Dirt, Sand, and Rock Quarries and Aggregate Processing Plants: How to Register
These are simplified summaries of the aggregate production operations rule, 30 TAC 342.
If you know you must, skip down the page and register now. If you have any doubts about whether you must register, read on.
Who Must Register?
You must register places where you:
- dig, quarry, remove, or extract aggregate from the ground in any other way
- crush, wash, sort, or process these raw materials in any other way
Who Is Exempt from Registering?
You don't need a registration if all of the aggregate produced at your APO is used in any one of these ways:
- In a lime kiln that is on site or at a related site that you also control.
- To produce cement or lightweight aggregates on site or at a related site that you also control.
- Exclusively in a public works project of a state agency or local government.
- As fill or for other construction purposes on site or at an adjacent site.
- To construct, modify, or expand a landfill or other solid waste facility.
Is your main reason for producing or processing the aggregate to sell it? If not, your operation is exempt.
If you have an aggregate processing plant at your own registered quarry, pit, or other extraction site, you do not need a separate registration for the processing plant.
In addition to these exemptions, operations that produce clay or shale for ceramic tiles, brick, or other structural clay products do not have to be registered. Clay or shale used in this way is not considered to be aggregate.
How Do I Register?
To register, you must complete a form — in hard copy or online — and pay a fee.
If you can't register online, register your APO with the paper form. 
Register online and save 25%
Use ePermits to register your APO online and you'll save 25 percent off the registration fee.
ePermits works through STEERS, our online permitting and reporting system:
- Do you already have a STEERS account? Then log in and add "Aggregate Production Operations" to your account.
- If you don't have one, start up a new STEERS account right now!
Pay the fee
Remember — if you register your APO with ePermits, you cut 25 percent off your fee! With ePermits, you can even pay online.
Portable Aggregate Processing Plants
Regardless of the area covered, the fee for a portable aggregate processing plant is the same:
All Other Types of APOs: Based on Acreage
If your APO or processing operation is not portable, the application fee is based on the number of acres disturbed.
Measuring the Area
When you measure the area disturbed, include all:
- pits, quarried areas, and other extraction areas
- stripped areas
- haulage ramps
- land used for a processing plant
Registering Your APO
If your operation disturbs:
- 0 to 10 acres:
- More than 10 acres, up to 50 acres:
- More than 50 acres, up to 100 acres:
- More than 100 acres:
When Do I Register?
If your APO is already operating, you must register it by Tuesday, Oct. 30.
If your site is to begin operations Oct. 31 or later, you must register it 10 business days before you begin extracting or processing aggregates.
What Else Do I Need to Know?
You must renew your registration each year
This registration is good for one year. You must renew your registration before the expiration date shown on your registration certificate.
Renew with ePermits or submit the paper registration form.
You must pay a registration fee when you renew.
Registrations are not transferable
If you sell an APO, you must cancel your registration in ePermits or submit the cancellation form. The new owner must register under their own account in ePermits or submit the registration form. .
If you operate an APO and transfer that responsibility to anyone else, you must cancel your registration in ePermits or submit the cancellation form. The new operator must register under their own account in ePermits or submit the registration form.
There is no fee for canceling a registration.
Moving your APO is a two-step process
For rock or concrete crushers, aggregate processors, and other mobile APOs, the registration is tied to the site.
So if you move a mobile APO to a new location, you must:
- Unless you will continue to use the site as an APO in some other way, you must cancel the original registration in ePermits or submit the cancellation form.
- Register the new location ePermits or submit the registration form.
There is no fee for canceling a registration.
Let us know other important changes
If the mailing address, telephone number, or other contact information changes, update your records with us.
You may update the information in ePermits or complete a modification form. There is no fee for making these changes.
What If I Have More Questions?
If we haven't answered your questions here, please call our APO registration program at 512-239-2767 or e-mail us at apo@tceq.texas.gov.
