Transcript SCOE-SCOD, Winters, CA, Stormwater Mgmt

California Department of
Transportation
Storm Water Drivers
 Clean Water Act (CWA) requires NPDES permits
for storm water discharges from municipalities,
including road systems owned by states
 USEPA delegates issuance of California NPDES
permits to SWRCB & 9 RWQCBs
 Third party lawsuits in Los Angeles and San
Diego
 Multiple overlapping requirements, permits,
enforcement actions
 Diverse state geography, climate, politics
 Public health and safety concerns: e.g. West
Nile Virus
Program Challenges
 Caltrans deals with storm water issues that
frequently become “moving targets.”
 Overlapping regulatory jurisdictions.
 Caltrans’ storm water program is complex and
broad reaching. The process is not easy to
understand.
 Caltrans needs acceptable tools and proven
processes that can be applied statewide
 Costs of compliance
Multiple Permit Requirements
Contained in the Caltrans
Statewide Storm Water Permit
 Statewide Permit for Storm Water Discharges
 Statewide General Permit for Construction Activities
 Statewide General Permit for discharge to land with
a low threat to water quality
 Lahontan RWQCB Permit for Construction Activity
with Land Disturbance in Lake Tahoe
 Individual RWQCB requirements
 TMDLs, adopted and pending
 Ocean Plan is pending
Caltrans Storm Water Program Components
 Strong coordination in department functions,
e.g. design, construction
 Policy, permitting & planning
 Monitoring & BMP research
 Integration in business practices
 Implementation in district projects
A Successful Program
Rooted in Science
 Five-Year Study to characterize storm water
runoff is completed
 Base BMPs on science
 Focus on developing “smaller, cheaper, better”
BMPs
 Build partnerships to share knowledge and
leverage resources
In State Coordination
 Regulatory Agencies
 Regional Transportation Plans
 Other transportation partners in same
watershed
 Other storm water permittees
National Coordination
 Partner with other DOTs
 Pooled funded projects
 Propose SCOE Group on Storm Water
 Co-sponsor DOT workshop to develop a
national research program
Caltrans Storm Water Contacts
 www.dot.ca.gov/hq/env/stormwater/index.htm
 Gary Winters, Chief, Division of Environmental
Analysis (916) 653-7136, [email protected]
 John Van Berkel: Acting Chief Environmental
Engineering (916) 654-4327, John_Van
[email protected]
 Mike Flake: Office Chief Storm Water Policy,
Planning and Permitting (916) 653-4947,
[email protected]