ODOT to spend $10 million cleaning up stormwater
By JEFF BARNARD
Associated Press
Friday, September 25, 2009 10:28 AM PDT
PORTLAND — The Oregon Department of Transportation has agreed to spend $10 million over the next five years building wetlands to clean up stormwater runoff before it pollutes salmon streams.
The agency signed an agreement Thursday with the Northwest Environmental Defense Center after the environmental group gave formal notice they would sue the agency to force compliance with the U.S. Clean Water Act.
The agreement calls for building special wetlands and other low-tech measures to settle pollutants out of rainwater running off highways before it flows into nearby streams, as well as keeping a close watch on the toxic materials in that water, such as herbicides and heavy metals.
The agency also will develop more effective water quality control measures and establish an online database for stormwater data, management and pollution control efforts.
Scientific studies have found that very low levels of copper, which washes into streams from the dust worn off brake pads on cars and trucks, disrupts salmon’s sense of smell, making them more vulnerable to attack by predators.
Most of the work will be done in the Willamette Valley, where the bulk of Oregon’s roads are located.
Hal Gard, environmental section manager for ODOT, said in a statement that the agreement reflects their commitment to comply with federal law.
ODOT spokesman Patrick Cooney said the money will be diverted from funding for fish passage projects, and will continue work the agency has already been doing, such as a wetlands treatment project under construction in Wilsonville, Ore.
‘‘We were in compliance with the DEQ permit terms,’’ he said.
The vague and lax terms of the stormwater runoff permit from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality were the problem, said Mark Riskedahl, director of the Northwest Environmental Center in Portland, Ore.
While ODOT acknowledged the importance of monitoring the toxic materials in stormwater runoff in the permit, it was not required to do actual monitoring, Riskedahl said.
