Travis County, TX Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Travis County Code Ch. 304, Prohibited Discharges
- Applies to
- All unincorporated Travis County
- Civil penalty
- Up to $1,000 per violation, per day
- Spill notice deadline
- TCEQ notified within 24 hours
- Enforcing authority
- Transportation and Natural Resources Department
- Legal basis
- Local Gov't Code Sec. 573.002/.003; Water Code Sec. 26.171
Summary
Travis County bans illicit discharges into its municipal storm sewer system and open waterways countywide, requiring best management practices from industrial and construction sites and giving inspectors right-of-entry to check compliance. Violators face civil penalties up to $1,000 per day plus injunctions and cleanup costs.
No person may discharge or cause to be discharged into a municipal separate storm sewer or into a water in the State any pollutant that causes or contributes to a violation of applicable water quality standards, other than storm water authorized by permit or similar authorization issued by the TCEQ. The commencement, conduct or continuance of any illicit discharge is prohibited except as described in subsections (c) and (d)... whenever Travis County finds that a person has violated a prohibition or failed to meet a requirement of this chapter, that person is liable to the county for a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for each violation. Each day a violation continues is considered a separate violation for purposes of assessing the civil penalty.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 304, Prohibited Discharges, Enforcement, applies to all unincorporated areas of Travis County and was adopted under Local Government Code Sec. 002 to satisfy the county's TPDES storm water permit obligations. Sec. 003 bars any discharge of waste or pollutants that violates the chapter and prohibits illicit discharges outright, except for narrowly listed activities such as water line flushing that must not substantially add pollutants. Sec. 005 makes it a violation to conduct industrial or construction activity requiring a TPDES storm water permit without that authorization, and treats any violation of a TPDES permit as a chapter violation too.
Sec. 006 requires the owner or operator of any commercial or industrial site to install structural and non-structural best management practices, at their own expense, to keep pollutants out of the county's Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4); the County Executive, meaning the head of the Transportation and Natural Resources Department, can order additional BMPs from anyone whose property is a source of illicit discharge. Sec. 004 lets the County suspend a person's MS4 access without prior notice, and access will not be reinstated until the discharge is proven eliminated and the person pays the County's response and reinstatement costs.
Sec. 008 requires notice to TCEQ within 24 hours of a spill and immediate notice to the County if drinking water or a county road may be affected. Inspectors have a statutory right of entry under Texas Water Code Sec. 173 to sample and inspect, and a 30-minute delay in granting access is itself a chapter and permit violation under Sec. 009.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 304.010 sets a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation under Local Government Code Sec. 573.003, with each day of continuing violation counted separately, on top of injunctive relief, nuisance abatement costs, and recovery of the County's attorney fees, court costs, sampling, and monitoring expenses. A discharge to the MS4 that violates the chapter is declared a nuisance outright, and Travis County can seek a district court injunction under Sec. 304.010 to stop ongoing violations or compel remediation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as an illegal stormwater discharge in Travis County?
What must a construction site do to comply?
Can Travis County cut off my connection to the storm sewer?
How much can a stormwater violation cost?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Travis County
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Travis County to another location·View the Texas environmental rules overview
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