The White Rocks resort is located within the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve and features 600 residential units with condos and a luxury hotel. Although a proposed amphitheater was mentioned in a March 27 email from developers and appears to be displayed in the White Rocks’ digital brochure and website, developers at the meeting denied its inclusion in current development plans.
No decision regarding the permit’s approval or denial was made at the April 8 meeting. TCEQ will respond to all formal comments made online and at the meeting in the next 45-60 days, officials said.
The overview
White Rocks' permit application was received by TCEQ on May 20, 2024. If approved, a TCEQ permit will authorize developers of the resort to dispose of treated wastewater, not exceeding 120,000 gallons per day, via a new activated sludge treatment plant, referred to as the White Rocks Treatment Facility. A public access “subsurface area drip dispersal system” will also be implemented, injecting processed wastewater into the ground and spreading it over a large area to ensure proper absorption, according to the TCEQ.
A total of 62 members of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, or GEAA, jointly submitted a letter March 7 requesting TCEQ officials deny the developers’ permit request.
“GEAA’s members have serious concerns regarding the permit application, relating to the degradation of Barton Creek and its nearby tributaries,” the letter states. “We also have serious concerns regarding potential contamination of area water wells that will likely occur with the irrigation of treated sewage and wastewater/stormwater runoff at the proposed site. We therefore recommend that the White Rocks LLC wastewater permit be denied, for the reasons presented in these comments.”
City officials in Bee Cave have publicly taken issue with White Rocks, with council passing a resolution March 25 that formally opposed the resort due to associated traffic and environmental concerns. The White Rocks development sits on a plot of land just east of Bee Cave’s city boundaries.
What they’re saying
At the meeting, members of the GEAA and several local residents argued against approval of the new wastewater permit. Travis County Commissioners Ann Howard and Brigid Shea also attended, requesting that the commission further investigate development plans.
Environmental concerns brought forward by the GEAA pointed to potential oversaturation of the property’s land caused by overwatering, precipitation and stormwater runoff. As a consequence of this oversaturation, nutrient-rich effluent could then be carried downward into Barton Creek, GEAA Technical Director Mike Clifford said.
When this nutrient-rich effluent reaches the water, it could potentially cause algae blooms, removing oxygen from the water and damaging the natural ecosystem, according to the GEAA’s letter to the TCEQ.
Members of the GEAA questioned why TCEQ decided to remove limits on nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen from the developer’s permit request, to which TCEQ official Mike Lindner responded that permits of this kind typically do not see nutrient limits imposed by the TCEQ.
In addition to Barton Creek nutrient pollution, Clifford also pointed to potential groundwater contamination in neighborhoods adjacent to the resort as a major concern, but Linden said that there should be no contamination if the applicant operates the site and system as the permit would require. Plants on-site would uptake wastewater and nutrients, so no wastewater would be left to contaminate the groundwater, Linden said.
Questions were also posed regarding the scope of the development. Despite a March 27 email from the White Rocks Development Team to Community Impact stating that plans for the resort included a 10,000-seat amphitheater, developers present at the meeting denied that an amphitheater is included in current plans.
What’s next?
Following the meeting, TCEQ will respond to all formal comments submitted online and shared in-person. TCEQ officials at the meeting estimated that this would take 45-60 days. TCEQ commissioners will then evaluate whether or not a contested hearing is needed at a scheduled commission meeting, according to a TCEQ administrative packet.
The TCEQ’s draft permit for White Rocks is available for viewing at the Bee Cave Public Library at 4000 Galleria Parkway, Bee Cave.
