Compliance Curveballs

Understanding the Latest Environmental Regulatory Updates Impacting the Industry

By Matt Bellos & Whitney Schwope, Westward Environmental, Inc.

It can be hard to keep up with the ever-changing regulatory landscape on the federal, state, and local levels. Changes continually impact hot mix asphalt plants, quarries, and other industrial facilities.

A New Multi-Sector General Stormwater Permit

Every five years the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) renews the TXR050000 Stormwater General Permit. This Multi-Sector General Stormwater Permit covers several industries, including asphalt production and quarrying.

The current permit expires on August 14, 2026, and hot mix asphalt plant and quarry operations will need to update their stormwater plans to meet the proposed permit changes and renew their Notice of Intents (NOIs) within a 90-day window from August 14 to November 12.

Hot mix asphalt plants are required to maintain a stormwater plan and permit based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code that describes the industrial activities occurring onsite. Within the stormwater permit, hot mix asphalt plants are covered under Sector D and quarries under Sector J, which require inspections, stormwater sampling, maintaining a rain gauge, and other responsibilities.

Over the past five years TCEQ gathered information from the public, the state legislature, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), TCEQ staff, and the regulated community. TCEQ has made some administrative updates to the permit and minor technical changes. The permit is still in draft status and TCEQ is reviewing fourteen public comments that were submitted to the agency.

It is expected that a final draft permit will be available for review in summer 2026, and the final permit will be issued on August 14, 2026. As a permittee, you are unable to renew your NOI until August 14.

This is a great time to re-evaluate your stormwater plan, update your team members, site map, and exposed materials inventory, and add or subtract outfalls, if needed. A renewal NOI will need to be submitted through the TCEQ STEERS online program, and a new copy of the 2026 permit must be included in your stormwater plan.

Renew Your Wastewater and Stormwater General Permit for Ready-Mix Operations

Every five years, TCEQ also renews the TXG110000 Wastewater and Stormwater General Permit for ready-mix concrete operations. The current permit expires on November 7, 2026, and readymix operations must update their plans to meet the proposed permit changes and renew their NOIs within a 90-day window from November 7 to February 5.

Diving Into Waters of the U.S. Regulatory Updates

The definition and interpretation of federally jurisdictional “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) has experienced legal and regulatory volatility over the last few years. Th e term WOTUS generally establishes the geographic scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.

Portions of the act that may be applicable to the aggregate and paving construction industry include the following sections: 303: Water Quality Standards and TMDLs, 311: Oil Spill Programs, 401: State/Tribal Certifi cation, 402: Pollutant Discharge Permits, and 404: Discharge of Dredged and/or Fill Material.

Since the Supreme Court issued the Sackett v. EPA decision in 2023, the interpretation of what constitutes a jurisdictional surface water feature, and specifically a wetland, has been in flux. The historically utilized “significant nexus” standard was deemed inconsistent with the interpretation of the act, and the court held that the act’s use of waters encompasses only those “relatively permanent, standing, or continuously flowing bodies of water,” consistent with the Rapanos (2009) plurality opinion.

Additionally, the court asserted that adjacent wetlands are jurisdictional WOTUS when the wetlands have a “continuous surface connection” to bodies that are WOTUS in their own right.

Due to litigation, the U.S. is still using two diff erent sets of rules—the amended 2023 rule and the pre-2015 regulatory regime—to effectively determine jurisdiction depending on the state. In Texas, the agencies are interpreting WOTUS consistent with the pre 2015 regulatory regime and the Sackett decision, pursuant to their March 2025 guidance memorandum.

Although the agencies have issued updated guidance concerning jurisdictional interpretation of surface water features as a result of the 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision and administration changes, the future of WOTUS remains fluid at best.

Th e most recently proposed rule in November 2025 by the current administration is expected to be finalized sometime this year and provide uniformity among the states.

Notable changes to the defi nition and regulations relating to WOTUS within the proposed rule include:

• Removing the “interstate waters” category
• Revising exclusion language and addition of definitions for: Waste Treatment Systems, Prior Converted Cropland, and Ditches
• Adding definitions for: Continuous Surface Connection, Relatively Permanent, Tributary
• Requiring adjacent wetlands to maintain a continuous surface connection—they must have surface water at least during the wet season and border another jurisdictional water

Relative to WOTUS and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)—the permitting agency —recently reissued and modified 56 of the existing Nationwide Permits (NWP) and issued one new NWP. Th ese are a type of general permit that can be used to authorize smaller or minimal impacts to WOTUS. NWPs are typically reviewed and reissued every five years; the most recent changes went into effect on March 15, 2026. Highlights of the modifications include:

1. Addition of advisory notes encouraging applicants to engage with the U.S. Coast Guard or National Ocean Service, particularly related to certain NWPs that authorize structures in navigable waters.
2. Addition of a “Nature-based Solutions” definition, and encouragement of incorporation of naturebased solutions into projects which include activities that require NWP authorization.
3. NWP 27 was modified to provide clarity regarding authorized activities and removal of the requirement to submit Pre Construction Notification (PCN) to USACE. It was replaced with a reporting requirement.
4. NWP 39, which authorizes activities associated with commercial and institutional developments, was modified to add data centers, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and storage facilities as examples of projects which may result in regulated activities authorized by this NWP.
5. NWP48 was modified to exclude its use in Washington state
6. NWP 60, a new NWP, authorizes discharges, work, and structures associated with activities to improve the passage of fish and aquatic organisms.

If you have questions or are curious how these regulations may affect your specific operation, reach out.
Contact: Matt Bellos at [email protected] or Whitney Schwope at [email protected]. Or, call Westward Environmental, Inc., at 830-249-8284