How to get TCEQ stormwater coverage (TXR150000)
General information, not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
Who grants it: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), through its regional office; filed online in STEERS.
When it applies: Construction that disturbs one acre or more of land (utility-scale solar, wind and storage sites always do). Coverage and a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) must be in place before work starts; the report's Permits page names your TCEQ region and its phone.
Texas has no state siting permit for solar or wind; stormwater coverage is usually the first state filing a project makes.
What the application asks for, and where to find it
| The application asks for | Where you find it | How |
|---|---|---|
| Site location: county, coordinates, nearest road | This site: the land report | The land report, page 2 "The spot": county and coordinates; the map gives the road. |
| Acres disturbed and total site acres | Your engineer | From the grading plan. Total parcel acreage is on the report's Lease page (appraisal record). |
| Receiving water body and watershed | Your engineer | Your engineer names the receiving water from the drainage design; the report's "Nearest mapped stream" row (USGS) is the starting point. |
| Whether the site drains to an impaired or Edwards Aquifer area | The agency's website | TCEQ construction stormwater page links the current permit and its special-area conditions. |
| Operator legal name, address, contact, CN/RN numbers | You (the applicant) | Your entity. Customer (CN) and regulated entity (RN) numbers are created in STEERS when you first file. |
| Landowner name and authorization where required | The landowner | From the lease or option; the owner's details are not in the report (owner names are stripped). |
| SWPPP prepared and kept on site | Your engineer | Your civil engineer writes it from the site plan; it is not uploaded, it is kept at the site and signed. |
| Site notice posted | The agency's website | TCEQ's construction site notice form is on the stormwater page; the report's permit packet (page 8) fills the site facts in. |
What the "where you find it" column means
- This site: the land report
- Run the spot on the land report; the value is on the page named, with its agency source.
- Appraisal district (tax assessor)
- The county appraisal district record: property ID, legal description, acreage, owner of record, agricultural valuation. The report's Lease page links it; the Permits page lists the district's phone.
- The landowner
- Only the owner can supply it: signed authorization, deed reference, existing leases, access, their contact details.
- Your engineer
- From your civil or electrical engineer: site plan, disturbed acreage, drainage, the electrical one-line, nameplate and inverter data, structure heights.
- Surveyor or title company
- Boundary survey, legal description for recording, easements of record, title commitment.
- The agency's website
- The agency publishes it: forms, fee schedules, community numbers, district offices, portal accounts.
- You (the applicant)
- Your entity details: legal name, address, signatory, contacts, FEIN, insurance.
How to file it
- Read the current permit and the small/large site thresholds on TCEQ's construction stormwater page.
- Create a STEERS account and file the notice of intent (NOI) at STEERS; pay the fee there.
- Post the site notice at the entrance and keep the SWPPP on site; start work once coverage is confirmed.
- Find your regional office for inspections and questions in the TCEQ regional directory (the report names it).
Fees and clocks
Fees and the waiting period before coverage are set in the permit and on the TCEQ page linked above; they change with each permit renewal, so read them there rather than from a summary.
The pages you will use
Official pages cited
How-to guidance from the agency pages linked above, not legal advice; forms, fees and offices change, so confirm with the office before filing. The land report fills in the site facts; the rest comes from the sources named in each row.
Related questions
General information from the sources linked above, not legal, tax, or financial advice.
Sources and helpful links
- TCEQ construction stormwater page tceq.texas.gov
- STEERS www3.tceq.texas.gov
- TCEQ regional directory tceq.texas.gov
More official contacts and resources: Helpful links.