Section 2: Stormwater Requirements
The Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES), administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulates stormwater discharges from various sources to surface waters of the State. The nature of TxDOT operations means most of our activities are regulated under this program.
There are two main types of TPDES permits that apply to TxDOT operations, the Construction General Permit (CGP) and the MS4 Permit. Information for these requirements is posted to TxDOT’s external facing website.
TxDOT projects disturbing one acre or more of soil or disturbing less than one acre of soil but have EPICs that require stormwater and water quality controls are required to develop a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWP3) that will be implemented during construction and maintenance activities.
Projects with soil disturbing activity, that let beginning in March 2023 are required to utilize the SWP3 Template. Projects that let before this date are not required to use the template, but must still fulfill all obligations in the March 5, 2023, CGP.
Additionally, for projects located with the MS4 boundaries, TxDOT is required to comply with conditions outlined in the Stormwater Management Program (SWMP) Minimum Control Measure 3 - Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control.
For additional questions about CGP requirements please reach out to ENV's Operations Compliance/Stormwater team.