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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

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Title:

Regulating Deicing Runoff from Highway Operations

Abstract:

This paper describes the increasing regulatory pressure on the runoff of roadway deicing chemicals and projects future trends in the permitting of those discharges. With the advent of the Clean Water Act's storm water permitting program in 1987, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was given an express mandate to control storm water discharges through federal wastewater discharge permits. Phase II of the storm water program brings a new focus on the potential water quality impact of highway deicing runoff. With this focus comes the increased likelihood that dischargers adjacent to impaired waters will be subjected to stringent permit terms. To meet this challenge, state departments of transportation and other entities responsible for roadway deicing activities should begin to think through the options with which they will be presented. Working with regulatory agencies early on to ensure that potential water quality impacts will be fairly and accurately characterized will be critical. Equally important will be advance work with permitting agencies to frame permitting strategies that would not unduly burden roadway deicing operations.

Source(s):

6th International Symposium on Snow Removal and Ice Control Technology, Transportation Research Circular, No. E-C063

http://trb.org/publications/circulars/ec063.pdf

Date: 2004

Author:

Davis

Keywords:


Environment
Institutional issues
Winter maintenance

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