[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 518 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 518

 To require States to establish highway stormwater management programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2015

  Mr. Cardin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require States to establish highway stormwater management programs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Highway Runoff Management Act''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY RUNOFF MANAGEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 3 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 330. Federal-aid highway runoff management program
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Covered project.--The term `covered project' means a 
        reconstruction, rehabilitation, reconfiguration, renovation, 
        major resurfacing, or new construction project on a Federal-aid 
        highway carried out under this title that results in--
                    ``(A) 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) an increase of 1 acre or more in impervious 
                surface coverage.
            ``(2) Erosive force.--The term `erosive force' means the 
        flowrate within a stream or channel in which channel bed or 
        bank material becomes detached, which in most cases is less 
        than or equal to the flowrate produced by the 2-year storm 
        event.
            ``(3) Highway runoff.--The term `highway runoff ', with 
        respect to a Federal-aid highway, associated facility, or 
        management measure retrofit project, means a discharge of peak 
        flow rate or volume of runoff that exceeds flows generated 
        under preproject conditions.
            ``(4) Impacted hydrology.--The term `impacted hydrology' 
        means stormwater runoff generated from all areas within the 
        site limits of a covered project.
            ``(5) Management measure.--The term `management 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.
    ``(b) State Highway Stormwater Management Programs.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, each State shall--
                    ``(A) develop a process for analyzing the erosive 
                force of highway runoff generated from covered 
                projects; and
                    ``(B) apply management measures to maintain or 
                restore impacted hydrology associated with highway 
                runoff from covered projects.
            ``(2) Inclusions.--The management measures established 
        under paragraph (1) may include, as the State determines to be 
        appropriate, management measures that--
                    ``(A) minimize the erosive force of highway runoff 
                from a covered project on a channel bed or bank of 
                receiving water by managing highway runoff within the 
                area of the covered project;
                    ``(B) manage impacted hydrology in such a manner 
                that the highway runoff generated by a covered project 
                is below the erosive force flow and volume;
                    ``(C) to the maximum extent practicable, seek to 
                address the impact of the erosive force of hydrologic 
                events that have the potential to create or exacerbate 
                downstream channel erosion, including excess pier and 
                abutment scour at bridges and channel downcutting and 
                bank failure of streams adjacent to highway 
                embankments;
                    ``(D) ensure that the highway runoff from the post-
                construction condition does not increase the risk of 
                channel erosion relative to the preproject condition; 
                and
                    ``(E) employ simplified approaches to determining 
                the erosive force of highway runoff generated from 
                covered projects, such as a regionalized analysis of 
                streams within a State.
    ``(c) Guidance.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation 
        with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall 
        publish guidance to assist States in carrying out this section.
            ``(2) Contents of guidance.--The guidance shall include 
        guidelines and technical assistance for the establishment of 
        State management measures that will be used to assist in 
        avoiding, minimizing, and managing highway runoff from covered 
        projects, including guidelines to help States integrate the 
        planning, selection, design, and long-term operation and 
        maintenance of management measures consistent with the design 
        standards in the overall project planning process.
            ``(3) Approval.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall--
                    ``(A) review the management measures program of 
                each State; and
                    ``(B) approve such a program, if the program meets 
                the requirements of subsection (b).
            ``(4) Updates.--Not later than 5 years after the date of 
        publication of the guidance under this subsection, and not less 
        frequently than once every 5 years thereafter--
                    ``(A) the Secretary, in consultation with the heads 
                of other relevant Federal agencies, shall update the 
                guidance, as applicable; and
                    ``(B) each State, as applicable, shall update the 
                management measures program of the State in accordance 
                with the updated guidance.
    ``(d) Reporting.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2)(A), 
        each State shall submit to the Secretary an annual report that 
        describes the activities carried out under the highway 
        stormwater management program of the State, including a 
        description of any reductions of stormwater runoff achieved as 
        a result of covered projects carried out by the State after the 
        date of enactment of this section.
            ``(2) Reporting requirements under permit.--
                    ``(A) In general.--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) Transmission of report.--A Federal or State 
                permitting authority that receives an annual report 
                described in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall, on receipt of 
                such a report, transmit a copy of the report to the 
                Secretary.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--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 management program.''.
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