Stormwater Management and Implementation of BMPs at Miami International Airport

Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) began a $5.4 billion capital improvement program (CIP) at Miami International Airport (MIA) in 1990. A key element in the planning and environmental permitting is the Stormwater Master Plan (SWMP) for the 5 square mile airport in urban Miami. The SWMP included comprehensive evaluations of hydrology, hydraulics, water quality, Best Management Practices (BMPs), and facility planning in phases to allow cost-effective implementation of the CIP while aircraft operations continued and increased to serve growing air traffic demands. A variety of constraints were identified including the protection of aircraft passenger safety (no fog or bird attractants) and the environment (water quality, manatees, and hazardous material cleanups). Aircraft passenger safety issues regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had to be balanced versus the environmental requirements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), and Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resource Management (DERM). MDAD has proactively implemented a BMP Treatment Train, which includes a series of activities to reduce nonpoint source pollutant load generation and to remove pollutants from the runoff prior to discharge. The BMP Treatment Train has been shown by water quality monitoring to cost-effectively treat runoff from the airport to meet federal, state, and local standards and permit requirements. Implementation has been coordinated with a $5.4 billion CIP to allow timely and appropriate retrofits to the system. This paper presents an overview of the MIA Stormwater Management Program and a summary of the successful implementation of the BMP Treatment Train.