Greetings!

Things are heating up fast in the Bastrop County water world. Utilities, Inc. of Texas (formerly Corix Utilities) recently filed an application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) requesting a permit to expand the Camp Swift Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (WQ0013548001). This expansion will result in a 10-fold increase to 2 million gallons per day of wastewater being disposed of into an unnamed tributary thence to Piney Creek and thence into the Colorado River less than a mile above Fisherman's Park in Bastrop, TX. This segment of the Colorado River has been designated for exceptional aquatic-life use, recreational and drinking-water uses.

What others have said.

Public Comments on TCEQ Website

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SAWDF Comments being submitted by the Simsboro Aquifer Water Defense Fund.

ES Comments (DRAFT IN PREPARATION)

Instructions for Submitting Comments

A public meeting is being held to hear from local interest groups, landowners, and individuals about their concerns regarding the impacts on the tributaries, the Colorado River, and properties that are adjacent to these waterways. It is important that you either attend the meeting and make your concerns known in public testimony, or provide written comments to the TCEQ by midnight September 15, 2025.

The Notice of Public Meeting, in the INFORMATION section, encourages members of the public to submit written comments anytime during the meeting or by mail before the close of the public comment period at midnight, September 15, 2024. Be sure to include the Permit No: WQ0013548001 on anything you submit.

Written comments can be sent to:

Office of the Chief Clerk

TCEQ, Mail Code MC-105

P.O. Box 13087

Austin, TX 78711-3087

Electronic comments can be sent via the internet by clicking on this link: www.tceq.texas.gov/goto/comment. The page will say:

Comments on a Pending Permit Application

Put the Permit No: WQ0013548001 in the box and click NEXT

There will be two permits listed. Click on the permit number in the top (white) box and the comment page will come up. There is no docket number for this permit so the next page will say "Not Applicable".

More Information about this Permit Application

If you live in the Bastrop area you can go to Nextdoor at the link below to follow what is going on locally. You can also RSVP for the BBQ being hosted by Chap Ambrose.

Nextdoor Bastrop

If you live in the Bastrop Area or have a particular interest in this permit Environmental Stewardship can use your help in getting standing to request a contested case hearing if necessary. Please email me at info@envstewardship.org and we can discuss your interest and how becoming a member can help us help you and the river. Please see ES Comments (DRAFT IN PREPARATION) above to get more information about how your particular interests fit into this request.

Colorado River at Fisherman's Park in 2007

A River Imperiled. Video of the Colorado River at Wilbarger Bend, Bastrop County, Texas. Harold "Skip" Connett, 2024 where Skip talks about the Corix Contested Case Hearing and how it relates to no taking on the Camp Swift (Utilities, Inc. Of Texas (formerly Corix Utilities, Inc. of Texas.

The two photographs below received a great deal of attention during the hearing. The Applicant made every attempt to discredit the testimony of our expert witness Dr. Lauren Ross regarding these photographs and to have them denied as exhibits to go into the hearing records. Their objections were denied.

Confluence of the Unnamed Tributary carrying effluent from the Corix Wastewater Treatment Plant discharges into the Colorado River just upstream from LCRA's McKinney Roughs Park. Harold Connett, January 24, 2025

Colorado River just downstream from where the Unnamed Tributary that carries Corix wastewater discharges into the river. Harold Connett, January 24, 2025.

We need your financial help to be successful!

As stewards of the land in Texas, Environmental Stewardship takes our responsibility to advocate for the preservation and protection of our precious waterways very seriously. We have proceeded with the prosecution of our case in the administrative law process available to us, and we have done so at significant financial risk.

As we have expressed before, it is an understatement to say that for Environmental Stewardship to fight victoriously, we will need strong and on-going help and financial support. Please help us accomplish our goals by donating today, and by forwarding this email and ask the recipients to make a generous donation. You can make a donation by clicking the Donate button below, or by mailing a check to:



Environmental Stewardship

P.O. Box 1423

Bastrop, TX 78602

Thank you to all that have made donations to this effort!

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On behalf our Board of Directors and the coalition of individuals and organizations behind this effort, 

thank you for your help and participation.

Sincerely,

Steve Box

Board President and Executive Director

Environmental Stewardship