[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 60 (Thursday, May 5, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2737-S2738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARDIN:
  S. 898. A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to direct the 
Secretary to establish a comprehensive design standard program to 
prevent, control, and treat polluted stormwater runoff from federally 
funded highways and roads, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I am reintroducing legislation that 
will help prevent millions of gallons of pollution from entering our 
Nation's precious water resources. The season we are in makes my 
legislation particularly timely. Spring is one of the wettest times of 
year, and with every Spring shower polluted stormwater runoff washes a 
myriad of chemicals pollutants, sediment, debris, oil and grease, and 
other contaminates from our nation's roads and highways into our lakes, 
rivers, streams, bays, and coastal waters.
  Stormwater is the Nation's largest source of water pollution. While 
rain itself contains air pollution particulates that are deposited in 
every drop, most stormwater pollution is picked up on the surface and 
carried off as runoff. Stormwater washes contaminants like oil, grease, 
heavy metals, nutrients, asbestos, sediments, road salts and other de-
icing agents, brake dust, and road debris from the millions of miles of 
America's roads and into storm drains that discharge into nearby 
waters. Almost all of this polluted stormwater is discharged without 
any treatment.
  When rain falls on these hard, impervious surfaces it often has no 
where to go but down the channels created by curbs and retaining walls, 
into storm drains and into the nearest natural water body. According to 
research compiled by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric 
Administration's, NOAA, National Geophysical Data Center, the U.S. is 
covered by more than 112,600 square kilometers of impervious surfaces. 
That is a space larger than the State of Ohio. With 985,139 miles of 
Federal aid highways stretching from every corner of the country, 
polluted highway runoff is no small problem facing our Nation's waters.

[[Page S2738]]

  The effects of polluted stormwater runoff are real. For example, the 
Anacostia River--Washington's ``other'' and often forgotten river--can 
be seen from the Capitol Dome as it flows out of Prince George's 
County, MD, and into the District and on to its confluence with the 
Potomac. Runoff from within the 176 square mile watershed of the 
Anacostia, most of which is in Maryland, but also includes the east 
side of D.C. and the entire Capitol complex, all makes its way into the 
Anacostia. The stormwater that enters the Anacostia is extremely 
polluted from the thousands of acres of road surfaces that cover the 
watershed, which exacerbates the incidence of combined sewer overflows 
and has impaired the Anacostia for many years. It is no coincidence 
that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has found the Anacostia's bottom-
feeder catfish to have the highest incidence of liver tumors than any 
other population of catfish in the country. The cause of the tumors are 
the high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a by-product of 
fuel combustion, that come from vehicle tailpipe emissions and are 
deposited on the road and in the air and then washed into the river 
with every shower or thunderstorm.
  This is not a problem unique to Maryland or the Chesapeake Bay 
region, nor is it a problem unique to urban environments as opposed to 
rural environments. Polluted runoff is a problem that affects any 
watershed where impervious paved road and highway surfaces have altered 
the natural hydrology of a watershed. Over time, federal highway policy 
has come to recognize the drastic impacts highways and surface 
transportation can have on the environment and on water quality. Title 
23 of the U.S. Code states: ``transportation should play a significant 
role in promoting economic growth, improving the environment, and 
sustaining the quality of life'' through the use of ``context sensitive 
solutions.'' The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, 
ISTEA, authorized using transportation enhancement funds for 
``environmental mitigation to address water pollution due to highway 
runoff.'' It is important to note, however, that this is just one of 12 
types of eligible enhancement projects and only 1.1 percent of 
enhancement project funds have gone toward environmental mitigation 
projects since 1992.
  In 2008, at the request of the House Transportation & Infrastructure 
Committee, the Government Accountability Office issued a report 
examining key issues and challenges that need to be addressed in the 
next reauthorization of the transportation bill. That report 
highlighted the clear link between transportation policy and the 
environment. Taking a policy approach to require that the planning, 
design, and construction of highways are done in an environmentally 
responsible manner, with an eye toward mitigating the water quality 
impacts highways have on our Nation's water resources, will help 
address this issue and better meet our Nation's transportation goals. 
This legislation also helps advance the October 5, 2009, Executive 
Order affirming that Federal policy and Federal agencies shall 
``conserve and protect water resources through efficiency, reuse, and 
stormwater management; eliminate waste, recycle, and prevent pollution; 
and leverage agency acquisitions to foster markets for sustainable 
technologies and environmentally preferable materials, products and 
services.''
  Over the years, The U.S. Department of Transportation has established 
design standards for federal-aid highways to improve the performance 
and safety of our highway infrastructure. These design standard 
improvements were the result of obvious safety and engineering problems 
that needed to be addressed. These design standard are essential to 
ensuring that the Federal Government's investment in transportation 
infrastructure is resulting in a well-designed, safe and reliable 
``product'' for the benefit of the American people.
  The same can be said for the need for establishing environmental 
design standards for Federal-aid highways as a means of protecting 
water quality. While stormwater runoff from highways may be classified 
as non-point source pollution, it is unquestionably the source of a 
wide range of contaminants that impair rivers, lakes, streams and 
coastal waters; create costly remedial situations; and detract from the 
value and health of our precious water resources. Requiring Federal-aid 
highways to meet an environmental standard for protecting water quality 
will improve the value of the Federal Government's investment in our 
Nation's highway infrastructure.
  The approach my legislation takes to mitigate polluted highway runoff 
is through the implementation of a design standard, developed by the 
United States Department of Transportation, requiring the maintenance 
or restoration of the pre-development hydrology of a federal-aid 
highway project site. This same approach was made law by the Energy 
Independence & Security Act of 2007 for the development of new Federal 
buildings and facilities.
  My bill would require that all substantial federal highway projects 
must be planned and designed ``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.'' This would be achieved by approaches that avoid and 
minimize alteration of natural features and hydrology and maximize the 
use of onsite pollution control measures using existing terrain and 
natural features.
  My bill also recognizes that geography and other physical 
characteristics of the land may not always allow on-site treatment of 
polluted highway runoff. When conditions are impracticable my 
legislation would allow for an ``appropriate off-site runoff pollution 
mitigation program'' within the watershed of a Federal-aid highway 
project site that can protect against the water quality impacts of the 
project.
  The Clean Water Act requires that we protect the waters of the United 
States. As with most pollution abatement strategies, preventing 
stormwater pollution is cheaper, more effective, and easier to 
implement than trying to clean up and remediate the problem after 
contamination has occurred.
  Not addressing stormwater pollution at its source just kicks the 
proverbial can down the road for someone else to deal with. When water 
resources are contaminated by polluted highway runoff, mitigating the 
pollution, which is a preventable discharge in the first place, should 
not be the responsibility of local goverments, wastewater treatment 
facilities, or drinking water utilities.
  Water pollution has many sources and our nation's highways produce a 
tremendous volume of contaminated stormwater. Time and time again, 
experience has taught us that addressing pollution at its source is the 
most effective means of abating pollution. It is time we applied this 
principle to our Nation's Federal-aid highways. I urge my colleagues to 
support my legislation and help move our country closer to meeting the 
goals of the Clean Water Act and the goals of our national 
transportation policy.
                                 ______