After the Pause: EdgeConneX Campus 2 Gets Stormwater Coverage, and a New Name Files for Gas Generation on Orchard Road | News

Two Bastrop County projects moved through state permitting after Gov. Greg Abbott told the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on September 21 to halt data-center permits. One is a familiar name. The other is a company that had not appeared in any Bastrop County news coverage we could find until this week.

Both come from a public-records review released Monday, October 19, by the watchdog group FracTracker Alliance with Public Citizen, and reported by Inside Climate News. The groups counted 35 TCEQ actions on data-center-related projects statewide after the governor’s letter. Two of them are in Bastrop County.

Updated October 21: On October 20, TCEQ posted its October 19 letter to the governor, and a TCEQ spokesman said stormwater approvals issued after the pause had been suspended. Whether that includes EdgeConneX Campus 2 is not confirmed. See the update below.

This post walks through what those two records say, what they do not say, and what the state says about them. Building Bastrop County is an independent public-interest site. It is not affiliated with county government and is separate from any political campaign.

What the state says the pause means

The governor’s letter directed TCEQ “to halt all permits sought by data centers.” On October 14, TCEQ told FracTracker that companies “can submit applications, but their applications will not advance through the review process.”

After the report came out, Abbott’s press secretary told Inside Climate News that the pause applies to approval, not processing: “No permits have been approved.” TCEQ’s own October 19 compliance letter to the governor, first provided to Inside Climate News and posted by TCEQ on October 20, says staff “are screening pending permit applications to determine if they are subject to the directive,” and that applications found subject to it have been paused.

So there are two readings on the table. The watchdogs say review and some authorizations kept moving. The state says nothing was approved. The two Bastrop County records sit right in that gap.

Update, October 20: TCEQ says it is suspending some authorizations

TCEQ’s October 19 letter to the governor is now posted on the agency’s website. (TCEQ letter) It says TCEQ “has paused the issuance of all permits related to the construction or development of infrastructure directly supporting data centers.” It also goes a step further: TCEQ “is screening claimed authorizations that do not require the agency to affirmatively issue a permit and, where possible, is suspending such authorizations for data center activities.” Construction stormwater coverage under the general permit, like the EdgeConneX record below, is that kind of claimed authorization.

On October 20, TCEQ spokesman Ryan Vise told the Texas Tribune that the stormwater permits approved after the pause “had been suspended.” The statement as reported did not name specific sites.

That same evening, Community Impact reported that the stormwater coverage for EdgeConneX’s second Bastrop County campus was still listed as active, and that the campus was under construction. So as of this update, the status of TXR1533ZR specifically is not confirmed. We will update this post if the agency’s records change.

Record 1: EdgeConneX’s second Cedar Creek campus gets stormwater coverage

According to the FracTracker and Public Citizen tracking sheet, TCEQ approved new construction stormwater coverage on October 7 for the “ECXAUS 10 Series Campus, Cedar Creek.” The applicant listed is Worley Group Inc., and the authorization number is TXR1533ZR under the state’s general construction stormwater permit. The sheet identifies it as EdgeConneX’s second Bastrop County campus.

What it is. Construction stormwater coverage is the state authorization a large site needs before clearing, grading, and excavation can legally start. FracTracker’s report says that new coverage “removes a required regulatory barrier” for that work. It is not an air permit, and it is not the only approval a data center needs.

What we already knew about Campus 2. Community Impact reported on October 7 that EdgeConneX’s Campus 2 covers six buildings filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (EDCAUS11 through EDCAUS16) at 6682 and 6402 FM 535. Earlier TDLR filings put EDCAUS11 to 14 at about $700 million each, and EDCAUS15 and 16 at $600 million each. No tenant is named for any of those buildings. (Community Impact)

What we have not confirmed. TCEQ’s online records do not load from our research setup, so the October 7 action is reported here as the watchdog sheet lists it. We also have not seen a site map tying TXR1533ZR to a specific street address, so we are relying on the sheet’s description of it as the second campus.

Tax angle. Campus 1 has a 10-year, 75% county abatement from December 2024 (later assigned to CoreWeave). As of the county’s October 12 and 13 agendas, we have seen no abatement request for Campus 2. Big dollar figures on state building filings are construction estimates, not tax bills and not appraised value.

Record 2: A new name on the map, TX Power Data, “Bastrop 1, Orchard Road”

This one is new to us. The tracking sheet lists a gas-generation standard permit registration (number 185558, TCEQ project 416177) for a site called “Bastrop 1, Orchard Road.” The applicant is TX Power Data Opco LLC.

The sheet’s timeline:

October 1: filed and expedited.
October 7: engineer assigned.
October 8: initial review completed and deficiencies identified.

“Deficiencies identified” means TCEQ found items the applicant has to fix or answer. It is not an approval, and it is not a denial. A standard permit is a preset state authorization with fixed requirements, generally faster than a full case-by-case air permit.

Who is TX Power Data? Texas business records list two related companies: TX Power Data Opco LLC (formed February 5, 2026) and TX Power Data Bastrop One, LLC (formed February 18, 2026). Both list an Austin mailing address on Hill Country Boulevard. The company’s website gives that address and a phone number and describes nothing about a Bastrop project. We found no press coverage, no careers page, and no named customer.

Where is it? The sheet links the registration to Bastrop Central Appraisal District parcel 27478. The appraisal district’s current record for that parcel shows about 707 acres in the Jose A. Navarro survey, a situs address of 238 Empedrado Ln, Cedar Creek, and an owner of record of Mellenbruch Family Partnership II LP. TX Power Data is not listed as the owner, so its role on the land (lease, option, or something else) is not public in what we reviewed. (Bastrop CAD record)

Is it a data center? We do not know. The company name includes “Data,” but the watchdog sheet itself says the data-center connection is unconfirmed and no tenant has been identified. We have also not seen the size of the proposed generation, a turbine or engine count, or an operating-hours limit. Until the application is public, any megawatt number you see is a guess.

Why this matters for residents

Stormwater coverage means dirt can move. If TXR1533ZR is active, grading on EdgeConneX’s next phase can proceed under state rules. If TCEQ has suspended it, as its spokesman’s statement suggests for post-pause stormwater approvals, that barrier is back in place. Which one applies on the ground is not yet confirmed.
On-site gas generation is the new pattern. Pacifico’s proposed Cedar Creek plant (TCEQ registration 185019) is still pending, and Bastrop County Commissioners Court asked TCEQ on October 13 to hold a public meeting on it. A second gas-generation filing in the county is worth tracking the same way.
Public notice rules still apply. FracTracker warns that residents may assume deadlines stopped during the pause when some kept running. If you want to comment on a filing, check its status directly rather than assuming it is frozen.

What to watch next

Whether TCEQ’s records show EdgeConneX Campus 2 coverage TXR1533ZR as suspended or still active.
Whether TCEQ suspends any other claimed authorizations in Bastrop County under its October 19 letter.
TX Power Data’s response to the October 8 deficiencies, and any public notice for registration 185558.
Any Chapter 312 abatement request for EdgeConneX Campus 2 on a Commissioners Court agenda.
SpaceX air permit 182733 comments close Thursday, October 23.
Bastrop West second reading at City Council on October 27.

If you have a document on the Orchard Road site or TX Power Data, send it our way. We will publish what we can verify.