TCEQ Permit Filing — NOI / NOC / NOT

What are the NOI, NOC, and NOT?

A Notice of Intent (NOI) is a written submission to the executive director from an applicant requesting coverage under the general permit. Its two siblings keep the record true and then close it — one corrects the information on file when project facts change, the other ends coverage when the site is done.

Together the three forms carry a project from first shovel to clean exit, and each one runs on its own clock.

Opening coverage — the NOI

The opening move is mandatory, and it comes before the work. Under TXR150000, primary operators of large construction activities must submit an NOI prior to commencing construction activity at a construction site. Filed electronically, the response is fast. Primary operators of large construction activities that submit the NOI electronically are authorized immediately following confirmation of receipt of the electronic form by the TCEQ, unless otherwise notified by the executive director. There is one more handoff that is easy to forget. Two days before commencing construction activities, primary operators must provide a copy of the signed NOI to the operator of any MS4 receiving the discharge and to any secondary construction operator. Filing late is recoverable. Building without coverage is not — the exposure starts with the first shovel, not the first letter.

Who files — and who doesn't

Not every company on a site files its own paperwork. Secondary operators are regulated under the general permit but are not required to submit an NOI, provided that a primary operator at the site has submitted one. Size matters too. TXR150000 defines small construction activity to include clearing, grading, and excavating that disturb at least one acre and less than five acres. Operators of small construction activities may be automatically authorized under TXR150000, provided they meet all of the permit's conditions for that path - among them developing and implementing a SWP3 and posting the signed TCEQ Small Construction Site Notice. The Construction Site Notice (CSN) Signage desk covers that path. And a narrow exit exists at the small end. Operators of small construction activities can apply for a Low Rainfall Erosivity Waiver (LREW) from the requirement to obtain authorization under TXR150000 when the calculated rainfall erosivity factor for the entire project period is less than five.

Correcting the record — the NOC

A Notice of Change (NOC) is written notification to the executive director from a discharger authorized under the permit, providing changes to information that was previously provided in a notice of intent. The clock on it is specific. If relevant information provided in the NOI changes, the operator must submit a Notice of Change to TCEQ at least 14 days before the change occurs — or, where advance notice is not possible, within 14 days of discovering the change. Acreage grows, operators change, contact records go stale — the correction form is how the state's file keeps matching the project's facts.

Closing coverage — the NOT

A Notice of Termination (NOT) is a written submission to the executive director from a discharger authorized under the general permit requesting termination of coverage. The deadline is written out just as plainly. The NOT must be submitted to TCEQ within 30 days after final stabilization has been achieved on all portions of the site that are the operator's responsibility, after a transfer of operational control, or after the operator has obtained alternative authorization. Coverage also does not follow the project when it changes hands. Coverage under the general permit is not transferable from one operator to another — the new operator submits its own NOI or LREW, as applicable, and the previous operator submits an NOT. Every transfer is two filings, not zero — the seller closes, the buyer opens.

What Terradyne files

Terradyne prepares and files a project's NOI, NOC, and NOT directly in TCEQ's STEERS system on the operator's behalf; the operator signs in STEERS under their own electronic reporting number, so certification stays with the operator. Terradyne prepares the completed TCEQ permit forms — the NOI and construction site notice as applicable — alongside the SWP3 narrative. The filing is never a form in isolation: it certifies the plan behind it, so the desk checks that the two agree before anything is submitted.