After the midterms · Cedar Creek, Texas · November 6, 2026
Governor Abbott, Keep Your Promise to Rural Texans
Keep Pacifico’s gas plant permit on hold through January 19. The eyes of Texas are upon you.
Town hall video
From the Cedar Creek town hall
Hear directly from longtime Cedar Creek residents.
Reel by Elise Entz and Lost Pines Watch.
What the midterms brought into focus
Neighbors want a say in where data centers go
Across the country this year, voters favored tighter limits in 46 of the 47 local data center ballot measures decided by November 4. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa won the governor’s race after campaigning on a pause in data center approvals until lawmakers pass protections. Data centers and transparency were also key issues in the Bastrop County judge race, where unofficial returns show Dock Jackson defeated incumbent Gregory Klaus.
We’re concerned the outgoing administration may rush to approve data center projects before the handoff. In Cedar Creek, TCEQ could sign off on Pacifico’s gas plant under a standard permit before residents get a public meeting or a clear explanation of why the plant qualifies. Governor Abbott and TCEQ, we hope you prove us wrong.
Local ballot measure results Hinojosa’s pledge KXAN on the county race Unofficial Bastrop County results
Take action · State officials
Keep the air permit on hold through the handoff
On September 21, Gov. Greg Abbott said Texans must come first, called for setbacks to protect communities, and directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to pause issuing data center permits while ERCOT completes its review.
What elected officials have asked for on Pacifico’s air permit
- State Rep. Stan Gerdes asked TCEQ on August 21 to hold a public meeting on Pacifico’s air application. TCEQ declined that request on September 17.
- State Sen. Charles Schwertner wrote to TCEQ on September 1 asking for written answers about Pacifico’s permit eligibility, cumulative emissions, and how residents can participate.
- Bastrop County Commissioners Court voted on October 13 to ask TCEQ to hold a public meeting on Pacifico’s air application.
- Bastrop City Council voted unanimously on November 3 to ask TCEQ to hold a public meeting on the same application.
Gerdes’s office told Lost Pines Watch that Abbott intended the statewide permit pause to cover Pacifico. TCEQ’s October 19 letter to Abbott explains how the agency screens projects under the pause and leaves Pacifico unnamed.
In October, Public Citizen flagged several data center stormwater authorizations that had gone through during the pause. TCEQ said it suspended them. Cedar Creek needs a public commitment that covers this specific air permit.
ERCOT expects to publish its statewide report by December 10. Governor-elect Hinojosa takes office on January 19. Tell us how the report will affect Pacifico’s application and give neighbors advance public notice of any change in the permit hold.
A note you can send to Gov. Abbott, Rep. Gerdes or Sen. Schwertner
Keep Pacifico’s Cedar Creek gas plant permit on hold through January 19
I’m writing about Pacifico’s proposed gas plant in Cedar Creek, TCEQ Air Registration 185019 / Project 413471. Please secure a written commitment from TCEQ to withhold approval through the January 19 handoff and give advance public notice of any change to the hold.
Before any decision, please ask TCEQ to respond to Bastrop County’s October 13 request, hold a public meeting in Cedar Creek, and publish its technical basis for deciding whether the plant qualifies for a standard permit.
Please reply in writing by December 4, ahead of ERCOT’s expected statewide report. Thank you.
A note for Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa
Ask TCEQ to keep data center permits on hold during the transition
Governor-elect Hinojosa,
On November 5, you asked the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to take no action on the potential Boca Chica land sale during the transition. We urge you to make the same request of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Please publicly ask TCEQ to withhold final approvals for data centers and the infrastructure that serves them, including dedicated gas plants, through the January 19 handoff.
Please name Pacifico’s proposed Cedar Creek gas plant (Air Registration 185019 / Project 413471) in that request and confirm whether your administration’s planned pause will cover its pending application once you take office.
Transition team contact details Hinojosa’s November 5 remarks on Boca Chica
These notes are for outreach to state officials. To put technical information into the agency’s record, use the separate TCEQ submission instructions in the Action Center and reference 185019 / 413471.
Abbott’s September 21 announcement Gerdes’s request and TCEQ’s response Schwertner’s September 1 letter summary County resolution City Council packet, item 9K City Council vote at 3:01:15 September assurance and timeline TCEQ’s October 19 letter Reporting on the stormwater authorizations ERCOT report schedule
The Texas transition
Austin is already debating who will have the power to act
The day after the election, Republican Rep. Brian Harrison urged Abbott to call a special session to limit the governor’s powers during declared disasters before Hinojosa takes office. Separately, Quorum Report reported that Republican senators were considering changes to Senate rules that could limit Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin’s authority over committees and which bills reach the floor. As of November 5, the special session was a request and the Senate rule changes were still under discussion.
Those Senate rules could shape whether new protections for rural communities get a hearing next year. The officials in office today can answer a more immediate question. Will TCEQ keep Pacifico on hold and give Cedar Creek a public meeting before it decides?
Harrison’s request for a special session Reporting on the Senate discussion How Senate rules could change
Help fund the legal work
Put the emissions questions in front of TCEQ
Lost Pines Watch submitted an analysis that raises specific questions about the plant’s projected emissions. Donations help hire counsel to press TCEQ on whether Pacifico qualifies for the standard permit it seeks and prepare to challenge an approval if one is issued.