North Carolina Turnpike Authority

What is the North Carolina Turnpike Authority Stormwater Program?

The North Carolina Turnpike Authority’s Stormwater Program is designed to protect and improve the quality of North Carolina’s waterways and reflects a sincere commitment to environmental stewardship. Under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, administered by the North Carolina Division of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR), the North Carolina Turnpike Authority is developing and implementing several programs to provide education about stormwater quality and to effectively manage and reduce the discharge of pollutants into North Carolina waterways.

Why is Stormwater Regulated?

Stormwater is precipitation (rain, snow, hail, sleet) that is carried from a surface, such as North Carolina Turnpike Authority’s roads and bridges. As it flows over these surfaces, stormwater—also called runoff—picks up pollutants. Without treatment, these pollutants can flow directly into North Carolina’s waterways.

In 1890, The Rivers and Harbors Act was enacted to regulate water pollution in the United States. The law prohibited the discharge of pollutants to waterways used for commercial navigation, but did not include runoff from streets and sewers. In 1948, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act was passed to improve water quality in the nation’s waterways, and subsequent revisions to this act became known as the Clean Water Act. In 1972, revisions to the Clean Water Act established the NPDES program, and in 1987, amendments established Phase I and Phase II stormwater regulations. 

The North Carolina Turnpike Authority falls under the NPDES Phase II regulations, which require i) municipalities to obtain an NPDES permit to discharge stormwater and ii) municipalities to develop and implement a stormwater management program that reduces stormwater pollution. 

The Clean Water Act gave the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) the authority to establish and maintain water quality standards; however, individual states are responsible for enforcing these standards. NCDENR is the NPDES permitting authority in North Carolina.