On March 5, 2003, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) issued a new General Permit to Discharge Waste from construction sites, under the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES). This permit applies to storm water and other discharges from all construction sites that will disturb one or more acres of land, or are part of a common plan of development that in total will disturb one or more acres of land. Under the Phase II storm water regulations affecting small municipalities, Tarrant County is required to develop and implement a program to reduce pollutants in storm water from construction activities disturbing one or more acres of land. As part of our program, the County is requiring construction operators of sites located in the unincorporated county, to comply with the requirements of the TPDES construction permit. The following is a brief list of those requirements.
The TPDES permit separates construction sites into two categories: large construction sites that will disturb (by itself or as part of a common plan of development) 5 or more acres of land; and small construction sites that will disturb (alone or as part of a common plan of development) between 1 and 5 acres of land. Construction is defined as the exposure of soil resulting from activities such as clearing, grading, and excavating.
To apply for the permit, large construction sites:
Must submit to the TCEQ a Notice of Intent (NOI), together with a $100 application fee, at least 2 days prior to commencing construction activities;
Must develop and implement a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWP3) for the construction site before submitting the NOI;
Must post a copy of the NOI at the construction site for public viewing and;
Must provide a copy of the NOI to the County, at least 2 days prior to commencing construction activities.
To obtain permit coverage, small construction sites:
Must develop and implement a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWP3);
Must post a signed copy of the TCEQ Construction Site Notice at the construction site for public viewing and;
Must provide a copy of the signed Construction Site Notice to the County, at least 2 days prior to commencing construction activities.
Small construction sites are not required to submit a NOI nor pay the fee.
The SWP3 must identify and address all potential sources of pollution at the site, and describe and ensure implementation practices that will be used to reduce pollutants in storm water discharges from the site. It is recommended that you prepare your SWP3 following the guide lines found in the iSWM Design Manual for Construction (
www.iswm.nctcog.org/Documents/Construction.asp).