HRT received two awards from the Hampton Roads Sanitation District in July for minimizing the potentially harmful effects of stormwater runoff on local ecosystems.
Environmental conservation efforts help prevent pollution, flooding, and erosion, ultimately promoting sustainability throughout the community.
With this in mind, Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) has implemented a strategy to prevent chemicals and other liquids discharged from its bus fleet from mixing with water that runs off into storm drains.
“We handle a lot of fuel. We handle a lot of liquids,” said Thomas Becher, HRT's communications director. “For example, when you wash a bus, a lot of water comes out. So all of this can end up in our precious waterways.”
HRT works to mitigate the potentially harmful effects of unregulated stormwater runoff on ecosystems throughout the region, and its efforts are garnering attention.
The transit agency won two regional awards from the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) in late July for policies designed to reduce the risk of contaminants from transit operations — including oil, fuel, heavy metals and debris — entering local waterways.
“We have over 290 buses on both sides of the subway that come into our garage every day, often for routine maintenance like dents and scrapes,” Boettcher said, “So unlike a small garage at home, with such a large fleet we have to pay close attention to stormwater, or rather the amount of stormwater and how we handle it.”
HRT's Southside operation in Norfolk received a Platinum award, meaning the facility has received the stormwater compliance honor five consecutive times, while its Northside facility in Hampton achieved Gold status from HRSD four consecutive times.
The award recognises the public transport authority's efforts to reduce pollution and contribute to environmental protection.
“We have procedures in place to make sure that any type of liquid is properly drained and doesn't end up in storm drains,” Boettcher said, “and that it doesn't end up in our rivers, our bays and ultimately the ocean.”
Boettcher said HRT plans to continue adding and improving initiatives across its fleet to maintain sustainability in communities and protect natural resources across Hampton Roads.
“The word sustainability is [our] “Our mission is to take care of the Earth, [and] That also means making sure people use public transport to reduce emissions, for example. So this is really in line with what we do, but it's also part of being a good neighbour.”
Boettcher said staff training and education is a crucial part of implementing HRT's environmental strategy. The transit agency has an environmental team that works with the maintenance team to ensure all team members follow environmental procedures and that stormwater always drains properly.
“When you think about fuel, when you think about wastewater – very dirty water with chemicals in it, when you think about hydraulic fluid and other things that are used to maintain buses, when you think about oil, if that goes down the drain, it sets us back in time as a region and hopefully as a country before we can prevent this from happening in the future,” Boettcher said. “So, [want to] Let's do our part. It's a relatively small operation, but there are lots of buses running, so our actions can make a difference.”
HRT follows local, state, and federal requirements, including implementing Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) and Runoff Prevention and Control Measures (SPCC) plans under the federal Clean Water Act.
Transit agencies also have Oil Discharge Contingency Plans (ODCPs) under the jurisdiction of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to prevent oil and other vehicle liquids from entering storm drains.