[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2457 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2457
To require States to establish highway stormwater management programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 10, 2014
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, the following definitions
apply:
``(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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