A Construction General Permit, NOI, for construction sites five (5) acres or greater, or CSN (Small Construction Site), for construction sites one (1) acre and greater but less than five (5) acres, a Permit is required as part of the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) from the State of Texas or EPA. A construction site is required to have this permit when the disturbed area is equal to or greater than one (1) acre as specified by the TCEQ TXR150000 and by the City of Houston Ordinance Sec 47-601. Once issued, this permit is effective for the remaining period of the current general permit period and then must be renewed, if construction is not complete, with the beginning of the next general permit period. The City of Houston completes periodic compliance inspections throughout construction activity.
A valid NOI or CSN (Small Construction Site Notice) is required until the construction site achieves final stabilization. Also, required by the Construction General Permit is a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWP3) for all construction sites one (1) acre and greater. This plan details the Best Management Practices (BMP's) that will be utilized at the construction site for the site to be in compliance with all stormwater discharges. This SWP3 plan must be implemented prior to construction and remain in effect until final stabilization is achieved.
Permit applications are processed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
1. TCEQ or EPA Permit posted at the site 2. SWP3 plan available at the construction site. When construction is complete and the construction site has reached final stabilization (70%): A NOI (Large Construction Site) primary operator must submit a Notice of Termination (NOT) to the TCEQ in Austin and send a copy to the MS4 operator. A Small Construction Site operator must remove the Small Construction Site Notice from the construction site, complete the bottom of the form and send it to the MS4 operator.
If the construction site is found to be out-of-compliance, corrective actions will be taken. A re-inspection fee will be assessed. The permit holder (primary operator) under their SWP3 plan is required to conduct weekly or bi-weekly inspections while the permit is in effect. When the permit is terminated and the BMP's are removed , no further inspection are required.