Filing a Notice of Intent Through STEERS, Step by Step

Published August 20, 2026. Last reviewed August 20, 2026. Technical review: Jim Price, CISEC, CESSWI. Founder, Stormwater Compliant LLC.

Texas construction sites disturbing five acres or more must file a Notice of Intent with TCEQ before construction begins, submitted electronically through STEERS. The fee is $225 electronic, $325 on paper. The filing itself takes under an hour. Getting the STEERS account authorized to submit it takes considerably longer.

That last sentence is the whole point of this page. Read the next section before you do anything else.

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Start Here: The Account Timeline That Ruins Schedules

Every guide to this process explains the form. Almost none of them explain that you may not be able to submit it yet.

STEERS is TCEQ's electronic reporting system, and filing an NOI requires an account with signature authority. New accounts start in probationary status pending a signed electronic signature agreement, which has to be printed, signed, and returned to TCEQ before your account can actually certify a submission.

That processing is not instant. Plan on it taking days, not minutes.

The failure mode is predictable. A contractor with a Monday start date sits down the previous Wednesday to "knock out the NOI," creates a STEERS account, fills in the whole form, and then discovers they cannot sign it. Now the choice is delaying mobilization or starting without authorization, and only one of those is legal.

If you have a large construction project on the calendar, set up the STEERS account now. Not when the drawings are final. Now. It costs nothing to have an authorized account sitting idle, and it is the only part of this process you cannot compress.

If your start date is already close, that is a reason to call us today rather than after the weekend. We file these routinely under our own authority. Request a quote or call (210) 776-6515.

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Do You Even Need an NOI?

Only large construction activity files an NOI.

• Under 1 acre, not part of a larger common plan: not regulated. Nothing to file.
• 1 to under 5 acres: small construction activity. You need a SWP3 and a posted Small Construction Site Notice (TCEQ-20963), but no NOI and no fee.
• 5 acres or more: large construction activity. NOI required.

Contractors do occasionally file NOIs they do not owe, which costs $225 and creates an authorization that then has to be terminated. Confirm your disturbed acreage first, counting clearing, grading, stockpiles, haul roads, and support activity rather than the building footprint. The breakdown is in the 1-acre vs 5-acre rule.

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What to Gather Before You Start

Assemble all of this before you open the form. The session is much easier when you are not hunting for a legal entity name halfway through.

About the company

• Legal name of the operator exactly as registered, not the DBA
• Customer Number (CN) if your company already has one with TCEQ
• Mailing address, phone, and a responsible official with signature authority

About the site

• Project or site name
• Physical location and, ideally, latitude and longitude
• County
• Regulated Entity Number (RN) if one already exists for the site
• Total project acreage and total acreage to be disturbed
• Estimated start and end dates

About the discharge

• Receiving water body name
• Segment number if known
• The name of any MS4 operator receiving your discharge
• Whether the site is over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge or Contributing Zone

Confirmations you must be able to make

• The SWP3 has been developed and is ready to implement
• If applicable, the Edwards Aquifer Protection Plan has been approved

That last one is not a formality in this region. Under Part II.C.5 of the permit, construction cannot commence at a site regulated under 30 TAC Chapter 213 until TCEQ's Edwards Aquifer Protection Program has approved the applicable WPAP or CZP. Filing an NOI does not cure that.

CN and RN, in plain language

These confuse first-time filers more than anything else.

• A Customer Number (CN) identifies your company to TCEQ. One per legal entity, reused across every site and program.
• A Regulated Entity Number (RN) identifies a physical location. One per site.

If your company has permitted anything in Texas before, you probably have a CN already, and creating a duplicate causes reconciliation problems later. Search before you create. A brand-new site normally needs a new RN.

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Setting Up the STEERS Account

1. Go to TCEQ's electronic reporting portal and create a STEERS account.
2. Choose the ePermits program area covering stormwater construction general permits.
3. Select your access level. To submit an NOI you need signature authority, not just preparer or read-only access.
4. Complete the electronic signature agreement, print it, sign it, and return it to TCEQ as directed.
5. Wait for TCEQ to process it and lift probationary status. This is the step you cannot compress.
6. Confirm you can reach the NOI form and that the certify function is available to you.

TCEQ updates this interface periodically, so treat the sequence above as the shape of the process rather than a promise about button labels. The information required does not change much. The navigation does.

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Filing the NOI, Step by Step

1. Log in to STEERS and open ePermits for the construction general permit.
2. Start a new NOI for TXR150000.
3. Identify the customer. Search for your CN before creating one. Use the exact legal entity name.
4. Identify the regulated entity. Search for the site, and create an RN if none exists. The physical location has to be the site, not your office.
5. Enter project details: total acreage, disturbed acreage, start and end dates, and the construction description.
6. Enter discharge information: receiving water, and any MS4 operator receiving the discharge.
7. Answer the Edwards Aquifer questions accurately. If the site is over the Recharge or Contributing Zone, you will be asked about your approved plan.
8. Complete the certifications, including that the SWP3 has been developed.
9. Pay the $225 fee.
10. Sign and submit using your authorized signature credentials.
11. Save the confirmation and the submitted NOI. You need the first page of it for the site notice.

Do not submit until the SWP3 actually exists. You are certifying that it does.

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After You Submit

Filing is not the end of the sequence. Four things follow.

Confirm authorization. Check that coverage was granted and note your authorization number. Keep the confirmation in the site binder.

Post the site notice. The Large Construction Site Notice (TCEQ-20961) goes up along with the first page of your submitted NOI, readable from outside the site, before construction begins. Secondary operators post TCEQ-20962 instead.

Send the MS4 copy. Provide a copy to the operator of any municipal separate storm sewer system receiving your discharge, and list those operators by name and address in the SWP3.

Notify SAWS if you are in San Antonio. Under the City's construction stormwater ordinance (2014-06-19-0472), a copy of the NOI or Construction Site Notice goes to stormwaterconstruction@saws.org at least 48 hours before construction-related activities begin. This is separate from anything TCEQ requires and it is missed constantly.

And note the bookend: what you file at the start, you have to close at the end. A Notice of Termination is due within 30 days of achieving final stabilization, and coverage continues until TCEQ approves it. See filing the Notice of Termination.

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The Paper Alternative

Paper filing exists but is not a shortcut.

Since September 1, 2018, electronic submission through STEERS has been the default for the NOI, NOT, NOC, and LREW forms. Paper requires an electronic reporting waiver from TCEQ, which is itself a request that has to be granted.

Paper also costs $325 against $225, and processing is slower. If you are considering paper because the STEERS account is not ready, understand that you are trading a known delay for a different delay plus $100.

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Common Filing Errors

Creating a duplicate CN. Search first. Duplicates cause reconciliation problems across every future filing.

Filing after construction began. The NOI precedes ground disturbance. A late NOI documents the date you started.

Understating disturbed acreage. Support activity, haul roads, and stockpiles count. Understating it on a certified form is worse than the underlying miscalculation.

Certifying the SWP3 exists when it does not. You are signing a certification. Write the plan first.

Assuming the NOI covers the Edwards Aquifer. It does not. Separate review, separate approval, and it independently bars commencing construction.

Forgetting the site notice and NOI first page. Filing without posting is a citation waiting to happen. See the most common SWPPP violations on San Antonio job sites.

Never filing the NOT. The most expensive habit in this permit. Coverage runs until termination is approved.

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Or We File It For You

We hold STEERS authority and file these routinely. Send us the civil drawings and we will confirm your disturbed acreage, tell you whether you actually owe an NOI, write the site-specific SWP3, file the NOI, and hand you a field binder with the site notice ready to post.

Free site walk, written scope, fixed price, typically inside 48 hours. If your start date is close, call rather than email.

Request a quote or call (210) 776-6515. More about our SWPPP services, and the full permit walkthrough in our field guide to the TCEQ Construction General Permit.

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Sources

• TCEQ, Electronic Reporting for Water Quality
• TCEQ, Assistance Tools for Construction Stormwater General Permits
• TCEQ, 2023 Construction General Permit TXR150000 (PDF)
• TCEQ, Stormwater General Permit for Construction Activities