount'
Nearly $1 billion in funding to help state and local governments pay for
projects to reduce stormwater impacts resulting from road projects is helpful
but is a "modest amount," a state water pollution official said Nov. 17.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved an amendment to the
new highway funding bill (S. 1072) Nov. 12 that would provide $958 million for
stormwater mitigation programs associated with road projects (219 DEN A-4,
11/13/03 ).
"It's very helpful but it's an extremely modest amount of money," Linda
Eichmiller, deputy director of the Association of State and Interstate Water
Pollution Control Administrators, told BNA.
Sens. John Warner (R-Va.) and Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) introduced the stormwater
amendment to the Safe, Affordable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity
Act of 2003, which would provide $255 billion in funding for transportation
projects through 2009. The amendment barely passed in a 10-9 vote. Opponents,
led by Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.), said the stormwater funding would take
money away from road projects.
Money to Mitigate Highway Runoff
The amendment would direct state transportation departments to establish
mitigation programs to reduce the impact of stormwater that runs off highways.
"Highway construction and operations contribute significantly to increased
impervious surface areas, impacting groundwater resources, and natural
hydrological cycles," Chafee said. "Depending on the project, highway surfaces
may increase stormwater runoff volume from two to 16 times pre-development
rates."
The amendment would require that about 2 percent funding in the surface
transportation program, the largest category of discretionary highway spending
in the bill, would be dedicated toward stormwater controls, Warner said.
Brian Deery, senior director of the highway and transportation division of the
Associated General Contractors, told BNA that road builders would prefer not to
have the money "walled off" from the general transportation funding.
"States may have bridges that are structurally obsolete, but they couldn't use
that part of the money to pay to fix it," he said.
The $958 million would not necessarily be targeted toward new construction, he
said, but could be used to pay for mitigation projects on existing roads and
bridges.
Several Types of Projects
Examples of projects covered in the amendment include stormwater retrofits, the
recharge of groundwater, natural filters, stream restoration, minimization of
stream bank erosion, and innovative technologies.
State transportation officials were not available for comment, but Deery said
they oppose setting aside funding for stormwater controls because they do not
want the federal government telling them how to spend their highway money.
Municipal groups had lobbied for the amendment.
"Polluted stormwater from impervious surfaces such as roads is a leading cause
of impairment for nearly 40% of U.S. waterways not meeting water quality
standards," Ken Kirk, executive director of the Association of Metropolitan
Sewerage Agencies, said in a Nov. 11 letter to members of the Senate committee.
"Roadways produce some of the highest concentrations of pollutants such as
phosphorus, suspended solids, bacteria, and heavy metals."
The House is scheduled to introduce its version of a highway bill Nov. 19, but
it is not expected to contain the stormwater provisions at this point. In
addition, the bill is expected to contain a placeholder for other environmental
provisions including those related to streamlining the environmental review
process under the National Environmental Policy Act, observers said.