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TNR requests staff increases for stormwater/ETJ oversight and seeks another hydrogeologist as ETJ changes boost workload
Summary
Transportation & Natural Resources told the court that state law changes and slower annexations are leaving more land under county oversight; TNR asked for stormwater and development staff and an additional hydrogeologist to handle a surge in inspections and groundwater reviews.
Travis County Transportation & Natural Resources officials told the Commissioners Court on Aug. 15 that legislative changes and slower city annexation have increased county responsibilities in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) and other unincorporated areas, and requested additional staff to meet that demand.
Anna Bolin and David Peyton of TNR explained that parcels exiting or never joining city jurisdiction now fall to the county for review and enforcement of development and environmental rules. Peyton said Senate Bill 1844 (discussed during the meeting) enabled some property owners to release themselves from limited‑purpose or full‑purpose city jurisdiction, creating a wave of new county jurisdiction across lakeshore and other areas. "These are gonna fall straight to the county for sole jurisdiction in review, in water quality enforcement, in septic, in development services follow‑up," Peyton said.
TNR asked the court to fund additional engineering inspector specialists and stormwater/environmental FTEs to support plan review, on‑site inspections and enforcement. Peyton described a heavy workload increase and said inspections and enforcement now include erosion/sedimentation complaints, illicit discharges and septic issues, along with tree protection responsibilities that differ across limited‑purpose statuses.
On groundwater, Peyton and staff said the county has seen a 150–200% increase in review workload since the departure of a senior hydrogeologist about a year earlier. TNR requested a second hydrogeologist FTE to handle field coordination (well monitoring, PSI/availability studies), manage contracts such as the Eastern Crescent Water Study and coordinate with groundwater conservation districts.
Why it matters: the change in jurisdictional responsibility shifts work the city previously handled onto county staff without a commensurate funding or staffing transfer, TNR said. Commissioners asked for a clearer statement of workload volume and complexity so the court can weigh priorities; the department agreed to provide more detailed metrics and priority sequencing for the budget agenda worksheet.
Ending: staff said they will bring jurisdictional rule updates and fee‑schedule reviews back to the court and urged early discussions on whether development fees should be adjusted to offset new inspection and enforcement costs.
