Synthesis of Information Related to Highways. Topic 54-02. Outsourcing Stormwater Best Management Practice Inspection & Maintenance Activities

All state departments of transportation (DOTs) are required under the federal Clean Water Act to comply with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements to routinely inspect and maintain stormwater control measures, also traditionally known as best management practices (BMPs). Some DOTs also have other federal and state stormwater laws and regulations to comply with in addition to the NPDES. Most state DOTs have hundreds or commonly thousands of stormwater BMPs located across the state that fall under inspection and maintenance permit requirements. Each DOT approaches these stormwater asset management requirements differently, due in part to the absence of uniform nationwide NPDES permit requirements. State DOT maintenance forces are often spread thin and typically focus manpower on the maintenance of pavement, bridges, and safety-related infrastructure along roadways, often leaving few human and monetary resources available to maintain stormwater conveyance and treatment infrastructure. Pollutant specific permit requirements have over time given rise to more sophisticated and highly engineered BMPs which necessitates more advanced training for state maintenance forces, thereby adding additional in-house resource burdens. As such, some DOTs are exploring the use of third-party contractors to perform BMP inspection and maintenance activities required by NPDES stormwater permits, similar in concept to how many DOTs outsource roadside mowing and vegetation management activities. The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOT practices related to outsourcing stormwater BMP inspection and maintenance compliance activities. The synthesis will encompass post-construction operations for all BMPs under the DOT’s jurisdiction. Information to be gathered includes (but is no limited to): (1) Drivers of DOT stormwater programs (e.g., federal, state, or local regulations, internal asset management); (2) Identification of state DOTs that partially or fully outsource BMP inspection and/or maintenance activities and those that do not outsource these activities; (3) Drivers of the decision to outsource BMP inspection and/or maintenance activities (e.g., manpower/staffing, expertise, number of BMPs, BMP level of service, cost/benefit analysis); (4) Types of contracts (e.g., state- or district-wide contract, purchase order, let/bid, open-ended/on-call, turnkey); (5) Funding for BMP inspection and maintenance activities (e.g., statewide budget, district budget, incorporated into roadway project work); (6) Contractor pre-qualification process; (7) Whether contract qualification requirements are specified in contracts; (8) Established standards for oversight and assessment of the contractor’s performance; and (9) How contract costs are established (e.g. per BMP, time and materials, level of service, urgency).

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5285

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $55000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 20-05, Topic 52-02

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Gause, Jo

• Start Date: 20220927
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Best practices; Compliance; Contracting out; Oversight; Runoff; State departments of transportation
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Maintenance and Preservation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01845326
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 20-05, Topic 52-02
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: May 16 2022 5:29PM