What changed, when, and why it matters.

SpaceX proposes a 149 MW gas turbine plant in Bastrop County

The Starlink factory filing shows four gas turbines and a property line beyond the parcels on our ownership map. Plus, Lost Pines Watch is now a 501(c)(3) public charity.

Sources: SpaceX air application and area map · TCEQ project record · Bastrop County deed records · 202609629

Governor Abbott, Keep Your Promise to Rural Texans

Ask Texas officials to keep Pacifico’s proposed Cedar Creek gas plant on hold through the handoff and give neighbors a public meeting before any permit decision.

Sources: Abbott’s September 21 announcement · Bastrop County resolution · Bastrop City Council vote at 3:01:15

After the town hall: new records and next steps

Thank you to our town hall community. Catch up on October coverage, comment on EPA’s power-plant proposal by November 2, review the Wallace–DDWK deed, and explore the expanded regional map.

Sources: EPA proposal and November 2 comment deadline · Wallace–DDWK deed excerpt, page 1 · Expanded community map

October 20 town hall · archived Zoom announcement

Archived announcement for the October 20, 2026 Cedar Creek town hall. This event has ended; use the October 26 follow-up and Action Center for next steps.

October 20 town hall · archived reminder

Archived announcement for the October 20, 2026 Cedar Creek town hall. This event has ended; use the October 26 follow-up and Action Center for next steps.

Pacifico’s air permit: the pollution numbers need answers.

A plain-language guide to emissions discrepancies in Pacifico’s August air application and questions for TCEQ. The October 13 meeting and October 20 town hall referenced in this article have passed.

Sources: Read the full emissions analysis (PDF) · October 13 Commissioners Court agenda · October 20 community town hall

A new data-center filing points to Building 1.

A 498,165-square-foot data-center registration at Earl Callahan and Walter Hoffman roads strongly matches the Pacifico campus plan. The October 13 county action prompt is preserved as historical context.

Sources: TDLR — Project Longhorn, Building One · October 13 Commissioners Court agenda · Proposed TCEQ public-meeting resolution

Pacifico marches on during the pause. Help unlock $12,000 to fight it.

October 4 reporting on Pacifico’s Cedar Creek recruitment and Lost Pines Watch’s legal-fee campaign. The City Council attendance prompt has passed; visit the donation page for current campaign details.

Sources: Pacifico’s HSE Manager posting

October 20 town hall · archived event announcement

Archived announcement for the October 20, 2026 Cedar Creek town hall. This event has ended; use the October 26 follow-up and Action Center for next steps.

Pacifico and the data center permitting pause

Historical update · September 26, 2026. What the pause and final review stage mean for the project timeline

Sources: Governor’s September 21 TCEQ directive

TCEQ declines Gerdes’s meeting request. Pacifico’s eligibility remains undecided.

Historical update · September 17, 2026. Read TCEQ’s September 17 response, ask for answers before a decision, and help through community comments, the opposition map, volunteering or donations.

Sources: TCEQ’s September 17 letter to Rep. Gerdes (PDF)

TCEQ opens a third deficiency cycle. Its director will join TAB. County authority returns to the agenda.

Historical update · September 10, 2026. Pacifico’s air registration remains pending. Public Citizen raises concerns about TCEQ’s executive director moving to a business group promoting data centers. Bastrop County will discuss a proposal for expanded authority over industrial development on September 14. The same meeting includes an EdgeConneX proposal now limited to a land donation. Lost Pines Watch is also opening volunteer applications.

Sources: TCEQ project record · TAB leadership announcement · September 14 county agenda

Cedar Creek’s next chapter is still being decided

Historical update · September 7, 2026. Explore the community map, follow the land and permit record, and see residents’ formal challenges and growing TCEQ participation. Air Registration 185019 remains pending as of September 7.

Sources: Community map · TCEQ Project 413471

New records, a changed TCEQ timeline, and legislative follow-through

Historical update · September 3, 2026. Aqua’s approved August 4 minutes need one mathematical clarification; TCEQ’s September 2 supervisory-review milestone is again displayed while Registration 185019 remains pending; Senator Schwertner and Representative Gerdes are engaging the agency; and a new Lost Pines Watch technical supplement sharpens the emissions questions with two comparator registrations.

Sources: Aqua approved August 4 minutes · TCEQ Project 413471 report

Pacifico’s Air-Permit Application: Where the Technical Review Stands

Historical update · September 2, 2026. TCEQ closed Pacifico’s second deficiency cycle after one elapsed day and logged a ‘Final Package to Team Leader or Supervisor for Review’ milestone on September 2. Air Registration 185019 / Project 413471 remains pending—not approved—and no deficiency notice, response, corrected application or final technical review is public. Residents are urged to call Rep. Stan Gerdes and Sen. Charles Schwertner immediately, before TCEQ acts.

Sources: TCEQ Project 413471 report · Pacifico's released 54-page application

Pacifico says its earlier project figures are out of date. Aqua should pause before voting.

Historical update · August 30, 2026. In a response relayed by State Rep. Stan Gerdes's chief of staff, Pacifico said its earlier JETI figures are out of date and described approximately 1,100 MW of nameplate generation and 770 MW delivered to the customer; the underlying email reviewed by Lost Pines Watch is not presently published. Its August air application identifies 48 turbines and states 1,326 MW of total maximum nominal electrical output but does not mention the ORC equipment listed in the JETI filing and shown on Aqua's May concept plan. Aqua's June water study predates those newer project descriptions. Lost Pines Watch is asking Aqua to table Item 6 when it considers the request September 1, pending one current, reconciled project description and Aqua's engineer's public confirmation that the existing study still applies.

710 1,326 Megawatts

Historical update · August 28, 2026. Lost Pines Watch has now obtained Pacifico's principal 54-page Cedar Creek air-registration application, submitted and received August 14. The filing identifies 48 natural-gas turbines across six model families and expressly states a maximum nominal output of 1,326 megawatts. That is a different capacity measure from the earlier JETI description of 710 MW of site-rated redundant power. We have also obtained related records, and our review has identified multiple issues and unanswered questions that warrant careful scrutiny.

Urgent: Pacifico air registration enters final-package cycle; Aqua scheduled to consider water service September 1

Historical update · August 27, 2026. TCEQ's official record shows Pacifico Air Registration 185019 still pending, but the deficiency cycle closed August 26 and a Final Package Rework Cycle opened the same day. Residents should submit written technical objections for association with the project file, monitor the public meeting requested by Rep. Stan Gerdes, and track any mailed approval for the Motion-to-Overturn deadline. Aqua WSC separately placed discussion and possible action on Large Volume Water Service to Pacifico on its September 1 agenda; the new resolution and proposed agreement were not linked on Aqua's public meeting page when checked August 30.

Four resident actions to press TCEQ before Pacifico Air Registration 185019 is decided

Historical update · August 25, 2026. HISTORICAL UPDATE — SUPERSEDED AUGUST 30: This article preserves the August 25 resident campaign before Pacifico's principal application was public. The released application now identifies 48 turbines and 1,326 MW of stated maximum nominal output, and Registration 185019 remains pending. This standard-permit registration is not being processed through an ordinary project-specific comment period or contested-case-hearing route. Use the current action guide to submit material technical information, support Rep. Stan Gerdes's public-meeting request and monitor any mailed decision for post-decision deadlines.

Monday: Ask Bastrop County to demand a full public TCEQ review

Historical update · August 23, 2026. HISTORICAL ACTION UPDATE — EVENT PASSED: This article preserves the August 24 Commissioners Court campaign and its dated meeting materials. Pacifico's released air application now identifies 48 turbines and 1,326 MW of stated maximum nominal output. For current participation guidance on still-pending Registration 185019 / Project 413471, use the latest action guide rather than the copy-ready language below.

Critical: Pacifico withdraws tax-break applications as expedited air review remains active

Historical update · August 21, 2026. HISTORICAL UPDATE — SUPERSEDED AUGUST 30: County records confirm that Pacifico withdrew its two Bastrop County Chapter 312 applications. Pacifico said it also withdrew its Bastrop ISD/JETI J0049 application, but no Comptroller disposition confirming that withdrawal has been located. Neither action withdrew Air Registration 185019 / Project 413471. Pacifico's principal air application is now public and identifies 48 turbines and 1,326 MW of stated maximum nominal output. Registration 185019 remains pending. Use the current filing guide instead of the dated call and submission language below.

Lost Pines GCD adopts data-center groundwater resolution

Historical update · August 19, 2026. The adopted resolution calls for sustainable-supply proof, cumulative review, transparent metering, non-potable alternatives and full accounting of water associated with electricity generation. It strengthens the case for Bastrop County to withhold Pacifico tax abatements while the complete water plan remains unresolved.

Pacifico Cedar Creek air registration found; expedited TCEQ review begins

Historical update · August 15, 2026. HISTORICAL UPDATE — SUPERSEDED AUGUST 30: This article records what was publicly known when TCEQ's expedited review of Permit 185019 / Project 413471 began. Pacifico's principal 54-page application is now public and identifies 48 turbines and 1,326 MW of stated maximum nominal output. Registration 185019 remains pending. The older screening scenario and copy-ready requests below are preserved for context; use the released-application analysis and current action guide for present claims and filing language.

LIV Pacifico Town Hall details corrected; community contact guide added

Historical update · August 14, 2026. CORRECTION — AUGUST 16: LIV's current event page does not state that registration is closed. The in-person Pacifico Town Hall is scheduled for Thursday, August 20, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Parish Hall, 4045 FM 535 in Bastrop. Check LIV's event page for current RSVP availability and confirm the walk-in policy before attending. This is a community event, not a government hearing or formal project decision. The Action Center also includes a downloadable advocacy contact guide provided by a community member and dated August 11. The guide is shared as a nonofficial resource in its original form; verify contact information against official agency pages before use.

Sources: LIV Pacifico Town Hall event page · Community advocacy contact guide · Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Supplement 2 adds an equipment list—and still leaves the project largely undescribed

Historical update · August 12, 2026. Pacifico's newly posted 16-page Supplement 2 adds an eligible-equipment list and a generic site-selection graphic, but most of the file repeats Supplement 1. The list confirms combustion turbines, emissions controls, gas compressors, air-cooled equipment, transformers, switchgear, interconnection systems, tanks, pumps, and other balance-of-plant equipment. It still does not disclose turbine count or model, final placement and setbacks, operating hours, emissions and noise modeling, complete water and fire-water plans, hazardous materials or battery systems, the data-center identity and power arrangement, or public comparative economics. J0049 remains in Application Phase; the filing is not project approval.

County tables flawed data-center resolution after strong community input

Historical update · August 11, 2026. Bastrop County Commissioners Court tabled Item E.4 on August 10 after strong public testimony and written community input challenged language that could understate tools the County already has. Lost Pines Watch agrees with that criticism and has corrected its earlier guidance: residents were right to oppose adoption of the draft as written. The next ask is not a vague declaration of powerlessness; it is a legally reviewed, targeted use of existing fire-safety, BESS, public-health, infrastructure, records, and incentive authority while preserving the case for stronger state legislation. New source material includes Nick Lealos's working draft, LIV's written comments, Austin County's signed BESS and data-center order, KVUE's meeting report, KXAN's interview with Earth Native founder Dave Scott, a GIS-confirmed shared property line, and Dave's August 11 view across that boundary. For the August 13 BISD meeting, residents may address Pacifico during Open Forum even though it is not on the agenda; trustees cannot deliberate or vote on the unposted subject, but they may provide facts, state existing policy, or propose a future agenda item.

Five public meetings this week and an August 20 Cedar Creek forum

Historical update · August 10, 2026. Editor's note, August 11: Item E.4 was tabled after strong community input. This update originally told residents to support the draft while asking the County to use existing tools; that guidance was wrong. Nick Lealos and LIV correctly challenged language that could understate present county authority. An August 12 LIV Zoom, the remaining August 13 public-comment routes, and the August 20 LIV forum are current, with corrected guidance to use existing lawful tools, preserve every option, and not return Item E.4 unchanged.

TCEQ challenge docketed as August 10 county-authority vote approaches

Historical update · August 9, 2026. TCEQ indexes two amended motions asking the Commission to review and stay Pacifico's TXR1565YW and Black Chamber's TXR1551YV; neither authorization has been stayed, and the filings' assertions are not agency findings. Editor's note, August 11: Commissioners Court tabled Item E.4 after strong community input. This article's original instruction to support the draft was wrong and has been replaced with guidance to use existing lawful tools and not return Item E.4 unchanged.

Aqua tables Pacifico again after study reveals conditional water service

Historical update · August 6, 2026. Aqua WSC confirmed that its board tabled Item 13 and did not approve proposed Resolution 26.08.02 on August 4. The open-record production shows that Garver reports existing supply and firm pumping below the capacity ratios cited in its revised study; even Pacifico's developer-supplied 14-gpm peak request depends on new Watterson wells and treatment, a pump station, storage and approximately 2.5 miles of approach main. It also contains materially different February and May layouts: the superseded concept shows two large data-center buildings and a compact power block, while the later plan shows four narrower buildings—two marked future—and a lengthened generation block. Neither provides a complete MW schedule, so 710 MW of generation and approximately 490 MW of IT load remain JETI full-buildout figures rather than capacities verified by the drawings.

Abbott data-center directive leaves an ERCOT-only gap

Historical update · August 4, 2026. Governor Abbott's August 3 directive did not stop every Texas data center. Its operative language reaches projects advancing through ERCOT's interconnection process, while construction, onsite generation, air permits, water agreements, incentives, non-ERCOT Texas, and already operating or approved campuses are not halted by the letter itself. Lost Pines Watch's deliberately inclusive map tracks 54 mappable project groups plus four unlocated records with private, co-located, dedicated, inherited, hybrid, non-ERCOT, or size-threshold questions. Gray markers are context cases—not claims of exemption. Cedar Creek's exact ERCOT status remains publicly unresolved.

Aqua’s Pacifico study models only 23 LUEs and no fire flow

Historical update · July 31, 2026. The 12-page packet for Resolution 26.08.02 says Aqua has sufficient capacity to serve a data center, but the attached engineering analysis tests a developer-supplied request of 9 gpm maximum-day demand, 14 gpm peak-hour demand, and no fire flow. Service is contingent on specified infrastructure. The packet does not establish total campus water demand, cooling design, fire-water supply, annual volume, final customer identity, or the enforceable terms of the future Non-Standard Service Agreement.

Sources: Pacifico feasibility-study packet · Aqua August 4 board agenda · Aqua large-volume service process

TMRS commitments to BlackChamber funds documented

Historical update · July 30, 2026. Official TMRS records show $50 million and $100 million commitments to two BlackChamber real-estate opportunity funds. A separate TCEQ record identifies Black Chamber Partners as construction-stormwater operator for the BCG Cedar Creek Campus. These records establish separate facts; no cited public record shows that either TMRS-backed fund finances Cedar Creek. The source-linked explainer preserves that project-level financing question as unverified.

Sources: TMRS completed investments report · TMRS private-investment performance report · TCEQ Central Registry — search TXR1551YV

Aqua schedules discussion and possible action on Pacifico water service

Historical update · July 29, 2026. Aqua WSC's official August 4 agenda lists Item 13: discuss and take action on approving Large Volume Water Service to Pacifico Energy Development LLC through Resolution No. 26.08.02 in Zone 2. The agenda schedules discussion and possible action; it does not guarantee that a vote will occur. It does not attach the revised feasibility study or resolution, so residents should ask Aqua to publish the engineering basis, full demand and fire-flow figures, infrastructure requirements, and cost allocation before any final action.

Sources: Aqua August 4 board agenda · Aqua large-volume service process

CoreWeave officially identified as AUS02 occupant

Historical update · July 29, 2026. The Texas Comptroller's qualifying-large-data-center register names AI cloud company CoreWeave as the occupant of EdgeConneX AU02, DFW33220N as owner, and DFW33220N Operations 1 as operator. Community Impact reports the $440 million building is expected to open in August. The same state register separately lists ECX AUS11-16 with EdgeConneX affiliates, but it does not identify an outside end customer for those buildings. Both registrations qualify for a program offering a 20-year sales-and-use-tax exemption on qualifying purchases, subject to statutory requirements.

Sources: Texas qualifying large data-center register · Texas qualifying large data-center program · AUS02 TDLR construction filing

Permit watch and Pacifico due diligence expanded

Historical update · July 29, 2026. HISTORICAL PERMIT WATCH — SUPERSEDED AUGUST 30: At the time of the earlier August 9 check, TCEQ's pending list showed no publicly identifiable NSR entry under the known Pacifico, Black Chamber, B&W Ranch, CCK, Earl Callahan, or Cedar Creek project identifiers; that limited search did not prove that no application or pre-application work existed. TCEQ received Registration 185019 on August 14, and Pacifico's complete principal application is now public. It identifies 48 turbines and 1,326 MW of stated maximum nominal output. The current Cedar Creek dossier rechecks and supersedes this August 9 watch.

Sources: TCEQ pending NSR applications · TCEQ Project 413471 · Pacifico air-registration application

August public-meeting watch added

Historical update · July 28, 2026. The Resident Action Center now highlights Aqua WSC’s August 4 public board meeting, where Aqua staff reportedly said Pacifico will be discussed. Aqua’s official site confirms the date, time, and location; the August agenda was not yet posted when checked. The site also lists the next official meetings of Bastrop County Commissioners Court, ESD 1, the Local Emergency Planning Committee, Bastrop ISD, and ESD 3, while clearly distinguishing scheduled meetings from confirmed Pacifico agenda items.

Sources: Aqua August 4 board agenda · Bastrop County Commissioners Court schedule · Bastrop County LEPC August 13 agenda

Construction operators, water record, and project timeline added

Historical update · July 28, 2026. The Observatory added TCEQ authorizations TXR1551YV and TXR1565YW, identifying Black Chamber Partners on a 304-acre data-center footprint and Pacifico CCK Energy 1 on a 173.54-acre power footprint. The update also adds Aqua’s tabled large-volume water request, newly registered project entities, the less-advanced Ohio record, the estimated power-side subsidy scale, pipeline screening, air-permit status, and a source-linked chronology. Stormwater coverage is explicitly distinguished from approval of the overall project.

Sources: TCEQ Central Registry — search TXR1551YV and TXR1565YW · Aqua June 3 board minutes · Pacifico JETI Supplement 1

Countywide tax-abatement guidelines adopted

Historical update · July 27, 2026. Commissioners Court adopted the updated Chapter 312 guidelines after the public hearing. The county's signed 16-page record now confirms the July 27 adoption, a two-year term and Commissioner Mark Meuth's absence. This countywide policy made the County eligible to consider abatements; it did not approve Pacifico's individual reinvestment-zone or tax-abatement requests.

Sources: Signed Bastrop County tax-abatement policy · July 27 Commissioners Court agenda

Gas-turbine siting record expanded

Historical update · July 26, 2026. The Cedar Creek dossier now explains the air-pollution, low-frequency noise, fire and fuel-system, waste-heat, and operating-duration questions created by a 710 MW simple-cycle gas-turbine facility beside homes and schools. These are documented technology characteristics and required studies—not claims that unmodeled project-specific impacts have already been quantified. REQ-001, seeking the complete TCEQ air record, was submitted by email on July 26.

Sources: Pacifico JETI application · EPA stationary combustion-turbine reference · NFPA 850 standard page

Location case and resident action center expanded

Historical update · July 26, 2026. The site now states the evidence-based site-suitability conclusion directly, adds statewide air-permit precedent without attributing unproven conduct to Pacifico, reviews the July 27 county tax-abatement draft, summarizes the proposed Bastrop Bill of Rights, and publishes verified meeting, contact, records-request, TCEQ, legislative, and JETI action routes.

Sources: Pacifico JETI application · July 27 Commissioners Court agenda · Proposed Bastrop Data Centers Bill of Rights

Amazon and EdgeConneX tract extents corrected

Historical update · July 26, 2026. The GIS map replaced the earlier undersized ownership snapshots with CAD-derived site boundaries supplied from Bastrop CAD ParcelARI data fetched July 23, 2026. Amazon is now shown as an approximately 1,300-acre union of 24 former CTX/Creekside parcels. EdgeConneX-related mapping now separates AUS01, AUS02, the 179-acre Campus 2 tract, and the full 704-acre Campus 3 host parcel; Campus 3 is dashed because its approximately 400-acre project footprint has not been filed.

Sources: Bastrop CAD ParcelARI · Bastrop County EdgeConneX agreement and exhibits · AUS02 TDLR construction filing

Drought and fixed fire-service facilities added

Historical update · July 26, 2026. The GIS map added regional fire-history and emergency-response context. Official Texas A&M Forest Service records document the 2011 Bastrop Complex and 2015 Hidden Pines fires, while Bastrop County ESD No. 1's official site identifies the responsible emergency-services district. These sources provide regional context; they do not establish project-specific fire risk or verify staffing, apparatus, response times, water supply, or industrial-fire capability at any station.

Sources: Texas A&M Forest Service — Bastrop wildfire history · Texas A&M Forest Service — Hidden Pines fire impacts · Bastrop County ESD No. 1

Community proximity layers added

Historical update · July 25, 2026. The GIS map added privacy-preserving community context around Pacifico's filed perimeter. Parcel placement is anchored to Bastrop CAD ParcelARI, and Earth Native's official campus materials document an educational use beside the proposed development. Household names, street addresses, ownership fields, and resident-submitted locations are not displayed; other public-facing facility markers remain reference locations rather than independently verified impact findings.

Sources: Bastrop CAD ParcelARI · Earth Native Bastrop campus · Earth Native Cedar Creek project context

Corridor parcels and fire controls corrected

Historical update · July 25, 2026. The GIS map now separates FM 535 corridor parcels using Bastrop CAD ParcelARI geometry and measures distances from Pacifico's filed perimeter rather than from a center point. It also links readers to official Texas A&M Forest Service histories of the 2011 Bastrop Complex and 2015 Hidden Pines fires as regional context, without presenting those histories as project-specific risk findings.

Sources: Bastrop CAD ParcelARI · Texas A&M Forest Service — Bastrop wildfire history · Texas A&M Forest Service — Hidden Pines fire impacts

Pacifico tract geometry corrected

Historical update · July 25, 2026. The map now treats the eight property IDs listed on J0049 page 7 as the filed Pacifico project area and reconciles them to county GIS polygons. Supplement 1, Figures 2–3, depicts the same proposed-project boundary. The tract descriptions total 2,810.0553 acres, while the applicant narrative says approximately 2,842 acres.

Sources: Pacifico JETI application · Pacifico JETI Supplement 1 · Bastrop CAD ParcelARI

Legal correction recorded

Historical update · July 25, 2026. The Observatory corrected the earlier suggestion that dispatchable generation may be exempt from the JETI compelling-factor requirement. SB 2322 did not become law.

Sources: Texas Government Code §403.609 · Texas Legislature Online — SB 2322

Supplement 1 indexed

Historical update · July 25, 2026. Twelve page-level findings were added, including the project-scope change, Ohio alternative, and revised economic projections.

Sources: Pacifico JETI Supplement 1 · Pacifico JETI application · Texas Comptroller J0049 record

Owner records corrected

Historical update · July 25, 2026. EDCAUS11 and EDCAUS12 now identify Burr Computer Environment Inc. as the TDLR owner of record; any other relationship remains a separate research question.

Sources: EDCAUS11 TDLR construction filing · EDCAUS12 TDLR construction filing

FM 535 cluster expanded

Historical update · July 25, 2026. AUS02, EDCAUS11, and EDCAUS12 are tracked separately and analyzed cumulatively.

Sources: AUS02 TDLR construction filing · EDCAUS11 TDLR construction filing · EDCAUS12 TDLR construction filing