TCEQ has halted data center applications for construction stormwater coverage, which an operator needs before grading a large campus site

In Texas, each primary operator of a construction site of five acres or more needs coverage under the Construction General Permit (CGP) before clearing or grading starts. The CGP is the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's (TCEQ) permit for stormwater that runs off construction sites. A primary operator is a party that controls the construction plans or directs the day-to-day work that keeps the site in compliance with the permit. TCEQ says it has halted applications for that coverage from construction projects associated with a data center. So while the halt lasts, an operator without coverage can't start grading a data center campus site without risking enforcement.

Under that permit, the primary operator of a large construction site must file a Notice of Intent (NOI) before clearing, grading or excavation begins. Filed electronically, an NOI normally authorizes that operator, for the site named on the NOI, as soon as TCEQ confirms receipt. That is why the filing is usually a formality. With TCEQ holding applications from data center projects, an operator can't count on that confirmation arriving, so it can't set a date to start clearing or grading.

The Governor's Sept. 21, 2026 letter directed TCEQ "to pause the issuance of all permits related to data center projects until ERCOT completes its review" (TCEQ's data center permit pause and ERCOT's pause on approvals to energize). ERCOT is the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The letter's reason is that the Public Utility Commission (PUC), ERCOT and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) are studying how data centers affect the grid and water supplies. It says that information "is necessary to make informed decisions by each of those agencies." The letter cites no statute. It also doesn't mention stormwater, so someone reading only the letter could assume site work isn't affected. TCEQ's own construction stormwater notice says it is.

Status updated October 24, 2026: TCEQ's construction stormwater notice is still posted, and it still says the halt lasts until the Governor's office gives further notice. TCEQ sent the Governor the update his letter required in an Oct. 19, 2026 letter. The letter says "TCEQ has paused the issuance of all permits related to the construction or development of infrastructure directly supporting data centers." It also says TCEQ "is screening claimed authorizations that do not require the agency to affirmatively issue a permit and, where possible, is suspending such authorizations for data center activities." It ties the pause of each covered application to the Governor's directive ("in accordance with your directive"), cites no statute or rule, doesn't name stormwater or the CGP, and sets no end date. The screening sentence still matters for CGP coverage, because an electronically filed NOI takes effect when TCEQ confirms receipt, without TCEQ issuing a permit. So coverage an operator already holds for a data center site may be among the authorizations TCEQ is screening.

What TCEQ's notice says

The notice sits under the heading "Special Notice: Directive from the Office of the Governor" on TCEQ's construction stormwater page, which showed a Last Modified date of 2026-10-19 when Sitebraid checked it on Oct. 24, 2026. Its operative paragraph reads in full:

"Given the Governor’s directive to TCEQ, all permit applications in association with a data center in the state are temporarily halted until further notice is given by the Office of the Texas Governor. This directive includes the halt of applications for construction projects in association with a data center seeking coverage under the TPDES Construction General Permit."

Two details matter for a schedule. The notice is statewide: "all permit applications in association with a data center in the state." And it ends on a different trigger from the letter. The letter pauses issuance "until ERCOT completes its review." The notice holds applications "until further notice is given by the Office of the Texas Governor."

The page also says "A notice has been posted on the STEERS News webpage." STEERS is TCEQ's online permitting system. Sitebraid has not seen that STEERS News posting. On Oct. 22, 2026, TCEQ's STEERS login page said "TCEQ's electronic filing application used for automatic authorizations has been temporarily shut down to ensure all applications are reviewed by agency staff to determine if they are related to data centers." On Oct. 24, 2026, the same address returned an error page, so Sitebraid could not confirm whether that notice is still posted.

Why the stormwater permit controls the first day of site work

TCEQ's page states the reach of the permit: "Construction activities are regulated under the CGP if they discharge stormwater to any surface water in the state and disturb an acre or more of soil." The current permit is the 2023 CGP, Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) General Permit No. TXR150000, effective March 5, 2023.

The permit defines large construction activity as disturbance of five acres or more, counting every phase of one plan. Four permit terms then set the sequence for a large site:

• Filing: "primary operators of large construction activities must submit an NOI prior to commencing construction activity at a construction site."
• Start of construction: "The initial disturbance of soils associated with clearing, grading, or excavation activities, as well as other construction-related activities (e.g., demolition; grubbing; stockpiling of fill material; placement of raw materials at the site)."
• Pollution plan: the stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWP3) "must be developed and implemented prior to obtaining coverage and prior to commencing construction activities."
• Timing: primary operators "that electronically submit an NOI are authorized immediately following confirmation of receipt of the electronic form by the TCEQ, unless otherwise notified by the executive director."

The permit allows a late NOI. It also says "The TCEQ reserves the right to take appropriate enforcement action for any unpermitted activities that may have occurred between the time construction commenced and authorization under this general permit was obtained." Dirt work that starts before coverage leaves the operator open to enforcement for that period.

Phases and operators count

Splitting a campus into phases doesn't get it under the five-acre threshold, because the permit counts every phase of one plan together. The definition also covers under five acres "that is part of a larger common plan of development or sale if the larger common plan will ultimately disturb equal to or greater than five (5) acres of land." A common plan is identified by project documents that "may include plats, blueprints, marketing plans, contracts, building permits, a public notice or hearing, zoning requests, or other similar documentation and activities." Discrete projects one quarter mile or more apart can be treated as separate plans, but only if the area between them is not being disturbed.

More than one party can owe an NOI. A primary operator is anyone with "on-site operational control over construction plans and specifications, including the ability to make modifications to those plans and specifications." It is also anyone with "day-to-day operational control of those activities at a construction site that are necessary to ensure compliance with a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWP3) for the site or other permit conditions." So a developer that controls the plans and a general contractor that directs the site work can both be primary operators. A party, "often the property owner," whose control is limited to hiring a general contractor, or to approving or disapproving plan changes without day-to-day control of the site, is a secondary operator. A secondary operator is regulated under the permit. It isn't required to file its own NOI if a primary operator at the site has filed one. If no one at the site is a primary operator, the permit treats the secondary operator as the primary operator.

Coverage also follows the operator. When a primary operator changes, "the new primary operator must submit an electronic NOI" at least 10 days before it takes operational control. A change of general contractor or a site sale can therefore trigger a new NOI. If the disturbed area grows by one acre or more, the operator files a Notice of Change at least 14 days before the change.

What TCEQ has not said

Neither the notice's two-sentence operative paragraph nor TCEQ's Oct. 19 letter says:

• whether CGP coverage an operator already holds for a data center site is among the claimed authorizations TCEQ is screening and, where possible, suspending
• whether a new or added primary operator's NOI, for a site where another operator already holds coverage, is an application under the halt
• whether a Notice of Change for added acreage is held
• whether operators of small construction sites, whom the permit authorizes without an NOI once they meet its conditions, are affected
• what makes a construction project "in association with a data center," for example an off-site substation, road or water line built to serve a campus
• when the Governor's office will give further notice

The Governor's letter says "TCEQ shall provide an update to my office on its compliance with my directive by Monday, October 19, 2026." TCEQ posts its Oct. 19, 2026 letter to the Governor on its own site as TCEQ's response to Gov. Abbott's Sept. 21 directive (PDF), checked Oct. 24, 2026.

Before the next commitment on a Texas campus

The halt puts at risk any lender, equity or tenant date that depends on grading starting at a campus site whose primary operators don't yet have CGP coverage. These are the sponsor's calls, made with counsel. The steps below gather the facts for them. None of this is legal advice.

1. For each campus site, pull the CGP record for every primary operator: authorization number, NOI date and acres disturbed as stated in the NOI. If no primary operator holds authorization for the site, mark the first day of clearing, grading or excavation as dependent on CGP coverage in the schedule.
2. Carry that dependency into any lender, equity or tenant condition that ties money or a delivery date to site work starting.
3. Map the common plan of development. List every phase, pad, road and utility corridor that appears in plats, contracts, zoning requests or public notices, with the acres each will disturb.
4. List every primary operator, current and planned, including the owner or developer if it controls the construction plans and can modify them. List secondary operators too, because each is regulated under the permit and must post its own site notice. Before any change of general contractor, added contractor with plan control, or site sale, decide with counsel whether the new NOI falls under the halt.
5. Compare the acres now planned with the acres in each NOI. For an increase of one acre or more, decide with counsel when to file the Notice of Change and how the halt affects it.
6. Have the SWP3 developed and each primary operator's NOI prepared for any site still without coverage, so the filing is ready if TCEQ resumes processing.
7. For off-site work built for the campus, record the operator and the plan documents that tie it to the data center. Decide with counsel whether TCEQ would treat that work as "in association with a data center."
8. Before the commitment date, check the TCEQ construction stormwater page and the Governor's news page for further notice, because TCEQ's notice says the halt lasts until the Governor's office gives it. TCEQ's notice names the Stormwater Permits Team at SWGP@tceq.texas.gov for questions.

If the stormwater halt puts your construction start at risk, our Entitlements & community work lays out the permit path and how it changes your schedule.