Waco, TX Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Chapter 26's stormwater article requires a site-specific stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) for any residential, commercial or industrial development that disturbs one acre or more, or a smaller parcel that is part of a larger common plan of development, under Sec. 26-326. That SWPPP must satisfy EPA or TCEQ construction general permit rules, identify the outfall into the city's storm sewer system, and be provided to the director of engineering or building official on request; redevelopment of a previously developed tract only triggers the requirement if it converts more than an acre from porous to impervious surface.

Smaller sites, under one acre and not part of a bigger development, instead need a city erosion control plan for commercial, industrial, multi-family or subdivision construction. Sec. 26-327 spells out the actual pollution control measures a 'responsible party,' meaning the owner, developer, builder or general contractor with operational control of the site, must implement and maintain: silt fences, straw bales or vegetative buffer strips to slow runoff, stabilized construction entrances to stop soil from being tracked onto streets, inlet protection barriers, dust control, waterproof storage for chemicals and paints, and a ban on washing out concrete trucks anywhere that lets wash water reach the storm sewer system.

The responsible party must inspect all pollution controls every 14 days and within 24 hours of a rainfall of half an inch or more, and a certificate of occupancy cannot issue until the building official confirms every temporary and permanent measure in the plan is complete.