• AASHTO Practitioner's Handbook #13: Developing and Implementing a Stormwater Management Program in a Transportation Agency (June 2009)

[back to top]

Note: A list of official laws, regulations and policy documents is provided in the Water Quality and Wetlands Overview.

Stormwater

EPA Documents

• Example and General Permits 
• Fact sheets and Outreach Materials 
• Permit Applications and Forms 
• Policy and Guidance Documents 
• Program Status Reports 
• EPA Frequently Asked Questions 
• Storm Water Phase II Final Rule Fact Sheet Series 
• National Menu of Best Management Practices for NPDES Stormwater Phase II 
• Measurable Goals Guidance for Phase II Small MS4s. This document provides information for meeting the requirements for MS4 permits.  It could be helpful to small communities that may not have resources to develop technical parts of the MS4 permit and the goals.
• Urbanized Area Maps 
• EPA's Construction General Permit 
• EPA's Construction General Permit Fact sheet 
• EPA's Construction General Permit FAQs 
• Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan Development 
• Stormwater and the Construction Industry Poster
• Construction Industry Compliance Assistance Web Site 
• Developing Your Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, A Guide for Construction Sites, EPA (May 2007).  A 50-page stormwater pollution prevention plan guide, intended mostly for non-linear construction, is intended to help municipal jurisdiction implement stormwater management programs under MS4 requirements.
• Federal Environmental Requirements for Construction. This EPA document covers all environmental considerations for construction sites.  Good general overview of all the permits that might be required.
• Multi-Sector General Permits for Storm water Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity (proposed MSGP) (2006)
• Resource List for Stormwater Management Programs (May 2004)
• Implementing the Partial Remand of the Storm water Phase II Regulations Regarding Notices of Intent & NPDES General Permitting for Phase II (April 2004)
• Model General Permit for Discharges from Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems. This document could be useful to DOTs that may have to assist communities with preparation of MS4 permits.
• Results of the Nationwide Urban Runoff Program (NURP)-Executive Summary -December 1983. This is a seminal document that is referenced widely and was the foundation document for storm water regulation.

State Resources

• Protecting Water Quality in Urban Areas. This is a publication of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and focuses on problems unique to urban environments.
• Florida Stormwater, Erosion, and Sedimentation Control Inspector’s Manual. Florida is one of the few states that publishes an inspector’s manual that covers all types and areas of erosion and sediment control.
• Maryland’s Stormwater Design Manual. This link is for Maryland’s Stormwater Design Manual.  It covers a full range of issues and combines water quality and quantity volumes for post-construction measures.

Other Research and Resource Documents

• Compendium of Environmental Fieldwork Technologies, NCHRP 25-25, Task 48 (October 2009)
• NCHRP Research Results Digest 330: Temporary Bridging to Avoid or Minimize Impacts to Waters and Wetlands During Highway Construction, NCHRP Project 25-30 (Sept. 2008)
• Water Quality Analyses for NEPA Documents: Selecting Appropriate Methodologies, NCHRP Project 25-25, Task 35 (July 2008)
• Water: From Trouble to Treasure – A Pocket Guide to ‘Green’ Solutions (July 2007) Center for Neighborhood Technology. This field guide is intended to help environmental advocates and communities understand and advance ‘green’ solutions to stormwater management.
• Further Implementation and Better Cost Data Needed to Determine Impact of EPA’s Storm Water Program on Communities  (U.S. Government Accountability Office, June 2007, highlights; full report)
• International Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Database 
• State Transportation Agency Strategies to Address NPDES Phase II Requirements (NCHRP Project 25-25, Task 16)  (February 2007)
• Evaluation of Best Management Practices for Highway Runoff Control (NCHRP Report 565) (2006). This report focuses on post-construction methods for treating stormwater runoff from highways.
• Stream Mitigation Guidelines, April 2003. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District.
• Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination A Guidance Manual for Program Development and Technical Assessments (October 2004). Center for Watershed Protection and Robert Pitt University. This manual covers technology for compliance with illicit discharge requirements of the MS4 permit.
• Determining Components of Infrastructure to Stormwater Runoff
• Guidelines for the Selection of Snow and Ice Control Materials to Mitigate Environmental Impact (2007) National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 557

 TMDLs

• EPA Guidance for 2004 Assessment, Listing and Reporting Requirements Pursuant to Sections 303(d) and 305(b) of the Clean Water Act TMDL -01-03. July 21, 2003
• Establishing Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Wasteload Allocations (WLAs) for Storm Water Sources and NPDES Permit Requirements Based on Those WLAs [PDF 229kb] EPA Memorandum, February 12, 2003
• The Twenty Needs Report: How Research Can Improve the TMDL Program (EPA841-B-02-002, 43 pages) September 3, 2002
• 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Sierra Club v. Meiburg issued on July 2, 2002 
• 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Pronsolino v. Nastri issued on May 31, 2002 
• Assessing the TMDL Approach to Water Quality Management, National Research Council, June 15, 2001
• Stressor Identification Guidance, March 19, 2001
• Evaluation of Sediment Transport Data for Clean Sediment TMDLs, National Sedimentation Laboratory of USDA's Agricultural Research Service. February 27, 2001
• Protocol for Developing Pathogen TMDLs: First Edition, Jan. 2001, EPA 841-R-00-002
  This document is the third in a series of three technical guidance documents developed by EPA to provide a framework for completing the technical and programmatic steps in the TMDL development process where pathogens are the pollutants of concern.

Surface Water Quality

• Water Quality Trading Toolkit for Permit Writers (August 2007) This EPA document is a “how-to” manual on designing and implementing water quality trading programs consistent with EPA’s 2003 National Water Quality Trading Policy. The document provides National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authorities with tools to incorporate trading provisions into permits.
• EPA's Wadeable Streams Assessment (May 2006)
• Effects of Nutrient Enrichment in the Nation’s Estuaries: A Decade of Change - NOAA Report (July 2007)
• Guidelines for the Selection of Snow and Ice Control Materials to Mitigate Environmental Impacts – NCHRP Report 577 (May 2007)
• Stream Corridor Restoration: Principals, Processes and Practice (Revised August 2001) USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Reference Books

• Construction Site Erosion and Sediment Controls: Planning, Design, and Performance, 2006, Pitt, Donald Lake Robert and Shirley Clark. This book describes the design of erosion and sediment controls for construction sites.  All of the design methods recommended are based on accepted engineering principals and clearly explained. 
• Designing for Effective Sediment and Erosion Control on Construction Sites, 2004, Jerald S Fifield. This reference provides field-oriented information on selecting and implementing construction site stormwater BMPs.
• Design Hydrology and Sedimentology for Small Catchments, 1994. C.T. Hann, B.J. Barfield and J.C. Hayes. This reference focuses on hydrology design theories in small catchments.  The authors explore multiple design methods and theories like the rational method for design of stormwater conveyance systems.
• Handbook of Hydrology, 1993. David R. Maidment. This book is an authoritative reference on hydrology.
• Stormwater Management for Smart Growth, 2005, Davis, Allen P. and Richard H. McCuen. This book describes the principles of “low impact development” (LID) and the relationship to stormwater management. Most new construction general permits and water quality regulatory programs are requiring that agencies address LID principles and incorporate them into projects.
• Stormwater Management, 2004. Martin P. Wanielista and Yousef A. Yousef. This book focuses on the issues of stormwater management and all aspects of stormwater infrastructure.
• Water-Quality Engineering in Natural Systems, 2006. David A. Chin. This book places water quality issues in a natural systems context.     
• Watershed Assessment of River Stability and Sediment Supply (WARSSS), 2007., Dave Rosgen, Darcie Frantila, and Hilton Lee Silvey.  Rosgen is an authority on stream morphology and stream restoration and naturalization.  This is the latest of his works on watershed assessment and river stability.

Reference Documents

• Designs of Roadside Channels with Flexible Linings, Hydraulic Engineering Circular 15, Third Edition
• Urban Drainage Design Manual, Hydraulic Engineering Circular 22, Second Edition
• Hydraulic Designs of Energy Dissipaters for Culverts and Channels, Hydraulic Engineering Circular 14, Third Edition
• Highway Hydrology, Hydraulic Design Series No. 2, Second Edition
• NCHRP Report 25-25 (04) Environmental Stewardship Practices, Procedures, and Policies for Highway Construction and Maintenance
• NCHRP Report 474, Assessing the Impacts of Bridge Deck Runoff Contaminants in Receiving Waters
• Stormwater Best Management Practices in an Ultra-Urban Setting: Selection and Monitoring, Reference for permanent structural stormwater BMPs in deep urban settings.
• Evaluation and Management of Highway Runoff Water Quality, Author: G. Kenneth Young, Stuart Stein, Pamela Cole, Traci Kammer, Frank Graziano, Fred Bank, Publication Year: 1996, Contact: FHWA The Office of Natural Environment
• Guidance Manual for Monitoring Highway Runoff Water Quality, FHWA 2001.

[back to top]

Federal Agencies

Note: A more complete list of official laws, regulations and policy documents is provided in the Water Quality and Wetlands Overview. 

Environmental Protection Agency

• Draft Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Wetland Mapping Standard (August 2007) Federal Register notice; draft document
• EPA and Army Corps Joint Guidance on Clean Water Act Jurisdiction (Revised December 2008)
• Text of the Supreme Court decision in Rapanos v. U.S. and Carabell v. U.S. - June 19, 2006
• Federal Guidance on the Use of In-Lieu-Fee Arrangements for Compensatory Mitigation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act. (October 2000)
• Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach for Assessing Wetland Functions: HGM Action Plan (June 1997)
• Federal Guidance for the Establishment, Use and Operation of Mitigation Banks (November 1995)

Federal Highway Administration

• Results of the FHWA Domestic Scan of Successful Wetland Mitigation Programs (June 2006)

Natural Resource Conservation Service

• 1997 National Resources Inventory (revised December 2000) U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service in cooperation with the Iowa State University Statistical Laboratory.
• 2003 National Resources Inventory 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

• See U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory (Wetlands) website
  • CWA Guidance to Implement the U.S. Supreme Court Decision for the Rapanos and Carabell Cases 
  • Final Compensatory Mitigation Rule 
• EPA and Army Corps Joint Guidance on Clean Water Act Jurisdiction (June 2007)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

• Report to Congress on the Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 1986 to 1997 
• Geographically Isolated Wetlands: A Preliminary Assessment of their Characteristics and Status in Selected Areas of the United States U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Forest Service

• Guide to Creating Vernal Ponds  

Congressional Research Service

• CRS reports on wetlands

State Agencies

Minnesota 

• Restoring & Managing Native Wetland & Upland Vegetation 
• Minnesota DOT Wetland Publications 

South Dakota

• Wetland Conservation and Management Guidelines for South Dakota State Agencies.

Washington State

• Wetland Mitigation at the Washington State Department of Transportation 
• Mitigation Tools for Special Circumstances: Preservation of High Quality Wetlands

Transportation Research Board

• Guidelines for Selecting Compensatory Wetlands Mitigation Options (National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 482)
• NCHRP Research Results Digest 330: Temporary Bridging to Avoid or Minimize Impacts to Waters and Wetlands During Highway Construction (NCHRP Project 25-30) (Sept. 2008)

Nongovernmental Organizations

• Federal Wetland Permitting Program: Avoidance and Minimization Requirements, Environmental Law Institute (March 2008)
• State Wetland Permitting Program: Avoidance and Minimization Requirements, Environmental Law Institute (March 2008)
• Anchoring the Clean Water Act: Congress’s Constitutional Source of Power to Protect the Nation’s Waters (July 2007) – Environmental Law Institute white paper is available for free download (registration required)
• Biodiversity Values of Geographically Isolated Wetlands in the United States. A study conducted by NatureServe which assesses the potential biodiversity impacts of the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County vs. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC) decision.
• The Handbook for Wetlands Conservation and Sustainability. Izaak Walton League of America's Save Our Streams Program.
• The SWANCC Decision and State Regulations of Wetlands. Association of State Wetland Managers.
• The SWANCC Decision: Implications for Wetlands and Waterfowl. Ducks Unlimited.

[back to top]

Over the past 20 years there has been a great deal of specialized research conducted related to transportation water quality and stormwater quality management.  This includes general information about program development to meet regulations as well as a great deal of technical information characterization of highway runoff, non-structural BMPs, permanent and temporary structural BMPs for stormwater management, hydraulic design of highway stormwater structures and the application of hydrology theory to transportation applications.  Because this is such a broad topic we have only listed the publication of the most immediate use.  However, in daily transportation practice needs arise for specific information.  For the most part it is best to begin by looking in transportation research databases and by making contacts with agencies that may share similar problems that may have already developed information to address the situation.

There are six primary transportation databases that catalog books and research documents from around the world described here.  The first two databases, TRIS and the TRB’s Research in Progress databases are easily accessible online from the Transportation Research Board’s Website.  The TransSTATS data base is accessed through the Bureau of Transportation Statistics website. TRANweb is accessed through the Northwestern University Transportation Library page.  The TLCat collection is found at the Transportation Libraries Catalog website.  The Transport database while more robust than TRIS requires access through a major library that subscribes to the service.  A brief description of these six databases is provided here.

• TRIS Online. TRIS Online is derived from TRIS, the bibliographic database of transportation research information produced by the Transportation Research Board. It is hosted by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Library. The subject Indexing has been converted to Transportation Research Thesaurus terms. It includes more links to full text than Transport, but it lacks the records from Europe contributed by International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD).
• TRB Research in Progress. Contains about 6,600 records of current or recently completed transportation research projects. 
• TranStats. A central access point to a broad collection of intermodal transportation data. These data have been collected by various agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation or by other federal agencies, such as the U.S. Bureau of the Census. 
• Transport (Pre-1970 - present) is derived from TRIS, the bibliographic database of transportation research information produced by the Transportation Research Board. This version is a product of SilverPlatter. The Interface includes more features than the TRIS Online interface. The database includes records from Europe that are not in TRIS Online.
• TRANweb: Transportation Article File
  Produced by the Northwestern University Transportation Library, the TRAN File contains bibliographic and location information for magazine articles, conference papers, and other material on transportation and law enforcement topics. Coverage in the online file generally extends back through 1979 and for scholarly journals generally back through 1976.
• TLCat. Coordinated by the National Transportation Library (NTL), the Transportation Libraries Catalog (TLCat) enables the user to simultaneously search the collections of 15 libraries with transportation-specific collections and holdings in OCLC.

TRIS and the TRB Research in Progress databases are the place to begin a search because they have good abstracts for most projects as well as some contact information.  It is very important when using these databases to narrow the search terms quickly.  For example if TRIS is searched for the term “stormwater” the search will return 411 different references.  Whereas a search for NPDES compliance will return only 10 and stormwater characterization returns only 16.   Once a search is narrowed it is easy to review the abstracts and select the articles that will be of the most use.

[back to top]