Brazos River Authority board delays vote on $18.8M Allens Creek initial work plan after hours of questions

Rachel Lane, the Brazos River Authority program manager for the Allens Creek Reservoir project, briefed the board on March 30 on the work completed to date and a proposed 17‑month “initial annual work plan” intended to establish baseline engineering, environmental and cultural studies needed to select a preferred reservoir configuration and a defensible permitting strategy.

Lane said the consolidated project site covers about 9,500 acres and that early field work and accelerated studies have identified key permitting drivers such as wetland delineation, potential protected species, and cultural‑resource occurrences. She described a phased approach in which permitting prerequisites (category 1) feed a conceptual alternative analysis, then more detailed design (category 2) and, eventually, construction (category 3). Lane said the proposed initial work plan carries a not‑to‑exceed…