Effective stormwater management helps keep roadway contaminants from entering Minnesota’s lakes and streams. Management practices include soil and vegetation in roadside bioretention systems that filter heavy metals and hydrocarbons created by vehicles. Based on other studies, retention and transformation of roadside pollutants should be improved by biochar application to existing or engineered soils. Abundant sources of biomass can be used to produce biochar, a soil amendment with numerous benefits. MnDOT and local agencies identified biochar specifications for effective use in stormwater treatment to support the next phase of testing and development of biochar design guidance.