Advocates say Maryland needs better pollution controls on highways

The Trump administration is cutting auto emissions standards and is plowing ahead with other regulations. Photo by Bruce DePuyt.

By Jeremy Cox
Chesapeake Bay Journal

Environmental advocates are calling on the Maryland Department of Transportation to make more of an effort at cleaning up the polluted stormwater that washes off highways.

Stormwater runoff represents the fastest-growing source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, according to Chesapeake Bay Program computer models.

Some of that can be traced back to the oil, gas, dust and other contaminants that rainwater carries into waterways from roads, experts say. MDOT’s State Highway Administration oversees about 15,000 lane miles of highways and 2,600 bridges.

Maryland environmental regulators set pollution control mandates under a statewide permit for the highway system. The 5-year permit is up for renewal later this summer.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and other advocates say the state needs to do more to account for climate change and increasing development in the new permit . Previous iterations have employed outdated rainfall estimates to determine how robust the pollution controls should be, they say.

The groups also accuse highway officials of depending too heavily on restoring streams to offset road pollution. Last year, MDOT reported that the impacts of nearly 5,000 acres of road surfaces were counterbalanced by stream restoration projects, the top mitigation practice by far.

Stream restoration efforts have drawn strong pushback in several communities from opponents who say the ground-clearing needed for the work leads to needless deforestation.

Other actions the groups are seeking in the new permit include broadening the range of options for lessening pollution, as well as adding streamside plantings and “green infrastructure” to the menu. They also are pushing the state to expand monitoring to look at wildlife impacts and to track a wider spectrum of pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”

MDE’s public comment period for the proposed permit is open until July 18.

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