PA Turnpike Advances Initiatives to Reduce Stormwater Runoff, Protect Waterways

PA Turnpike Advances Initiatives to Reduce Stormwater Runoff, Protect Waterways

Pollution Reduction, Community Collaboration Key to Meeting Water-Related Sustainability Goals

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. —  As a leader in sustainable transportation infrastructure, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Commission) is committed to protecting the Commonwealth’s vital water resources. As Stormwater Stewardship Month concludes, the Commission is highlighting efforts that align with the observance’s educational aims, including stormwater pollution prevention, runoff mitigation, and regulatory compliance. These initiatives complement educational outreach at service plazas along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, including Sideling Hill.

“With many roadway projects near Pennsylvania’s rivers, streams and wetlands, effective stormwater management is essential,” said PA Turnpike Chief Engineer Brad Heigel. “These efforts reduce flood risk and support watershed restoration, while also protecting our infrastructure, which supports long-term cost savings. The environmental, operational and community benefits advance our goal of becoming America’s First Sustainable Superhighway by 2040.”

The Commission’s Environmental Engineering Unit manages our Individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which establishes a protocol framework for stormwater management across the PA Turnpike. Their expertise is critical to several of the Commission’s cornerstone environmental efforts, including stormwater control measures (SCM), pollinator habitats and roadside vegetation management.

In addition to fulfilling obligations to reduce stormwater pollution and achieve water quality objectives – including detecting and eliminating illicit discharges, controlling construction site stormwater runoff, stormwater management, good housekeeping across the system and public education – the Commission actively engages with communities and other local partners through informative outreach and strengthened compliance measures. Progress is documented throughout the year, with the Commission submitting an annual report to PADEP by September 30 that documents its ongoing adherence to permit requirements.

Recent Stormwater Management Improvements

• Devault Maintenance Shed (Chester County): Moving fuel storage and equipment maintenance indoors, eliminating potential pollution in stormwater runoff and connecting drains to an oil separation system that protects groundwater.
• T238 Access Ramps (Cumberland County): Building stormwater basins near new access gates at Lisburn Road between the Harrisburg West and Gettysburg Pike interchanges that slow and filter stormwater runoff. The basin vegetation covers layers of “amended soils” that reduce and filter stormwater runoff and sediment before entering Yellow Breeches Creek.
• Sideling Hill Service Plaza (Fulton County): Building two new stormwater basins to capture and filter stormwater runoff from parking areas before entering groundwater and installing educational signs to explain the process.
• Stony Run (Lancaster County): Revitalizing a stream segment within the Chesapeake Bay watershed through a stream and floodplain restoration initiative that reduces erosion and sediment conveyance.
• New Cumberland Maintenance Shed (York County): Deploying integrated 3D modeling software to optimize earth movement, minimize disruption to the stormwater network, and improve existing channels during renovation. 
• Cigarette litter reduction effort (Statewide): Teaming up with Keep PA Beautiful to install receptacles at all 17 service plazas and interchanges, resulting in a 43 percent drop in litter across the system and preventing pollution from reaching waterways.
• Stormwater basin construction (Statewide):  Whenever the PA Turnpike expands or reconstructs its roadway, it constructs various post-construction stormwater management (PSCM) measures, such as stormwater basins, infiltration trenches, or water quality inlets that treat and manage the volume, rate, and water quality of stormwater leaving the roadway.

Beyond project initiatives, the Commission uses digital platforms to improve accuracy, speed up reporting, increase transparency and help crews maintain compliance with MS4 permit requirements. This includes tools to support digital inspection, public reporting and field-level compliance.

Do Your Part

Follow these steps to protect water quality in your community:

• Properly dispose of hazardous substances such as used oil, cleaning supplies and paint. Never pour them down any part of the storm sewer system.
• Keep vehicles and freight properly maintained to prevent dripping fluids, such as oil, fuel, transmission fluid, antifreeze or freight such as various chemicals, fertilizer or other transported goods.
• Use pesticide, fertilizer and herbicide properly and efficiently to prevent excess runoff.
• Pick up after pets and dispose of waste properly.
• Report poorly managed construction sites and prohibited discharges from stormwater outfalls to the proper authorities in your community.
• Store potentially polluting materials indoors and use containers for outdoor storage that do not rust or leak to minimize exposure.
• Report concerns along the PA Turnpike by dialing *11 or using the form on our Clean Water page, linked below.

Learn more about the PA Turnpike’s initiatives at the educational boards in our service plazas, on our social media channels or online here: Clean Water Initiative | PA Turnpike

For more than three decades, the Pennsylvania Turnpike has made environmental stewardship and sustainability a top priority. It was the first state agency to achieve four consecutive 100% scores from the Commonwealth’s GreenGov Council. Its sustainability and stormwater management programs earned two IBTTA Toll Excellence Awards for Social Responsibility. To learn more about the PA Turnpike’s goal of becoming America’s First Sustainable Superhighway by 2040, please visit its website.

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Media Contacts:
Marissa Orbanek, Press Secretary: (267) 408-5151, morbanek@paturnpike.com 
Crispin Havener, Assistant Press Secretary: (717) 870-2841, chavener@paturnpike.com