Water Quality and Stormwater Management Training and Education Opportunities
The Federal Highway Administration is committed to providing a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly system. In order to help the States achieve this goal, we involve the transportation community professionals in training to help them comply with the various laws and policies enacted for this environmental protection, including but not limited to the protection and maintenance of water quality.
Water Quality Management of Highway Runoff (FHWA-NHI-142047)
The Clean Water Act, as it is currently known, was the first national water legislation enacted to control water pollution and water quality of the Nation's waterways. The principle objective of the legislation was to restore and maintain the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of our Nation's waters. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, gave the act its' current form and established a national goal that all waters of the U.S. should be fishable and swimmable. This act has been amended several times through the years and had had several different names. The Act regulates discharges to waters of the United States through permits issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program. This permitting program addresses stormwater discharges associated with urban areas and certain industrial activities, including transportation facilities.
To help transportation engineers, resource agencies and others identify and mitigate the impacts of highway runoff on water quality and ecosystems. The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) National Highway Institute (NHI) is offering a course titled, Water Quality Management of Highway Runoff (FHWA-NHI-142047). Highway stormwater runoff as part of development and urbanization is a potential source of a wide variety of possible pollutants to surrounding water bodies. The highway surfaces, along with adjoining areas collect a variety of materials as a result of highway usage, maintenance, natural conditions, and pollution fallout. This potential threat that highway runoff poses is not always certain, due to the number of highly effective measures available to treat the runoff before it actually reaches any receiving waters.
Major sources of the pollutant sources on highways are vehicles, dustfall and even precipitation. Vehicles are both a direct source of pollutants and an indirect source. They contribute directly to the pollutant load through normal operations, spills of oil and gas, leakages, and accidents. They indirectly contribute through their acquisition of solid materials, which they later deposit on the road through precipitation or the action of the wind. Highway maintenance activities such as: sanding, deicing and herbicides also contribute to the pollutant loadings from highways. The most common contaminants in highway runoff are heavy metals, inorganic salts, aromatic hydrocarbons, and suspended solids that accumulate on the road surface as a result of regular highway operation and maintenance activities.
Federal, State and local watershed planning processes are being strengthened to implement and characterize stormwater quality and evaluate the effectiveness of the different Best Management Practices being utilized and the impact they have on the receiving waters. Understanding the legal responsibilities, terminology, and the general roles of players in the regulatory process can be very important. Impending regulations and changing requirements in the regulatory arena will be important for transportation and environmental specialists to understand in order to be knowledgeable in areas of planning, budgeting and implementation of any water quality requirements. The intent of the course to provide an adequate understanding of the water quality parameters and process and provide guidance to the transportation engineer to protect water quality and integrate mitigation opportunities at the earliest possible stage in project development.
FHWA approved instructors will present the two day course using interactive materials. Each participant should bring a calculator to share in the responsibility of developing conceptual designs for mitigating highway stormwater runoff.
After completing the course participants will be able to identify and characterize the quantity and quality of highway runoff, describe how runoff can affect ecosystems, how to select a mitigation strategy from a watershed perspective and describe design objectives and considerations in selecting and siting appropriate Best Management Practices (BMPs) for controlling highway runoff. In addition, they will know the importance of BMP inspection, performance evaluation and monitoring.
For more information, contact NHI about enrolling or hosting a course.
Design and Implementation of Erosion and Sediment Control (FHWA-NHI-142054)
A joint effort between FHWA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this course, Design and Implementation of Erosion and Sediment Control (FHWA-NHI-142054) reflects the agencies' commitment to providing education and training on planning, design, implementation, enforcement, inspection, and maintenance strategies to control erosion and sediment on highway construction projects, as well as to ensure that regulatory issues are addressed accurately and uniformly. Each discipline involved in a highway construction project has a different set of priorities. Reflecting NHI's commitment to learner-centered training, the course offers participants opportunities for discussion and joint problem solving, through which they will gain information about the roles and responsibilities of other team members.
A mix of Federal, State, and local highway design, construction, inspection and maintenance staff; environmental agency representatives, as well as consultants and members of the construction industry are encouraged to attend to provide their perspectives, learn each other's responsibilities, and explore an array of options to erosion and sediment control.
After completing the course, participants will be able to: describe the components of an erosion and sediment control (ESC) plan, list the sources of information for the ESC plan, identify management practices and related management measures that are appropriate for typical situations and for a case example, list typical construction and inspection problems, describe both suitable prevention strategies and remedies for failure, and link Federal and State environmental regulations to the components of the ESC plan.
For more information, contact NHI about enrolling or hosting a course.
Related Training
Announcements
Symposium Announcement & Call for Presentations
"Water Resources and the Highway Environment - Impacts and Solutions"
Sponsored by:
Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee AFB60
Hydrology, Hydraulics and Water Quality
TRB Committee AFB60 invites you to attend a Symposium on Water Resources and the Highway Environment. This educational event will be held in Sanibel Island, Florida on July 16-18, 2007. The Symposium will be followed by the Committee's Mid-Year Meeting. For more information, please go to:
http://waterlearning.org/TRB/TRB_07.htm
Presentation will be considered on a variety of topics relating to water resources impacts from transportation systems. Sessions are anticipated on the following topics:
- Stream Stability
- Stream Restoration
- Fish passage/Aquatic Passage
- Stream mitigation
- Hydrology-Channel Forming Discharge, Flow Duration
- Coastal Environments
- Quality and quantity interactions in highway runoff
- Water Quality -Sediment and Pollutant Management in the Highway Environment
- Other Relevant Topics
Printed papers are welcome and copies of the presentation are required. Abstracts are due by April 2. Notice of Acceptance should be given by May 1. The Final Program is scheduled for completion by May 25. Abstracts and requests for registration information should be forwarded by email or mailed to:
Brian Roberts
Water Resources Learning Center
3918 Prosperity Ave, Suite 100
Fairfax, VA 22032
703-289-9600, Fax 703-289-9622
Brian@Waterlearning.org
International Stormwater Best Management Practices Database: A Resource for BMP Selection & Design Guidance
The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) hosted a nationally transmitted broadcast via satellite television and the internet. The database was sponsored by a coalition of partners including: Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) / Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), American Public Works Association (APWA)
The International Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Database www.bmpdatabase.org serves as a central clearinghouse for BMP data to help improve BMP selection, design, and performance. This broadcast introduced viewers to the history and significant findings of the BMP Database. Additionally, guidance on monitoring and examples of how various municipalities and DOTs are contributing to and utilizing the database was included.
The archive presentation can be viewed at: http://itre.ncsu.edu/CTE/TechTransfer/Teleconferences/2006schedule.asp#overview
Alternative Practices for Highway Stormwater Management
To register for this free webcast, go to: http://www.iwla.org/index.php?id=169
This four-part Webcast series outlined the latest techniques available to help transportation agencies save money, comply with water quality and water supply regulations, and improve water quality with context-sensitive stormwater management practices, including low impact development techniques. These techniques also can help highway department personnel manage stormwater quantity and quality while using existing rights of way and providing easy access for maintenance crews. Each session will include valuable background information and specific guidance on how to apply these principles for highway projects. The series will also address barriers to using innovative stormwater management techniques and how to overcome those barriers. This series will provide valuable information to design engineers, planners, regulators, students, maintenance supervisors, construction engineers, and consultants.
Introduction to Alternative Practices to Manage Highway Runoff (Aired May 18, 2006): This session will explore alternative practices to manage highway runoff using low impact development (LID) principals. LID refers to a toolbox of techniques, some of which provide excellent stormwater management options at low life-cycle cost for highways. LID in a highway environment means managing stormwater safely and cost-effectively to reproduce predevelopment hydrology while using methods that are appropriate to and fit within existing streetscapes and landscapes. Learn more about the benefits of these techniques and transportation projects that have used them successfully.
Planning Highway Projects Using Alternative Practices for Stormwater Management (Aired June 15, 2006): Everyone involved in planning and scoping highway projects will learn about the benefits of watershed-scale planning in the highway environment. The session will include factors to consider in watershed-scale planning and how to save costs over the life-cycle of projects by planning projects in ways that allow design engineers to take advantage of existing stormwater management properties of the landscape.
Alternative Practices for Highway Stormwater Management: Design, Construction and Maintenance - Part One (Aired October 26, 2006): Design engineers, construction engineers, and maintenance supervisors will learn detailed information about how to design, construct and maintain stormwater management techniques that use existing rights of way immediately adjacent to the roadway. Two or three project case studies will be presented in depth by a panel of engineers experienced in implementing these techniques. Design criteria and specifications will be provided.
Alternative Practices for Highway Stormwater Management: Design, Construction and Maintenance - Part Two (Aired December 7, 2006): This continuation of the previous session will explore three additional techniques.
Previously Aired Webcasts: To obtain copies, of previously aired webcasts go to: http://itre.ncsu.edu/cte/TechTransfer/Teleconferences/iwla2006.asp
