Texas reportedly suspended 17 stormwater construction permits tied to data-center projects during the week of October 19, 2026, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) temporarily shut down its STEERS filing application for staff review. Tom’s Hardware reported both actions on October 24. The report said STEERS had continued issuing permits for about a month after Governor Greg Abbott called for a pause in September.
The permit action followed two separate directives
Abbott’s grid review and his direction to TCEQ concerned different processes. Jones Day’s August 2026 analysis dates Abbott’s directive to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to August 3. It called for an audit of data-center projects moving through ERCOT’s grid-interconnection process.
A September 29 analysis by Beveridge & Diamond dates Abbott’s separate TCEQ directive to September 21. It paused issuance of permits related to data-center projects pending ERCOT’s review. The analysis says ERCOT’s information request covered projects of 25 megawatts or more seeking interconnection, while the TCEQ directive stated no megawatt threshold. The 25-megawatt figure applies to ERCOT’s request, not to the TCEQ directive.
What the 17 stormwater permits covered
The 17 permits were described as construction stormwater permits. TCEQ says its TXR150000 Construction General Permit authorizes stormwater discharges from construction activities. That authorization concerns stormwater released during construction.
The reported count therefore concerns a specific environmental permit type. It does not describe every permit connected with a data center or every construction project in Texas.
Why STEERS was shut down
TCEQ’s electronic filing application, STEERS, handled automatic authorizations. A TCEQ notice quoted in the October 24 report said the application had been temporarily shut down so agency staff could review applications and determine whether they related to data centers.
FracTracker Alliance researcher Sam Law said applications associated with OpenAI and Amazon had gone through STEERS earlier that week. The report also counted 17 suspended permits, but did not identify the permit holders in that group.
