TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — Travis County commissioners have formally opposed a wastewater permit application tied to the proposed White Rocks entertainment and resort development west of Austin, citing concerns over its potential environmental impacts.
The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved a resolution opposing a Texas Land Application Permit submitted by White Rocks Entertainment LLC to the Texas Commission on Environment Quality.
The proposed White Rocks development would be built on Dittmar Hill in unincorporated Travis County west of Texas Highway 71 and include a hotel, indoor performance venue, distillery, spa, outdoor venue and other mixed-use amenities.
As CBS Austin previously reported, the proposed 71-acre development has drawn criticism from county officials, environmental groups and nearby communities over concerns about wastewater disposal, traffic, water demand and potential impacts to Barton Creek and surrounding habitat.
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County officials said they are concerned the project could negatively affect natural resources, wildlife habitat and local water supplies.
“I am deeply concerned about what the White Rocks development could mean for our natural resources and native wildlife,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Ann Howard said in a statement. “As proposed, this development would cause irreparable damage to the surrounding area and Barton Creek Habitat Preserve by producing harmful pollutants and straining the water supply that impacts the Travis County community.”
According to the permit application, the development would discharge up to 120,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day. However, Travis County’s Transportation and Natural Resources Department concluded that amount may underestimate the wastewater the proposed development would generate.
Commissioners also expressed concerns about increased strain on water sources, potential pollution, aggressive land clearing, grading and alterations to the natural landscape that they say could increase erosion and sediment runoff into nearby waterways.
White Rocks has previously said the development is designed to achieve 100% water reuse through a closed-loop system with zero wastewater discharge into municipal systems and that roughly 70% of the property will remain preserved as open space.
The wastewater permit application remains under review by the Texas Commission on Environment Quality.