Final Scope

State departments of transportation (DOTs) are responsible for maintaining state transportation systems while simultaneously maintaining environmental compliance. State DOT construction activities are required to comply with federal and state National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Construction General Permit (CGP) requirements. The regulations require state DOTsto implement policies, procedures, and practicesto minimize offsite discharges of sedimentladen stormwater to protect downstream receiving water bodies during construction. To obtain permit coverage, regulated construction activities require the development, implementation, and maintenance of project specific Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs). The SWPPP provides construction stormwater-related management requirements and details on the installation and maintenance of structural and non-structural practices implemented during land disturbing activities.

State DOTs nationwide are faced with CGP implementation challenges as they frequently find themselves needing to be flexible and creative with how to address, track, and report on construction stormwater compliance. There are a diverse range of platforms that provide a variety of tools that assist state DOTs with addressing construction stormwater compliance requirements.

The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOT practices, tools, and approaches for managing compliance with state and federal construction stormwater permit requirements.

Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to):

• Type of construction stormwater management program (individual or general);
• Preparation and management of SWPPPs;
• Components of state DOT construction stormwater management programs performed in-house and by consultants (design guidance development, inspections, asset tracking, reporting, etc.);
• Practices for tracking construction stormwater management permit requirements for construction projects;
• Qualifications required by the NPDES permit for designers and inspectors (Professional Engineer, Professional Landscape Architect, Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment, state certification, etc.);
• Responsible party for the development of design standards for sediment control practices (state environmental agency, state DOT, national/FHWA standards, etc.);
• State DOT experience with regulatory audits for the MS4 or construction stormwater programs;
• Practices for the application of flocculants; and
• Frequency of updating state DOT guidance for erosion and sediment control practices.

Information will be gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified.

Information Sources (Partial):

• Liu, L., Perez, M. A., Whitman, J. B., Donald, W. N., and Zech, W. C. (2021). SILTspread: A Performance-Based Approach for the Design and Installation of Silt Fence Sediment Barriers, Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 147, 10 [DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0001608].
• Kazaz, B., Schussler, J. C., Dickey, L. C., and Perez, M. A. (2022). Soil Loss Risk Analysis for Construction Activities, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. [DOI: 10.1177/03611981221075027].
• Kazaz, B., Perez, M. A., and Donald, W. N. (2021). A State-of-the-Practice Review on the Use of Flocculants for Construction Stormwater Management in the United States, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. [DOI: 10.1177/0361198121995192].
• Perez, M. A., Zech, W. C., Donald, W. N., Turochy, R. E., and Fagan, B. G. (2019). Transferring Innovative Erosion and Sediment Control Research Results into Industry Practice, Water 11(12), 2549 [DOI: 10.3390/w11122549].
• Perez, M. A., Zech, W. C., Donald, W. N., and Fang, X. (2016). Design Methodology for the Selection of Temporary Erosion and Sediment Control Practices based on Regional Hydrological Conditions, ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. [DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0001328].

TRB Staff
Jo Allen Gause
Email: jagause@nas.edu

Meeting Dates
First Panel Meeting: September 14, 2023, Washington, DC
Conference Call: October 25, 2023, 1:00-2:00 pm EST
Second Panel Meeting: June 6, 2024, Washington, DC 

Panel Members
Brian L Smith, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Michael A. Perez, Auburn University
Melissa Serio, Iowa Department of Transportation
Rongdu Lu, New Jersey Department of Transportation
Heather A. Carman, Texas Department of Transportation
Jennifer Ferngren Cappelleti, Florida Department of Transportation
Dragomir J. Bogdanic, California Department of Transportation
Brian Roberts, Transportation Research Board