County engineer outlines MS4 annual report, considers waiver and transition to Texas NET

The Bell County county engineer presented the Phase 2 MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) annual report at the March 17 commissioners court meeting and described options for compliance as the county prepares a new five‑year plan and moves to TCEQ’s Texas NET electronic submittal system.

The engineer told commissioners Bell County is a "nontraditional MS4" and reports only for unincorporated urbanized areas, not the whole county. He said the county currently monitors five minimum control measures — public education/outreach, illicit-discharge detection and elimination, construction-site stormwater runoff, post-construction stormwater management, and pollution prevention/good housekeeping for municipal operations — and tracks 17 best-management practices tied to those measures.

"We have a plan in place. We're looking at a new five-year plan, but we have not finalized it, and we have not submitted that to TCEQ yet. We're very close," the county engineer said. He said Tanya Elliott has been assigned to learn Texas NET, the state’s new electronic submittal system, and that staff have been in weekly correspondence with TCEQ about the transition.

The engineer described two options moving forward: submit an updated five-year plan through Texas NET, or request a waiver under "waiver option number 2" because the county’s urbanized areas may serve fewer than 50,000 people. He said he would continue coordinating with commissioners about pursuing a waiver if appropriate.

Examples of activities that count toward the MS4 report include the county’s public outreach and involvement (the county co‑sponsored the Bell County Waters Symposium in November 2024), household hazardous-waste collections, tire collections and the county’s annual Tire and Tackle event. The engineer said maps of the permit areas are kept on file in his office and will be updated as needed; he told the court the only administrative action required to finalize the annual report this year is the county judge’s signature for submission to Austin under the current process.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the new electronic submittal process and the timeline. The engineer said the March deadline for the Phase 2 annual report is being met under the existing process and that Texas NET will be used for the new five‑year plan; if the judge signs a waiver under option 2, the county could be removed from the reporting requirement for the urbanized areas meeting the waiver criteria.

Ending: Staff will continue drafting the five‑year plan, finalize submission logistics via Texas NET and return to the court for required signatures or a waiver request.