1.This Act may be cited as
the Safe Treatment of Polluted
Stormwater Runoff Act
or the STOPS Runoff Act
.
2.Federal-aid
highway runoff pollution management program
(a)Chapter 3 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
330.Federal-aid
highway runoff pollution management program
(a)In
this section:
(1)The term control measure means a program,
structural or nonstructural management practice, operational procedure, or
policy on or off the project site that is intended to prevent, reduce, or
control highway runoff pollution.
(2)The term covered project means a
rehabilitation, reconfiguration, renovation, major resurfacing, or construction
project carried out under this title that—
(A)results in a
10-percent or greater increase in impervious surface of the aerial extent
within the right-of-way of the project limit on a Federal-aid highway or
associated facility; or
(B)results in an
increase of 1 acre or more in impervious surface coverage.
(3)The term highway runoff pollution means,
in relation to a Federal-aid highway, associated facility, or control measure
retrofit project, one or more of the following:
(A)A discharge of
sediment, metals, chemicals, nitrogen and phosphorous, or oil and grease in
runoff.
(B)A discharge of
peak flow rate, water temperature, or volume of runoff that exceeds
predevelopment amounts.
(4)The term predevelopment hydrology means,
for project sites covered by this section, that—
(A)the precipitation
from all rainfall events less than or equal to the 95th percentile rain event
shall be managed on-site through stormwater management practices designed,
constructed, and maintained to prevent off-site discharge, to the maximum
extent technically feasible; or
(B)runoff typical of
natural conditions prior to anthropogenic disturbance, as determined by
site-specific conditions, local meteorology, and continuous simulation modeling
techniques, are preserved through stormwater management practices that are
designed, constructed, and maintained to manage the volume, rate, and
temperature of stormwater runoff following construction.
(5)Watershed-based
environmental management approachThe term watershed-based
environmental management approach means an approach under which—
(A)the selection of
solutions that prevent or minimize the environmental impact of an individual
project is made within the broader context of the environmental protection and
restoration goals of any watershed that drains the project site, rather than
selecting solutions solely based on site level considerations; and
(B)priority
consideration is given to—
(i)protection of
drinking water supplies;
(ii)protection and
restoration of waterways listed by a State as impaired in accordance with
section 303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1313(d));
(iii)preservation of
aquatic ecosystems and fisheries; and
(iv)cost-effective
expenditure of Federal funds.
(b)The
Secretary, with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, shall establish a Federal-aid highway runoff pollution
avoidance and management program to ensure that covered projects are sited,
constructed, and maintained in accordance with design standards intended to
protect surface and ground water quality and ensure the long-term management of
stormwater originating from Federal-aid highways.
(c)The Secretary may approve a covered project of a State
under section 106 only if the State provides assurances satisfactory to the
Secretary that the State will site, design, and construct the covered project
in accordance with the design standards described in subsection (d).
(d)
(1)The post-construction condition of a covered project
shall maintain or restore, to the maximum extent technically feasible, the
predevelopment hydrology of the project site with regard to the temperature,
rate, chemical composition, volume, and duration of flow.
(2)Covered
projects in impaired watershedsAny covered project carried out
within a watershed that contains an impaired water listed under section 303(d)
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)) shall be in
accordance with—
(A)the load or
wasteload allocation requirements established by the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency or the State; and
(B)the requirements
relating to predevelopment hydrology under paragraph (1).
(3)Additional
prioritized requirementsIn addition to the requirements
described in paragraphs (1) and (2), a covered project shall, in the following
order of priority—
(A)reduce the
creation of highway runoff pollution from the covered project by—
(i)avoiding or
minimizing the alteration of natural features and hydrology; and
(ii)maximizing the
use of pollution source control measures that use existing terrain and natural
features, including natural drainage ways, soils, and vegetation, to reduce
creation of pollution from the covered project;
(B)maximize the
capture of highway runoff pollution created by the covered project through
control measures, including environmental site design techniques and other
control measures that promote evapotranspiration, infiltration, reuse, and
retention; and
(C)for highway
runoff pollution remaining after the application of the onsite measures in
subparagraphs (A) and (B), use a watershed-based environmental management or
equivalent approach to avoid adverse water quality effects from the covered
project through—
(i)capture and
treatment of highway runoff pollution with appropriate control measures on the
site;
(ii)discharge of
highway runoff pollution directly to an off-site control measure under the
control of the State with documented capacity to provide functionally and
quantitatively equivalent management of runoff pollution to that required to
achieve the minimum standards of this subsection for the design life of the
project; and
(iii)if the control
measures described in clauses (i) and (ii) are found to be technically
infeasible based on site conditions or other appropriate factors, and an
appropriate off-site runoff pollution mitigation program exists, contribution
to a mitigation program that would produce functionally and quantitatively
equivalent or greater control and management of runoff pollution to that
required by this subsection.
(4)Off-site
control measuresOf the control measures described in paragraph
(3)(C)(iii), the Secretary shall give priority to off-site control measures
that address the impacts of runoff pollution to waterways that are—
(A)listed as
impaired in accordance with section 303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)); and
(B)located
in—
(i)the same 8-digit
Hydrologic Unit Code as the covered project; or
(ii)the lowest
Hydrologic Unit Code that is the most protective of the waters receiving the
discharge.
(e)
(1)Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this section, the Secretary, with the concurrence of the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, shall publish guidance to assist States in
complying with this section.
(2)The guidance shall include guidelines for the
establishment of State processes and programs that will be used to assist in
avoiding, minimizing, and managing highway runoff pollution from covered
projects in accordance with the design standards described in subsection (d),
including guidelines—
(A)to help States
integrate the planning, selection, design, and long-term operation and
maintenance of control measures consistent with the design standards in the
overall project planning process;
(B)for a
watershed-based environmental management approach to assist projects in
achieving consistency with the design standards;
(C)for the
development and use of off-site runoff pollution mitigation programs to achieve
compliance with the design standards; and
(D)for State
inspection and reporting to document State compliance and project consistency
with this section.
(3)Not later than 5 years after the date of publication of
the guidance, and every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary, with concurrence of
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall update, as
applicable, the guidance described in this subsection.
(f)Limitation on
statutory constructionNothing in this section affects the
applicability of any provision of Federal, State, or local law that is more
stringent than the requirements of this section.
(g)
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2)(A), the Secretary
shall require each State to submit to the Secretary an annual report that
describes the highway runoff pollution reductions achieved for covered projects
carried out by the State after the date of enactment of this section.
(2)Reporting
requirements under permit
(A)A State shall not be required to submit an annual report
described in paragraph (1) if the State—
(i)is operating
Federal-aid highways in the State in a post-construction condition in
accordance with a permit issued under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);
(ii)is subject to an
annual reporting requirement under such a permit (regardless of whether the
permitting authority is a Federal or State agency); and
(iii)carries out a
covered project with respect to a Federal-aid highway in the State described in
clause (i).
(B)A Federal or State permitting authority that receives an
annual report described in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall, upon receipt of such a
report, transmit a copy of the report to the
Secretary.
.
(b)This Act and the amendments made by this Act apply to
covered projects (as defined in section 330(a)(2) of title 23, United States
Code) (as added by subsection (a)), the construction of which commences on or
after the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.
(c)The analysis for chapter 3 of title 23, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
330. Federal-aid highway runoff pollution management
program.
.