Revising the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards

The process to revise the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards includes the public and is conducted at least every three years. Revisions address new information on potential pollutants, additional data about water quality conditions in specific water bodies, and new state and federal regulatory requirements.

There have been revisions to the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards in 1967, 1973, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1995, 1997, and 2000. In July 2000, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), now the TCEQ, adopted the 2000 standards revision. As of January 2008, EPA had acted on most, but not all, portions of the 2000 revision leaving portions of the 1997 standards in effect. For a list of the portions that EPA has acted on see EPA Timeline of Approval of Standards (PDF) and for a list of portions still under review by EPA see Under Review by EPA (PDF). (Help with PDF Files.)

Portions of each version of the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards are in effect because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has to approve a state's water quality standards before they can be used for programs under the U.S. Clean Water Act. The Texas Pollution and Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) program is an example of a TCEQ federal permitting program that falls under the Clean Water Act.