Geologic Assessments for Edwards Aquifer projects in Bexar and Comal Counties.
TerraPoint prepares TCEQ Geologic Assessments (TCEQ-0585) for projects reviewed by the TCEQ San Antonio Regional Office. Karst invertebrate habitat evaluations and presence/absence surveys run under our own USFWS permit in the same field effort, and SAWS Aquifer Protection Plan support is available for Bexar County sites. Every step is overseen directly by a senior geoscientist.
The county decides who reviews your site
The San Antonio Regional Office handles Edwards Aquifer applications for Bexar, Comal, Kinney, Medina, and Uvalde Counties. Hays, Travis, and Williamson Counties are handled out of Austin.
Bexar County is mapped in five USFWS karst zones, from Zone 1 (known listed species) outward. The zone shapes the species compliance path, separate from anything TCEQ requires.
Up to three reviews can apply to one site
A Bexar County project can draw on state, city utility, and federal review at the same time. Each has its own trigger and its own submittal, and knowing which apply before the land closes is most of the schedule question.
San Antonio Regional Office (Region 13)
Reviews Water Pollution Abatement Plans and the other Edwards Aquifer applications for Bexar, Comal, Kinney, Medina, and Uvalde Counties under 30 TAC 213. The Geologic Assessment (TCEQ-0585) is the technical foundation of the applications that require one.
Aquifer Protection Plan, Bexar County
San Antonio Water Quality Ordinance No. 81491 (1995) requires Category 2 and 3 properties over the Recharge Zone in Bexar County to have an approved Aquifer Protection Plan before development. SAWS reviews it separately from the TCEQ application, and the ordinance applies in Bexar County rather than Comal.
Karst zones and listed invertebrates
Separate from TCEQ, the Endangered Species Act governs federally listed karst invertebrates. Presence in the Recharge Zone alone does not trigger a survey; the USFWS karst zone and the presence of suitable habitat decide the path.
Recharge, Transition, or Contributing: the zone sets the filing
The Recharge Zone generally follows the outcrop of the Edwards limestone, so the geology under a parcel helps decide which rules apply.
Recharge and Transition Zones. A Geologic Assessment supports the Water Pollution Abatement Plan on the Recharge Zone and the sewage collection system and storage tank facility plans on both zones. It is prepared and certified by a Texas-licensed Professional Geoscientist.
Contributing Zone. Regulated activities submit a Contributing Zone Plan, which does not include a Geologic Assessment. A Contributing Zone site can still carry karst and species questions, which is what a pre-acquisition screen answers.
- Bexar County: Recharge Zone sites may also need a SAWS Aquifer Protection Plan, depending on the property category
- Comal County: reviewed by the TCEQ San Antonio Regional Office; the SAWS ordinance does not reach Comal County
The zone is the first question. Everything else on this page follows from the answer.
What the agency clock allows
These are TCEQ's published timeframes under 30 TAC 213.4(e), not TerraPoint commitments. What the applicant team controls is how complete the submittal is when it arrives.
Administrative review
TCEQ's turnaround for administrative review can be up to 30 days.
Technical review
TCEQ's stated turnaround for technical review of an administratively complete Edwards Aquifer application is 90 days.
Where the schedule is decided
The geology reaches the reviewer inside the application. A Geologic Assessment that is complete, internally consistent, and incorporated into the plan by the project engineer may give the reviewer fewer questions to send back.
Large highway and utility projects across Bexar and Comal Counties
Over a career in large highway and utility permitting, planning, and construction projects, TerraPoint's principal, Brian Cowan, P.G., has worked on karst and Edwards Aquifer projects throughout the San Antonio region. Entries dated before 2025 were performed earlier in his career, before TerraPoint was founded.
Highway corridors
- Loop 1604, Stone Oak Parkway to Redland Road (2026 to present). Karst construction oversight by a Texas-licensed Professional Geoscientist, including field evaluation of voids and solution features exposed during excavation within the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, and Encountered Feature Mitigation Plan submittals to TCEQ coordinated with the project engineer.
- Loop 1604 Geologic Assessments (2016 to 2018). Field surveys and two sealed Geologic Assessments for Loop 1604 at Bitters Road and Huebner Road and from Redland Road to Bulverde Road, within the Recharge Zone.
- Loop 1604, SH 16 to I-35 environmental assessment (2019 to 2021). Karst and Edwards Aquifer analysis for approximately 23 miles of improvements crossing the Contributing, Transition, and Recharge Zones and USFWS Karst Zones 1, 2, 3, and 5, including design recommendations to reduce effects near karst critical habitat. A Finding of No Significant Impact was issued on February 4, 2021.
- SH 151 and Loop 1604 interchange (2017 to 2019). Post-construction karst conservation measures under the USFWS Biological Opinion, including karst feature surveys and vegetation monitoring within cave drainage basins.
- US 281, Loop 1604 to the Comal County line (2015 to 2019). Karst conservation measures under the USFWS Biological Opinion: revised karst zone maps, cave drainage basin delineation in two critical habitat units, a cave management plan, inspection and documentation of voids encountered during construction, TCEQ void closure plan support, and annual reporting to USFWS.
Pump stations, facilities, and sewer infrastructure
- Pump stations and an odor control facility (2015 to 2017). Sealed Geologic Assessments supporting aboveground storage tank plans for multiple SAWS facilities on the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, including pump stations and an odor control facility.
- Pump station water line void (2018). Evaluated a void exposed during trenching for a water line from a SAWS pump station, identified it as a solution-enlarged fracture, and prepared the TCEQ Void Discovery Notification (TCEQ-10256) with a closure plan. TCEQ accepted the submittal and construction was completed.
- Upper Leon Creek sewer capacity relief (2019 to 2022). Led the karst feature survey for open-cut and tunnel construction along the Leon Creek Greenway, followed by protocol presence/absence surveys of one cave and three non-enterable karst features.
Roadway projects
- Loop 337, I-35 to Hillcrest Drive, New Braunfels (2020). Water Pollution Abatement Plan for widening from a two-lane roadway to a four-lane divided roadway on the Recharge Zone, coordinated with TxDOT and TCEQ on best management practices. The plan was approved in 2020.
- FM 306 (2015 to 2016). Sealed Geologic Assessments and, when a void was exposed during drainage ditch grading, the TCEQ Void Discovery Notification with a closure plan, plus a survey of the void for endangered karst invertebrates at TxDOT's request. TCEQ accepted the submittal and construction was completed.
San Antonio region questions
Which TCEQ office reviews Edwards Aquifer applications in the San Antonio area?
TCEQ's San Antonio Regional Office (Region 13) reviews Edwards Aquifer applications for Bexar, Comal, Kinney, Medina, and Uvalde Counties. Applications for Hays, Travis, and Williamson Counties go through the Austin Regional Office.
Does a Bexar County site need both a TCEQ approval and a SAWS Aquifer Protection Plan?
Potentially. TCEQ's Edwards Aquifer program and the SAWS Aquifer Protection Plan are separate reviews. Under San Antonio Water Quality Ordinance No. 81491, Category 2 and 3 properties over the Recharge Zone in Bexar County need an approved Aquifer Protection Plan before development. Which category a property falls in, and whether a TCEQ application is also required, depends on the property and the project, and is part of the first screen.
Does a project in Kendall County or Boerne need a TCEQ Geologic Assessment?
TCEQ's Edwards Aquifer Protection Program applies in eight counties: Williamson, Travis, Hays, Comal, Bexar, Medina, Uvalde, and Kinney. Kendall County is not among them, so the program's requirements do not apply there by county. Karst and endangered species questions can still affect a site, which a screening review addresses.
How do USFWS karst zones affect a Bexar County site?
Bexar County is mapped in five zones that rank the likelihood of habitat for federally listed karst invertebrates, from Zone 1 (areas known to contain listed species) outward. The zone shapes the compliance path: habitat assessment, presence/absence surveys, coordination, or habitat conservation plan participation where available and appropriate. Presence in the Recharge Zone alone does not trigger a survey.
How long does TCEQ take to review an Edwards Aquifer application?
TCEQ publishes a turnaround of up to 30 days for administrative review and 90 days for technical review of an administratively complete application, under 30 TAC 213.4(e). Those are agency timeframes, not TerraPoint commitments.
Where these requirements come from
The rules, forms, and standards referenced on this page, linked to the agency or standards body that publishes them.
- TCEQ: Edwards Aquifer Protection ProgramProgram overview, regional offices, and the application and review process.
- TCEQ: Edwards Aquifer rules and technical guidanceThe rules and guidance that govern regulated activities over the aquifer.
- 30 TAC Chapter 213, Edwards Aquifer (Texas Secretary of State)The rule text as published by the Texas Secretary of State.
- TCEQ-0585 Geologic Assessment instructions (PDF)The instructions to geologists for preparing a Geologic Assessment.
- USFWS: Scientific permit requirements for karst invertebrate surveys (PDF)Section 10(a)(1)(A) requirements for presence/absence surveys and habitat assessments for endangered karst invertebrates.
- SAWS: Aquifer Protection PlanBexar County Aquifer Protection Plan requirements under San Antonio Water Quality Ordinance No. 81491.
Send us your site.
Share the parcel and the county. We'll tell you which reviews apply, scope the Geologic Assessment and any species work as one field effort, and say plainly what the geology means for your schedule.