Plano, TX Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Plano Code § 21-65
- Prohibited
- Anything but storm water
- Max fine
- $500 per Sec. 1-4(b)
- Continuing violation
- Each day separate
- Related section
- § 21-64, natural outlet discharge
- Sanitary-storm connection
- Banned by § 21-66
Summary
Plano's storm water code bans dumping anything but storm water into the municipal storm sewer system. Sec. 21-65 lists specific prohibited substances, from oil, chemicals, and antifreeze to grass clippings, tree limbs, and commercial car-wash residue, because they endanger the system, public health, or the environment.
(a)No person may introduce into the storm water system any pollutants or materials other than storm water that have an adverse effect on the environment, or may endanger life, health or property, or constitute a public nuisance.(b)Substances specifically prohibited from being discharged into the storm water system are as follows:(1)Polluted wastewater or other liquid wastes containing concrete, building materials, oil, chemicals or other liquid industrial wastes...(6)Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, products of mineral oil origin, transmission fluid, hydraulic fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, antifreeze or other household hazardous wastes...(11)Trash, junk, refuse, garbage, grass clippings, tree limbs, tree branches, leaves, brush or firewood.(12)Any non-storm water containing, but not limited to detergents, surfactants, phosphates or cleaning residues generated from commercial car washing or cleaning services.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 153).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 21-65(a) generally bars introducing any pollutant or material other than storm water into the storm water system if it could adversely affect the environment, endanger life, health, or property, or create a public nuisance. 0; free or emulsified fats, waxes, greases, or oils; petroleum products, transmission or brake fluid, antifreeze, and other household hazardous waste; solids that could obstruct storm sewers, such as ashes, tar, plastics, or paint residue; out-of-city wastewater without the director's written approval; noxious or malodorous substances; trucked or hauled pollutants except at city-approved discharge points; trash, grass clippings, tree limbs, leaves, and brush; and detergents or phosphates from commercial car washing.
Sec. 21-64 separately requires a valid TNRCC (now TCEQ) or EPA permit before discharging sewage or polluted water to any natural outlet, and Sec. 21-66 flatly forbids physically connecting a sanitary sewer to the storm sewer.
Violations & Fines
Section 21-65 sets no fine of its own, so a violation falls back to the Code's general penalty in Sec. 1-4(b): a fine of up to $500 per offense, with each day the prohibited discharge continues treated as a separate violation. Connecting a sanitary sewer to the storm system under Sec. 21-66, or discharging to a natural outlet without a state or EPA permit under Sec. 21-64, are separate offenses in the same chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can't I put down a storm drain in Plano?
Can I wash my car and let the water run into the street drain?
What is the penalty for an illegal storm drain discharge in Plano?
Does Plano regulate discharges to creeks and other natural outlets too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Plano
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Stormwater Management in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Collin County handle stormwater management.