Design Guide and Construction Specifications for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Site Runoff Control, 2006

According to the 1972 Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established a set of regulations for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The purpose of these regulations is to reduce pollution of the nation’s waterways. In addition to other pollutants, the NPDES regulates stormwater discharges associated with industrial activities, municipal storm sewer systems, and construction sites. Phase II of the NPDES stormwater regulations, which went into effect in Iowa in 2003, applies to construction activities that disturb more than one acre of ground. The regulations also require certain communities with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) to perform education, inspection, and regulation activities to reduce stormwater pollution within their communities. Iowa does not currently have a resource to provide guidance on the stormwater regulations to contractors, designers, engineers, and municipal staff. The Statewide Urban Design and Specifications (SUDAS) manuals are widely accepted as the statewide standard for public improvements. The SUDAS Design manual currently contains a brief chapter (Chapter 7) on erosion and sediment control; however, it is outdated, and Phase II of the NPDES stormwater regulations is not discussed. In response to the need for guidance, this chapter was completely rewritten. It now escribes the need for erosion and sediment control and explains the NPDES stormwater regulations. It provides information for the development and completion of Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) that comply with the stormwater regulations, as well as the proper design and implementation of 28 different erosion and sediment control practices. In addition to the design chapter, this project also updated a section in the SUDAS Specifications manual (Section 9040), which describes the proper materials and methods of construction for the erosion and sediment control practices.

Report on a review of State employee grievance processes, settlement agreements entered into by the State and payments made during the period July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2014

Report on a review of State employee grievance processes, settlement agreements entered into by the State and payments made during the period July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2014

Mission-Oriented Dust Control and Surface Improvement Processes for Unpaved Roads, HR-194, 1981

Six subject areas prompted the broad field of inquiry of this mission-oriented dust control and surface improvement project for unpaved roads: • DUST--Hundreds of thousands of tons of dust are created annually by vehicles on Iowa's 70,000 miles of unpaved roads and streets. Such dust is often regarded as a nuisance by Iowa's highway engineers. • REGULATIONS--Establishment of "fugitive dust" regulations by the Iowa DEQ in 1971 has created debates, conferences, legal opinions, financial responsibilities, and limited compromises regarding "reasonable precaution" and "ordinary travel," both terms being undefined judgment factors. • THE PUBLIC--Increased awareness by the public that regulations regarding dust do in fact exist creates a discord of telephone calls, petitions, and increasing numbers of legal citations. Both engineers and politicians are frustrated into allowing either the courts or regulatory agencies to resolve what is basically a professional engineering responsibility. • COST--Economics seldom appear as a tenet of regulatory strategies, and in the case of "fugitive dust," four-way struggles often occur between the highway professions, political bodies, regulatory agencies, and the general public as to who is responsible, what can be done, how much it will cost, or why it wasn't done yesterday. • CONFUSION--The engineer lacks authority, and guidelines and specifications to design and construct a low-cost surf acing system are nebulous, i.e., construct something between the present crushed stone/gravel surface and a high-type pavement. • SOLUTION--The engineer must demonstrate that dust control and surface improvement may be engineered at a reasonable cost to the public, so that a higher degree of regulatory responsibility can be vested in engineering solutions.

Highway Runoff Study, HR-1037, Progress Report, 1984

The focus of highway runoff monitoring programs is on the identification of highway contributions to nonpoint source degradation of surface and groundwater quality. The results of such studies will assist the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) in the development of maintenance practices that will minimize the impact of highway transportation networks on water quality while at the same time maintaining public safety. Highway runoff monitoring research will be useful in developing a basis to address issues in environmental impact statements for future highway network expansions. Further, it will lead to optimization of cost effectiveness/environmental factors related to de-icing, weed and dust control, highway drainage, construction methods, etc. In this report, the authors present the data accumulated to date with a preliminary interpretation of the significance of the data. The report will discuss the site setup, operational aspects of data collection, and problems encountered. In addition, recommendations are included to optimize information gained from the study.

Highway Runoff Study, HR-1037, Final Report, 1985

In this report, the authors present the data accumulated from a one-year study of runoff quantity and quality from two sections of Interstate Highway 35 near Ames with an interpretation of the significance of the data. The report will discuss the site setup, operational aspects of data collection, and problems encountered. In addition, recommendations are included to optimize information gained from the study.