MDE recently issued the next five-year permit for MDOT/SHA, the scope of which will likely impact county permits moving forward.
Last week, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) released the next five-year stormwater discharge permit for the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA). This five-year permit is designed to mitigate the harmful effects of oil, gas, toxins, and other pollutants that runoff from roadways and into the Chesapeake Bay during rain events—known as stormwater pollution.
The new Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit expands MDOT SHA’s restoration obligations to more than 4,000 acres (a nearly 40% increase in restored acres over the draft permit). The effort is supported by $216 million in combined state and federal funding and is expected to support Maryland’s growing restoration economy while protecting vulnerable communities from flooding and pollution.
Permit highlights include:
- Requires MDOT SHA to restore 4,092 impervious acres through stormwater retrofits and other practices, with a focus on green infrastructure such as stream restoration and tree planting across the roadway network
- Increases equity and accountability by requiring MDOT SHA to evaluate and report on restoration opportunities and progress in communities with environmental justice concerns, while meeting annual benchmarks to ensure steady progress
- Modernizes tracking by expanding collaboration with scientists and experts on shared monitoring studies – delivering better data, faster results, and smarter decisions.
Important for counties, updated requirements under MDOT SHA’s permit are a likely predictor of requirements soon to be negotiated between county MS4s permit holders and MDE during their 5 year update.
Push Back from Environmental Advocates
Many of Maryland’s environmental advocacy groups pushed back at MDE for, in their estimation, not going far enough in mandating new requirements to reduce stormwater pollution. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), Chesapeake Legal Alliance (CLA), and Maryland League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issued a joint statement saying,
A new precedent-setting permit misses the mark on addressing climate change at the same time that Marylanders are enduring exceptionally heavy rainfall and flash flooding this summer. . . .
The permit fails to address significant deficiencies that were identified by experts in the draft permit last year, including continued use of out-of-date data, emphasis on stormwater practices that do not address the root cause of pollution, and lack of information on emerging contaminants like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). . . .
MDE’s latest MS4 permit for MDOT SHA makes some minor improvements but fails to incorporate key provisions that advocates and citizens had called for during the permit’s public comment period. Suggested improvements that will not be implemented include:
- Ensuring the permit accounts for increased storm intensity and other impacts of climate change;
- Requiring a range of effective practices to mitigate stormwater pollution, such as riparian plantings, “green infrastructure” infiltration structures, and removal of unused impervious surfaces (such as roads, parking lots, etc.), to reduce reliance on in-stream projects;
- Expanding monitoring requirements to include temperature changes and impacts to wildlife and their habitats from polluted runoff; and,
- Tracking and addressing pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and ‘forever chemicals’ such as PFAS.