Dallas, TX Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Sec. 6(a) requires an operator of a construction site to comply with the construction general permit or individual TPDES/NPDES permit that applies to the site, hand the director a copy of the required stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP), and implement best management practices to control sediment, silt, earth, and soil before any construction site is established, on the installation schedule set in the SWPPP. Subsection (b) lists more than a dozen specific measures the SWPPP can require: preserving existing vegetation and stabilizing disturbed soil with temporary or permanent seeding, mulching, geotextiles, or sod as soon as work stops in a given area; diverting flows away from exposed soil; limiting sediment tracking and dust off-site; keeping cement, concrete washout water, and mortar out of the drainage system; containing spills of paint, solvent, and fuel; and, for any on-site concrete batch plant, building continuous interior berms around mixing equipment, truck loading areas, and washout facilities with lined containment.

Subsection (c) keeps the operator on the hook for maintaining these measures until final stabilization of the site has been completed and the notice of termination has been received by the director, not merely until construction wraps. Subsection (f) gives the city real teeth: it can deny a building permit, grading permit, subdivision plat, or other city approval if the submitted plans, or what the director observes on a site inspection, do not control sediment discharge to the maximum extent practicable. Liability is shared broadly under Subsections (g) and (h): the property owner is jointly and severally responsible with the operator even if the owner never operates the site, and any contractor or subcontractor tasked with a specific control measure is jointly and severally liable if a negligent or willful failure to implement it causes a water quality violation.