Yes. Under 30 TAC §210.56(a)(3), producers of industrial reclaimed water ‘are not required to treat industrial water or hold a permit for treatment and disposal.’ The 210E authorization IS your wastewater treatment facility permit. It provides complete authority to construct and operate a treatment facility processing both industrial and domestic wastewater streams. TCEQ staff explicitly confirmed that ‘you have to have a valid authorization before you could start construction’ and that the 210E serves as both construction and operating authorization. There is no separate wastewater treatment facility permit needed from TCEQ for industrial reclaimed water facilities.

No, not for initial operations. The 210E permit authorizes treatment and beneficial reuse without discharge. However, many developers pursue a traditional discharge permit as a backup option after their 210E is operational. This provides a secondary disposal method if industrial users leave or reuse capacity becomes insufficient. The 210E allows you to bypass the lengthy discharge permit process for initial operations while maintaining the option to obtain one later if circumstances change.

No specific percentage is required. Under 30 TAC §210.53(b)(2), any project where ‘industrial wastewater contains any amount of domestic wastewater’ qualifies for Level II authorization. TCEQ has approved 210E authorizations where industrial flows represent as little as 10% of total volume. For example, a 2 MGD facility might include 120,000 gpd from a data center, 600 gpd from a concrete batch plant, and 1.88 million gpd from residential/commercial sources. What matters is that an industrial component exists, not that it dominates the project. Per §210.56(d), TCEQ’s focus is on monitoring treated effluent quality (pH and total organic carbon), not the proportion of waste sources.

TCEQ requires no specific phasing or construction sequence. While the industrial component must exist to maintain permit validity, there are no mandated build-out timelines or minimum flow thresholds. The key compliance requirement is maintaining daily operational logs showing what wastewater is being treated and monitoring effluent quality. Projects can phase development as market conditions dictate without jeopardizing the permit.

Depends on your flows and reuse methods. For agricultural irrigation (the most common approach), budget approximately 2,000 gallons per day per acre for grass and tree crops in Central Texas. A 300,000 gpd facility would therefore require roughly 150 acres of irrigation area, plus a properly sized storage reservoir designed per 30 TAC §309.20 water balance requirements. Alternative reuse methods (cooling towers, concrete mixing, industrial processes) can significantly reduce land requirements but must be specifically arranged with industrial off-takers.

The permit becomes invalid unless alternative arrangements are made. Reuse users are specifically listed on the 210E authorization, and their exit terminates the permit’s validity for that portion of flow. This is why many developers either: (1) own the reuse land themselves, (2) secure long-term reuse agreements with strong contractual protections, or (3) pursue a backup discharge permit after initial operations begin. The most conservative approach is treating the 210E as a fast-track solution that buys time to complete a traditional discharge permit under less urgent circumstances.

Timeline: Modern Engineering Solutions has successfully obtained 210E approvals in 4–10 weeks during TCEQ’s busiest periods, with typical timelines of 2–3 months from complete application submission to approval. This compares to 24–36 months (or more) for traditional discharge permits. The application requires a complete water balance study per 30 TAC §309.20, site characterization, waste stream analysis per §210.53, and reuse plan documentation.

Engineering costs for a well-prepared 210E application typically range from $15,000–$35,000 depending on project complexity. TCEQ’s application fee is $100 per §210.60.

No, this is Texas-specific. The 210E authorization exists under Texas Administrative Code Chapter 210, Subchapter E and is administered by TCEQ. Other states have varying industrial reclaimed water regulations, but none offer the same streamlined pathway that Texas provides. The 210E represents a unique regulatory advantage for Texas development projects.

Per 30 TAC §210.56(d) and §210.57, the permit requires:

• Daily operational logs
• Monthly effluent quality sampling (pH 6.0–9.0, total organic carbon ≤55 mg/L)
• Certified operator on staff
• Five-year recordkeeping

Storage reservoirs must meet liner requirements under §210.23 depending on location (stricter standards apply within Edwards Aquifer recharge zones per §210.4(d)).

Developer Translation: Compliance requirements are straightforward and significantly less burdensome than traditional TPDES discharge permits. Daily logs and monthly sampling are required, but there’s no mandated phasing, no minimum industrial flow thresholds, and no ongoing public hearing exposure.