Our Roads are Killing Our Streams

Did you know that our roads are killing our rivers and streams? Every time it rains, stormwater from our roads and highways dumps tons of pollutants into our waterways. In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, runoff from roads contributes millions of pounds of nitrogen and sediment, and hundreds of thousands of pounds of phosphorus each year.

CBF understands that if we are to restore our rivers, streams, and the Bay any time soon, we must address this problem. And, in fact, we are trying to. We are working with advocates across the nation on federal legislation to limit the amount of polluted runoff from federally-funded roadways. We are asking Congress to include language in the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Act, commonly called the Federal Highway Bill, which would create new stormwater guidelines that require federally-funded roadways to mitigate stormwater runoff pollution. If we are successful, it will create for the first time, a nationwide requirement for the management of polluted runoff from these roadways.

Your Congressperson was one of 34 members of the House of Representatives who signed a letter to the Chairman and Ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in support of this new approach to cleaning our waterways. Now we need to thank our leaders for their support and urge them to maintain that support for strong stormwater measures in the Federal Highway Bill as it moves through committee.

Please take a minute to send a message to your representative thanking your leader for supporting a change in how we address highway pollution. Our leaders appreciate the acknowledgement for the good work they do, and it encourages them to continue supporting actions their constituents care about.

For more information, read the letter and CBF's position on stormwater and the Federal Highway Bill.