Anderson County authorizes judge to contest Trinity Valley groundwater permits for RedTown, Pine Bliss

Anderson County Commissioners Court on a June 2025 meeting authorized the county judge to file requests with the Trinity Valley Groundwater Conservation District to contest permit applications for 21 water wells by RedTown Ranch LLC and 22 water wells by Pine Bliss LLC, with county legal assistance and an engagement letter with Allison Bass and Associates.

The court motion — carried by voice vote — directs the judge to submit contests under the district's hearing rules (section 12) and to coordinate with county general counsel and the retained law firm to prepare filings before the district's deadline. "The contest has to be filed by June 19 at 11:00," Judge McKinney told the court, emphasizing the time-sensitive nature of the process.

Why this matters: county officials and water-system managers told the court the combined permit applications propose removing more groundwater than Anderson County's allocated safe yield. The county presentation cited a permit total of about 10,183,500,000 gallons per year (about 33,132.15 acre-feet) for the proposed projects and noted Anderson County's projected safe annual withdrawal at about 27,024 acre-feet. "If you add that to what they're talking about taking out ... we're talking about 43,125 acre-feet coming out," the judge said, citing district and Texas Water Development Board data distributed to the court.

Speakers at the meeting and technical concerns

County Judge McKinney led the presentation that described the notice process, the June 19 filing deadline, and the figures the county is using to assess…