BIG Illicit Discharges and Dumping Workgroup

The Clean Water Initiative (CWI) workshops offer information and resources to help local governments, landowners, and citizens develop effective strategies to reduce pollution in our area waterways. The program includes a series of workshops focusing on stormwater permits, including construction.

A Guidance Manual for identifying and eliminating illicit connections to municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4), prepared by the Galveston County Health District Pollution Control Division in cooperation with Houston-Galveston Area Council, Galveston Bay Estuary Program, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (formerly: Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission).

H-GAC hosts quarterly local enforcement roundtables to provide a forum for discussing illegal dumping issues within the H-GAC region. The group includes peace officers, county prosecutors, city officials and personnel from TCEQ’s Region 12 office.

If you want to be included in our invitation list for these roundtables please contact Erin Livingston at [email protected] or 832-681-2525. Past topics have included civil and criminal prosecution, tires, setting up illegal dumping stings, and industrial stormwater.

H-GAC worked with experts to develop manuals to assist local attorneys and Justices of the Peace with prosecuting cases of environmental violations. Manuals were developed for Justices of the Peace, criminal investigators, civil enforcement, and criminal enforcement.

State law allows counties and municipalities to permit and regulate activities of septic, grease trap, and grit trap waste hauler activities.