Milwaukee Riverkeeper Comments on Green Infrastructure
October 1, 2008
Milwaukee Riverkeeper addressed Chairman Oberstar in written comments to request that Oberstar hold a hearing on green infrastructure solutions to polluted stormwater runoff from transportation infrastructure.
Roads and related infrastructure, such as parking lots, comprise two-thirds of all paved surfaces. These hard surfaces are the primary source of stormwater runoff, preventing rainfall from soaking into the ground and recharging aquifers and filtering pollutants. Roads collect pollutants from tailpipe emissions and brake linings along with other contaminants that wash into rivers and streams during storms, polluting those bodies of water.
Roads and related infrastructure, such as parking lots, comprise two-thirds of all paved surfaces. These hard surfaces are the primary source of stormwater runoff, preventing rainfall from soaking into the ground and recharging aquifers and filtering pollutants. Roads collect pollutants from tailpipe emissions and brake linings along with other contaminants that wash into rivers and streams during storms, polluting those bodies of water.
