PROJECT START-UP COMPLIANCE FAQS

We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions to help you with your construction project start up compliance requirements.

Compliance enforcement in Texas is managed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) under the Texas General Permit and enforced by local counties and municipalities through the MS4 permitting system. Since 2006, even small municipalities in urbanized areas like the greater Houston area, are charged with enforcing these regulations.

Are we required to have a SWPPP narrative in place before an NOI is submitted?

Yes, when an NOI is submitted, the permittee is certifying that a SWPPP is developed and has been implemented prior to construction.

What documents are required in order to create a SWPPP narrative?

Civil Drawing Set, Geotechnical Report, and a Request for Information (RFI). Signed permitting documents are added to the completed SWPPP narrative once they are filed.

When installing BMP’s onsite, are we required to install exactly what is specified on the civil plans?

No, the Texas General Permit allows the site Operator to make decisions about what BMPs are actually used and where they are used. Often that means deviating from what was specified on the civil drawings. The Operator’s obligation is to make decisions that produce the desired results, and to document them.

What is the key difference between a Primary Operator and a Secondary Operator?

A Primary Operator – entity with day to day operational control over plans and construction; the operator required to ensure compliance with a SWPPP. A Secondary Operator – entity whose operational control is limited to the employment of other operators, or the ability to approve/disapprove changes to plans.

What posting requirements does the Primary Operator have?

Large Site: Area disturbed > 5 acres – Notice of Intent (NOI) copy, Permit copy, Construction Site Notice (CSN)  Note: If the area to be disturbed is less than 5 acres, but part of a larger plan of common development, follow the posting guidelines for a Large Site.

Small Site: Area disturbed <5 acres – Signed Construction Site Notice (CSN).  Postings must be on a sign purpose- specific to the SWPPP.

Does the Secondary Operator have posting requirements also?

Yes, the Secondary Operator (typically the Owner) is also required to post a signed Construction Site Notice. In cases where the property requires a Stormwater Quality Management Plan, the owner is also required to post their Stormwater Quality Permit.

Remember that only an officer of the company is eligible to sign Permitting Documents (Notice of Intent or Construction Site Notice) – this pertains to both Primary and Secondary Operators.

Our full list of SWPPP services includes:

Documentation Services

  • SWPPP Narrative
  • Applicable Regulations Research
  • Regulatory Documentation, Permitting and Planning
  • Close-out Documentation and Filings.
  • STEERS

Jobsite Services

  • Inspections, monitoring, and oversight
  • Mediation and negotiation with compliance authorities
  • Maintenance and Repairs
  • Compliance Assurance & Plan Components
  • Site Access / Stabilized Construction Exits (SCE)
  • Washout/Dewatering
  • Final Seeding/Stabilization
  • Chain Link Fencing
  • Stabilized Construction Exit Install
  • Tree Fence Installation
  • Pond Stabilization

BMPs

  • Area Inlet Protection
  • Curb Inlet Protection
  • Flow Control / Dissipation
  • Erosion Control
  • Turf Reinforcement Mats
  • Perimeter Control
  • Silt Fence
  • Flocculants
  • Gabion Baskets
  • Dewatering Bags
  • Sand Bags
  • T-Post Caps
  • Job Site Spill Kit
  • Floating Turbidity Barriers

THE HIGHEST COMPLIANCE AT THE LOWEST COST

Given the changing nuances of enforcement, the growing tangle of overlapping enforcement agencies and the stiff consequences for non-compliance, our SWPPP services business exists to serve construction activity Operators and Owners in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and Ft Worth, by implementing a set of compliance services that cover all facets of SWPPP compliance.

SUPPORT MATERIAL

eBook – Top Ten SWPPP Compliance Issues

Learn the top ten most important issues you should be concerned with regarding construction site stormwater discharge regulations on a federal, state and local level.

In addition:

  • 5 most important BMPs to keep your job site compliant
  • The violations enforcement officers have zero tolerance for

With an understanding of the basics, and attention to detail, this top ten will go a long way towards insuring your project is compliant with stormwater regulations.

CASE STUDIES

START A PROJECT

If the highest level of compliance while reducing risk and lowering costs is important to you, then let’s work together. Tell us about your upcoming project and what you are looking for.

WHY CHOOSE US?

We focus on our customer’s success by providing the most appropriate, cost-effective, innovative and effective solutions. With our ability to customize and problem solve, we feel our experience and expertise is the fundamental “product” our clients buy.

FEATURED INNOVATION

The FODS Trackout Control Mat was created as a simple solution to a common problem – construction companies were spending valuable time and money on ineffective, conventional trackout solutions like aggregate or wheel washes which still resulted in job site fines. Developed by an experienced team of contractors and engineers, the FODS Trackout Control Mats is the only durable, cost-saving, and environmentally friendly trackout solution available.

THE WHY!

Why Choose Us?

Established in 2002, we provide our clients a proven, systematic approach and a reliable experienced team that can take all compliance logistical burdens off your shoulders. What could make your life simpler? One call. One point of contact. New project launches simplified. Compliance simplified. Compliance assured.

Other key reasons to choose us:

  • We provide the most appropriate, cost-effective, and innovative solutions
  • Our experience and expertise is the fundamental “product” our clients buy
  • We focus on our customer’s success
  • Our high degree of integrity
  • Our ability to customize and problem solve
  • All our field crew are OSHA 30
  • We are agents of stormwater change

If achieving the highest level of compliance while reducing risk and lowering costs is important to you, then let’s work together. We provide full turnkey stormwater management consulting and solutions. All field crew are OSHA 30 certified.

Tell us about your project and get a quick quote.

Stormwater: Why Care?

Stormwater management may seem like a relatively new industry, but it has actually been around since the Roman times. They knew, even back then, that managing stormwater runoff was a key issue to urban living. With poor stormwater management, both flooding and disease constantly wreaked havoc in ancient cities.

Not much has changed since then, except now, with more and more of the earth being covered over with cement and other impervious surfaces, the negative effects of poor stormwater management have increased exponentially. Our natural water supplies are at risk due to pollution and their lack of ability to recharge. The flowing of our waterways are at risk from erosion, sediment build up, and trash. And, our marine life is at risk, from all the chemicals finding their way into bodies of water.

Some may see stormwater management as just another unnecessary and unwanted cost to construction projects or property ownership and management. But, understanding the negative effects that poor or no stormwater management is causing should be a concern to us all. It affects where we live and play. It affects our marine-based food supply. It affects our dwindling water supply.

We care. It is why we do what we do.

Why LID/GSI?

While the rest of the country focused on treating one inch of rainfall, we were pushing the limits and learning how to manage the largest storms by using Low Impact Development (LID) / Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) solutions. We believed that if we could develop LID / GSI solutions in a place like Houston Texas, we could make them work anywhere.

Not only have we succeeded, but we have the the data, the case studies, and the experiences to prove it.

Since 2005, the team at Construction EcoServices and it’s partners around the country have dedicated their work to both the big discoveries and the small, that have drastically improved the performance and reliability of Low Impact Development. Collectively, they have been compiled here on this site, so that you may take advantage of the knowledge that has come from our success and failures.