Independent public-interest researchEvidence verified through July 26, 2026
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Pacifico should find a different site.

The project is enormous, the location is already a community, and the public record is incomplete.

The bottom line

A 710 MW methane-gas plant does not belong in the middle of Cedar Creek.

Pacifico proposes a large gas-generation facility on roughly 2,842 acres at 382 Earl Callahan Road, tied in the filing to approximately 490 MW of computing load. Thousands of homes and community sites already surround it. The responsible answer is a more suitable industrial location.

The proposal in four numbers

The scale is difficult to reconcile with this location

These figures come from Pacifico’s JETI filings and the Observatory’s privacy-safe GIS analysis.

710 MWproposed site-rated gas generation
~2,842acres in the applicant narrative
5,701anonymous residential sites within 3 miles
25applicant-projected permanent jobs
Why this site fails

Five facts should stop the approval process from outrunning the evidence

Not every impact has been quantified. That is precisely why approvals and subsidies should wait—and why Pacifico should evaluate a site with far fewer conflicts.

01

This is an existing community, not a remote industrial site

Privacy-safe GIS data show 854 residential sites within one mile and 5,701 within three. Fifteen schools or childcare locations are also within three miles.

02

Drought, wildfire history, and emergency limits are present facts

The site is in D2 Severe Drought in a region marked by the 2011 and 2015 fires. Project fire-water and industrial-response capacity remain unverified.

03

The proposed technology brings industrial burdens

Multiple methane-gas turbines and their support equipment raise air, low-frequency noise, fire, waste-heat, lighting, and operating-duration questions beside homes and schools.

04

The public-benefit tradeoff is not persuasive

The filing pairs $2.237 billion and 710 MW with only 25 permanent jobs, while seeking a ten-year JETI school-tax limitation and county incentives.

05

The full-buildout record is not ready

The turbine fleet, operating profile, air record, noise modeling, water and fire-water plans, site plan, and cumulative-impact review are still incomplete or unavailable.

The reasonable ask

Pause. Disclose. Independently review. Relocate.

Residents do not have to prove the final off-site concentration of every pollutant or the exact decibel level at every home before decision-makers recognize an incompatible and under-documented site.

  1. PauseWithhold tax abatements and the school-tax limitation.
  2. DisclosePublish one full-buildout record covering every phase, turbine, generator, pipeline, water source, and foreseeable expansion.
  3. ReviewRequire independent air, noise, water, fire, emergency, and cumulative-impact analysis with public review.
  4. RelocateDirect Pacifico toward an industrial location with substantial buffers and verified infrastructure.
What to do now

Make a short, specific, decision-relevant record

A respectful call, email, participation form, or public comment is more useful when it names the project, states a position, cites one fact, and makes one concrete request.

Right now

Show up Monday, July 27

Attend the 9:30 a.m. hearing at 804 Pecan Street. Ask the court to strengthen the draft and require binding site-suitability, full-buildout, cumulative-impact, and public-review safeguards.

Open the official agenda
County decision

Contact all five court members

Tell the County Judge and Commissioners: do not subsidize Pacifico here. Require an independent alternative-site analysis and a location with real buffers and verified emergency and water capacity.

Get county contacts
State review

Reference JETI application J0049

Ask the Comptroller not to advance J0049 on this record. Current law still requires a compelling-factor finding; Pacifico’s assertion is not the statutory determination.

Email the JETI office
A 30-second message

Use your own words. Keep the ask unmistakable.

“I am a Bastrop County resident. I oppose public subsidy for Pacifico Cedar Creek at this location. A 710 MW gas plant surrounded by thousands of homes should not move forward without full-buildout, cumulative-impact, emergency, and alternative-site reviews. Please require Pacifico to seek a more suitable industrial site.”
Check the record yourselfThe short brief is a doorway—not a substitute for the evidence.
Original J0049 filingSupplement 1Current §403.609Evidence Explorer →