Rain is rare in Midland and often arrives hard. A site that has been stripped, cut and left open can lose a season of grading to one thunderstorm, and the regulators know it. Erosion control and a stormwater pollution prevention plan, usually shortened to SWPPP, are how a disturbed site keeps soil on the lot instead of in the street, the draw or the neighbor's property. The plan sets out the controls, who inspects them and how often, and what is done when something fails.
We treat the SWPPP as a working schedule and not a binder on a shelf. Before earthwork starts we locate the perimeter controls, stabilized entrances, inlet protection, concrete washout and stockpile protection on a site sketch, assign the inspections and make sure the trade partners who move dirt know where the controls are and what they are for. Because we coordinate utilities and earthwork partners, our role is to keep the controls in place through every change of phase until the site is stabilized, paved or planted.
Installing controls before the first pass
Controls come first. Silt fence or sediment logs, stabilized construction entrances and inlet protection are installed before stripping begins, and we ask partners not to mobilize heavy equipment until the perimeter is complete. Skipping this step causes the first complaint and the first citation on most sites.
As work moves from stripping to cutting to paving, controls shift. We update the plan when phases change, record the dates and keep a weather watch on the days when rain is forecast. When a storm approaches, partners are asked to stabilize open slopes and cover stockpiles so the damage is limited.
What the program covers
The scope usually includes perimeter silt fence or wattles, a stabilized rock entrance, inlet and outfall protection, temporary seeding or mulching, stockpile covers and a concrete washout area. Dust control by water truck appears in the same plan on a windy site.
It also includes the inspection routine. A qualified person walks the site at the intervals the plan sets and after significant rain, records conditions and writes down repairs. Those records are kept on site and are available to the owner and the regulators. Repairs are made quickly, and the log shows when and by whom.
Sites from town lots to open ranch ground
We coordinate erosion control for projects in Midland, Odessa and the communities around them. A downtown lot, such as one near the Hotel Santa Rita project, has different needs from a pasture east of the city. The city approved participation in that downtown project on January 23, 2024, with $125 million in private funds, a minimum 135-room hotel and an 800-space parking garage. Tight urban sites limit space for sediment basins, so controls are close to the curb.
Out in the county, drainage paths are longer and open ground produces more runoff. In Stanton and similar towns along Interstate 20, we use a different mix of controls than on downtown lots, with more attention to long outfalls and dry draws that can carry flash flows.
Who installs and who watches
We coordinate trade partners for utilities and earthwork, and erosion control touches every one of them. The earthwork partner builds berms and basins, the utility partner protects inlets and trench spoil, and our site supervision keeps the inspection log. When a partner disturbs a control, we ask for it to be repaired the same day.
As the concrete specialists move into placement and finishing, we pay particular attention to the washout location. Concrete wash water has to stay in a lined container and be disposed of properly. We place the washout where trucks can reach it without crossing sediment controls, and the ready-mix driver is told where to go before the first load.
Owners and what they ask for
Commercial developers usually want a plan that satisfies the permit office and avoids stop-work orders. Their pads are large, their schedules are tight and a citation can hold up the building inspection.
Energy and midstream owners work in a landscape of heavy traffic and long outfalls. The Midland Basin had 107 drilling rigs and 28 fracking crews at the end of July 2021, with the Spraberry and Wolfcamp intervals as its main horizontal targets, and the yards that support that work often sit on open ground. Oil, gas and midstream clients therefore ask for controls that survive heavy trucks and repeated deliveries.
Keeping inspectors and workers safe
Stormwater inspection is walking work on slopes, ditches and soft ground. Inspectors wear proper footwear and eye protection, stay out of active equipment zones and go in pairs after a major storm. Silt fence stakes, steel posts and wire are tripping and cutting hazards, so we cap and flag them.
Sediment basins and open outfalls are drowning and fall hazards after a heavy rain. We fence them as the plan requires and mark them clearly. Spill kits for fuel and oil are kept at fueling points, because a spill counts as a stormwater violation and a safety event alike.
How the controls vary by building
A hotel or hospitality site, such as the downtown projects the city lists, is tight and busy. The same list includes Centennial Park, the Bush Convention Center and the Omni Midland Hotel. Controls for hospitality projects stay close to the building and the street, with frequent cleanup.
Retail centers have large pads, shared parking and drive aisles that cross the site. Retail shopping centers need inlet protection that remains through phased openings. Warehouses sit on open ground and need space for sediment basins, outfall protection and a long construction entrance.
Connected earthwork and drainage work
Erosion control interacts with every earthwork package. The way we sequence topsoil stripping and stockpiling determines how much ground is open at once, and the timing of cut-and-fill earthwork determines where runoff flows.
Detention basins double as sediment traps during construction, so the basin work described on our pond and basin excavation page is often built first. A state accessibility filing for the I-20 reconstruction at Cotton Flat Road lists main lanes and frontage roads at an estimated $46.7 million, and work of that scale handles the same controls we use on private pads, only over far more ground. Private owners benefit from copying the discipline: written inspections, quick repairs and a plan that is updated whenever the phase changes.
Send the site plan and the disturbed acreage
Share the grading plan, the stormwater plan and your start date. We will return a control layout, an inspection schedule and a sequence that keeps the site stable from the first strip to final stabilization.
Common Questions
When is a SWPPP required?
Regulations set it by disturbed area, and larger sites need a formal plan and notice to the state. Smaller sites may still need controls under local rules. We read the permit requirements during preconstruction and prepare the plan accordingly.
How often are inspections needed?
The plan sets the interval, and inspections are also required after significant rain. We schedule a qualified person for each and keep the logs on site so they can be reviewed by the owner or regulators.
What happens if a control fails during a storm?
We repair it as soon as conditions are safe, clean any sediment that left the site and note the event in the log. Quick action usually limits the consequences.
Can erosion controls be removed after paving?
Controls stay until the site is stabilized, which means pavement, vegetation or another permanent cover is in place. The plan names the criteria, and we remove temporary measures only when they are met.