Every authorization in Texas expires on the same day
The Multi-Sector General Permit expires August 14, 2026, and every facility authorization tied to it expires with it, regardless of when it was filed.1 Refiling through STEERS closes November 12.1 More than 10,000 authorizations reset inside that window.2
The line moved. The facility did not.
Most of the renewal is administrative. The part that matters commercially is quieter: TCEQ proposed lowering benchmark concentrations for six pollutants across a wide range of sectors.3 A facility that has sat comfortably under the old numbers for five years can begin exceeding the new ones without a single thing changing on site.
That is not a filing problem. It is a scoping conversation, and most operators do not know it is coming.
Compounding it: under the renewed permit, facilities subject to benchmark monitoring sample for at least the first two years of the term even if a waiver applied during the final two years of the current permit.3 Lower thresholds plus reinstated sampling means exceedances that were previously invisible become visible.
Six values, eleven sectors affected3
| Pollutant | 2021 | Proposed 2026 | Change | Sectors affected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phosphorus | 1.25 mg/L | 0.78 mg/L | -38% | C |
| Ammonia nitrogen | 1.7 mg/L | 1.0 mg/L | -41% | K, S |
| Iron | 1.3 mg/L | 1.0 mg/L | -23% | C, E, F, G, H, L, M, N, O, Q, AA |
| Cyanide | 0.02 mg/L | 0.01 mg/L | -50% | K |
| Nitrate + nitrite N | 0.68 mg/L | 0.60 mg/L | -12% | C, G, J, U, AA |
| Zinc | 0.16 mg/L | 0.12 mg/L | -25% | A, C, F, H, N, Q, Y, AA |
Source: TCEQ fact sheet for the proposed 2026 TPDES MSGP, Section V.3
What happens when
Amendment without renewal takes effect
Quarry restrictions in water quality protected areas; expanded applicability for non-exempt oil and gas activity.5
Proposed permit published
Texas Register and Houston Chronicle. Thirty-day comment period closed December 15, 2025.1
Commissioners' agenda
Renewal presented for consideration of adoption. The permit is not final until signed into effect.4
Current permit expires
Every authorization tied to it expires the same day. Refiling opens.1
Resubmittal closes
NOI and NEC applications through STEERS. Coverage does not continue automatically past this date.1
Who needs coverage
Coverage attaches through any of four routes: the facility's primary SIC code appears in the permit's regulated tables, the site conducts an activity described by one of four industrial activity codes (HZ, LF, SE, TW), stormwater discharges are subject to federal categorical effluent limits under 40 CFR Parts 400 to 471, or the Executive Director designates the facility in writing. Thirty sectors, A through AD.6
Regulated SIC and NAICS code tables, Appendix ATwenty Texas facilities near you, free for a limited time
Tell us where you work and we will send a spreadsheet: facilities within twenty miles holding active stormwater authorizations due for refiling, plus facilities whose industry codes suggest they need coverage and do not have it. Full contact detail, no obligations. Coverage is Texas only at this stage.
- 1.TCEQ, Stormwater Multi-Sector General Permit for Industrial Facilities
Renewal status, expiration and resubmittal dates, public notice history
- 2.TCEQ, What You Need to Know About the 2026 MSGP Renewal (PDF)
Stormwater Permits Team, October 21, 2025. Authorization universe as of October 2025: 8,847 NOIs and 3,846 NECs.
- 3.TCEQ, Fact Sheet for the Proposed 2026 TPDES MSGP TXR050000
Dated November 14, 2025. Section V lists changes from the existing permit, including the six benchmark revisions. Benchmark monitoring provisions appear in Section IV.
- 4.TCEQ, Water Quality General Permits
Renewal notices, public meeting records, and Commissioners' agenda status for TXR050000
- 5.TCEQ, 2026 MSGP Renewal Stakeholder Meeting Presentation (PDF)
November 6, 2024. Covers the 2025 amendment without renewal, implementing HB 1688 and HB 2771, and the renewal timeline.
- 6.TXR050000 (2021), full permit text (PDF)
Sector definitions, industrial activity codes, and the regulated SIC and NAICS code tables