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Bay region leaders and cleanup activists from around the watershed are hoping that a new federal highway bill can put the brakes on stormwater runoff into the Chesapeake.
Their goal is to require that any new or reconstructed highways using federal money install state-of-the-art stormwater controls to protect local streams and ultimately the Bay.
During the 1990s, the amount of impervious surfaces in the Bay watershed increased 41 percent while the overall population grew by only 8 percent. Much of that increase was driven by road construction.
While pollution from other major sources-agriculture, wastewater treatment plants and air pollution-is thought to be declining, runoff from urban and suburban areas continues to increase as more land is developed, spurring more road construction.
"In the Chesapeake watershed, it is the urban sector and the paved sector that is growing at the fastest rate," said Ann Swanson, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission. "If we don't start institutionalizing proper water management provisions, we will never be able to mitigate all of the mistakes.
"So we better move forward ensuring that we are addressing water quality issues as more pavement is laid down."
Highlighting the importance of the legislation, the governors of all six states that drain into the Bay sent a joint letter to the chairs of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee calling stormwater a "national challenge presenting a vexing problem in the Chesapeake and waterways nationwide."
The governors requested that all new construction, as well as significant reconstruction, of federal-aid highways require stormwater controls that, to the extent possible, maintain runoff at pre-construction levels.
There are nearly 1 million miles of federal-aid highways, out of a total of 2.3 million miles of paved roads nationally. There are nearly 100,000 miles of federal aid roads in the six states containing the Bay watershed. Much of that system was built before stormwater controls were required.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell, Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine, New York Gov. David Paterson; West Virginia Gov. Joseph Manchin and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signed the letter.
It was the first time that governors from all six states in the Bay watershed signed a single letter seeking action on behalf of the Bay.
Also signing were District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty, and Chesapeake Bay Commission Chairman John Cosgrove. The commission represents the legislatures of Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The letter said that "nationwide roads and related infrastructure comprise at least two-thirds of all paved surfaces. These impervious surfaces promote runoff-carrying with it pollution from tailpipe emissions, fluid leaks, brake linings and tire wear-thereby delivering the roadway's pollutant load to the nearest receiving waterway."
The letter cited a 2002 Maryland study that showed highways account for 22 percent of urban nitrogen and 32 percent of urban phosphorus in the Bay watershed.
In addition, 33 members of Congress, including 17 representing the Bay watershed, signed a separate letter asking that stormwater requirements be part of the new legislation. "We believe that the federal government must do its part to ensure that its federal highway system and related infrastructure do not exacerbate the...monumental task of reducing stormwater overflows and pollutants in our waterways," the letter stated.
Among the signatories of the letter were 14 members of the transportation committee, and the chairs from four of its six subcommittees.
The current version of the highway bill allows states to use money from the federal Highway Enhancement fund for stormwater improvements, but does not require it. Because that fund can also be used for a variety of activities such as bike paths, pedestrian walkways, historical preservation and landscaping, only 2 percent of that money was used for stormwater.
"Where there is an option, the stormwater management techniques are not opted for, and we need to change that," Swanson said.
The language supported by the Bay organizations bypasses any competition for funds simply by making stormwater a requirement, although states could still use money from the enhancement fund to pay for any increased expense if they wanted.
"There has been language in previous bills, but nothing that actually creates a clear policy that ensures all new construction and reconstruction of federal highways reduces stormwater, and that's what we're looking for," said Hilary Harp Falk, director of the new Chesapeake Bay Watershed Coalition.
The recently formed coalition, a network of more than 60 organizations within the watershed that have come together to push for legislative actions that promote clean water, has made the highway bill one of its top priorities.
The stormwater language was not included in the first draft of the bill which was unveiled in mid-June, but supporters were optimistic that it would be added later.
"We're certainly disappointed that this didn't make it into the first draft of the bill, but we understand that this is a long process and we're hopeful that we will be able to get this into the bill before it is passed by the House of Representatives," said Joshua Saks, a lobbyist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The Federal Surface Transportation Act-formally called the Safe, Accountable Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU-sets national transportation policy. It authorizes highway and transit spending for the next six years. The bill, which replaces a $266 billion program that expires this year, is expected to top $500 billion.
The spending is largely funded by the 18.4 cent-per-gallon federal gas tax, which goes into the federal Highway Trust Fund. But with the recent trend toward reduced driving and higher mileage vehicles, the tax may not be enough to cover the full tab, in fact, it's expected to run dry before the end of the current fiscal year Sept. 31.
Citing that shortfall, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asked lawmakers in June to extend the current bill for 18 months while funding alternatives are found. The Obama administration has opposed raising the gas tax to pay for the work.
As a result, it's unclear when a bill will be approved. The House is fast-tracking the legislation, seeking passage by the end of July or in early September when lawmakers return from their August break.
But legislation has not been written in the Senate, and there is no timetable for action.
Bay advocates are not the only ones zeroing in on the bill. Other groups are pushing for significant increases for transit and passenger railroad spending-the American Public Transit Association is seeking to double transit spending to $123 billion. Other changes could improve wetland mitigation requirements.
The Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail is partnering with several other organizations on a proposal that, if approved, would require that public access to waterways be given consideration in the planning, construction or reconstruction of federal-aid highways that cross waterways.
Such crossings are often informally used by anglers, canoeists and kayakers for access. The groups? argue that if access is considered as part of highway projects, it would ?both improve the public's ability to get to waterways and public safety at ?those sites.
Such consideration is required in California, but only for the construction of new roads.
Historically, Bay area lawmakers and activists have not significantly influenced major pieces of national legislation. That changed with last year's Farm Bill, when lawmakers from the watershed won a provision that steered $188 million to agricultural conservation programs in the watershed over four years.
