1. Flow chart to determine whether coverage is required
How to obtain a stormwater TPDES Stormwater Construction General Permit
Flow chart to determine whether coverage is required
The requiremnents to get authorization to discharge stormwater in Texas waterways under a TPDES Construction Genral Permit TXR vary depending on the size of your project.
The construction projects which require authorization are the following:
• Large construction activities which disturb 5 or more acres or are part of a larger common plan of development that will disturb 5 or more acres.
• Small construction activities which disturb at least 1 but less than 5 acres or are part of a larger common plan of development that will disturb at least 1 but less than 5 acres.
• Construction activities that disturb less than 1 acre and are part of a larger common plan of development that would disturb 1 or more acres.
These steps are a basic guideline to obtain authorization under a TPDES General Construction Permit TXR
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2. Requirements for Large construction activities:
Requirements for Small construction activities (Site Notice Step):
Construction activities that disturb less than 1 acre
1. Review your facility's compliance history ranking at:
2. Read the General Permit TXR to make sure it applies to your situation.
3. Prepare and implement a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWP3). For more details, see Part III of General Permit TXR
4. Submit an original completed Notice of Intent (NOI) form with an original signature and fee as noted on the NOI.
5. Before starting construction:
Primary operators must provide a copy of the signed NOI to the operator of any MS4 receiving the discharge and to any secondary construction operator and list in the SWP3 the names and addresses of all MS4 operators receiving a copy.
Post a copy of the Site Notice at the construction site. Leave the notice posted until construction is completed.
If your construction project disturbs less than 1 acre and is not part of a larger common plan of development, coverage under General Permit TXR is NOT required.
If your project is part of a larger plan, the total number of acres disturbed under that larger plan must be considered when determining how this general permit TXR applies to you:
5 or More Acres, refer to: Requirements for Large construction activities.
1 to Less Than 5 Acres, refer to: Small construction activities (Site Notice Step). 
Example 1. A subdivision is being built. You are grading acres, another company is clearing 4 different acres, and a contractor is excavating another 0.5 acres. Because the total area that would be disturbed under this common plan is acres, each operator would fall under the requirements associated with disturbing 5 or more acres.
Example 2. At first, your project calls for you to grade, clear, or excavate a total of 0.93 acre. But after your project begins, you learn that you must disturb another 0.15 acre—perhaps to add more parking and an access road. Because this project has grown to disturb a total of 1.08 acres, you must obtain coverage under the requirements for disturbing 1 to less than 5 Acres.
1. Review your facility's compliance history ranking at:
2. Read the Construction General Permit TXR to make sure it applies to your situation and adhere to its requirements
3. Prepare and implement a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan. For more details, please refer to Part III of the Construction General Permit TXR
4. Sign and post a construction site notice.
5. At least 2 days before beginning construction, provide a copy of the site notice to the operator of any Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) into which storm-water will be discharged.
6. Authorization to discharge is automatic once the previous steps have been performed. It is not necessary to take additional actions.