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Cedar Creek Data Center Facts

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How to Get the Documents Yourself

Every "unconfirmed" answer on this site's FAQ traces back to one of two documents: Aqua WSC's tariff (specifically Section E) or its Drought Contingency Plan. Neither appears to be publicly available as of this writing — though a search for a different document turned up on a county portal nobody had checked, so "not public" and "not yet found" aren't always the same thing. Either way, there's nothing stopping any resident from requesting them directly — the process is faster, cheaper, and more accessible than most people assume.

The Law Behind It

The Texas Public Information Act (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552) gives any person — not just Texas residents, not just customers — the right to request existing records from a governmental body. You don't have to explain why you want them. Government officials are legally barred from asking.

Aqua WSC counts, very likely. Nonprofit water supply corporations organized under Water Code Chapter 67 that provide water service and are exempt from property taxes are explicitly listed as a "governmental body" under the Act. A 2023 filing with the Public Utility Commission of Texas indicates Aqua WSC is organized under Chapter 67 — the harder-to-verify half of that test. Its property tax exemption status under Tax Code §11.30 hasn't been independently confirmed. A search of PUCT's own filing system for a tariff on file turned up nothing — consistent with Aqua WSC's status as a nonprofit water supply corporation, since PUCT generally holds only appellate (not original) jurisdiction over WSC rates, meaning a tariff may simply never have been filed there. None of this settles the PIA-coverage question either way; it's still the likely status, not a confirmed one. Bastrop County Commissioners Court counts without question, as does any other Texas county or municipal body.

One note on how to tell the difference in practice: if Aqua WSC responds to a request under the Act's 10-day framework, that's effectively confirmation. If they decline to respond on PIA grounds at all, that itself is new information worth reporting back.

What the Law Doesn't Require

The Act only covers records that already exist. It doesn't require an agency to create a new document, compile data into a new format, or answer questions in writing. That matters for how you phrase a request — ask for a specific existing document, not an explanation.

What Happens After You Send It

By law, the agency has 10 business days to do one of three things: give you the information, tell you when it will be ready, or formally ask the Texas Attorney General for a ruling that an exception applies. If they go silent past that window without doing any of the three, that's a violation you can report to the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline — and itself worth noting publicly.

If there's a cost involved, they must tell you in advance once it exceeds $40, and you can ask that the fee be waived if the information "primarily benefits the general public" — a records request feeding a public-facing project like this one is a reasonable basis for that argument.

What to Actually Send

A request must be in writing. Email counts. There's no required form or legal language — but specificity matters, because a vague request gives an agency room to say they don't know what you're asking for.

Template — Aqua WSC, requesting the tariff:

Under the Texas Public Information Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 552, I am requesting a copy of Aqua Water Supply Corporation's current tariff, including Section E, governing billing terms for reserved versus metered water service to large-volume industrial customers.

Template — Aqua WSC, requesting the Drought Contingency Plan:

Under the Texas Public Information Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 552, I am requesting a copy of Aqua Water Supply Corporation's current Drought Contingency Plan, including any provisions governing curtailment of service to large-volume industrial customers during a declared water shortage.

Template — Bastrop County, requesting abatement terms:

Under the Texas Public Information Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 552, I am requesting a copy of the tax abatement agreement(s) between Bastrop County and DFW33220N, LLC, approved December 9, 2024 (Agenda Items E.16 and E.23), including any provisions related to employment, wage, or investment commitments.

Where to actually send it — confirmed, not guessed:

Bastrop County routes all public information requests through the Sheriff's Office Open Records Division, not the County Clerk or Commissioners Court directly:

Send it to Aqua WSC's main office for the tariff and Drought Contingency Plan requests — a specific designated contact for Aqua WSC hasn't been confirmed yet; if you find one, tell CCDCFACTS so this page can be corrected.

Finding It Yourself, Before You Even File a Request

Some of what this project cites came from records already public, sitting on Bastrop County's own document portal — no PIA request needed, just knowing where to look.

Go to bastropco.civicweb.net. Use the search box at the top, but don't type loose keywords like "dec 9 2024 agenda" — that searches literally, and dates written differently than you typed them won't match. Instead:

  1. Search a broad term first — the month and year ("Dec 2024") — to see what naming convention the county uses.
  2. Once you see a result, note the exact format (for example: "Commissioners Court - Dec 09 2024 - Agenda - Html").
  3. Use that same format in the "Exact keyword or phrase" field under Advanced Search for anything else from that date.
  4. Open the HTML version, not the PDF, when you're hunting for a specific item — HTML lets you use your browser's own Ctrl+F to jump straight to a name or topic instead of scrolling a 50MB+ PDF.

This is exactly how a citation correction on this site's Editorial page got caught — by pulling the actual December 9, 2024 agenda directly from this portal rather than trusting a secondhand citation. If you find something that corrects or adds to what's on this site, send it to contact@ccdcfacts.org.

Why This Matters More Than It Looks Like

This site has been careful to label unconfirmed claims as unconfirmed rather than assume the worst. But "unconfirmed" isn't neutral forever — it's a placeholder for information that residents, collectively, have a legal right to obtain themselves. Every resident who sends one of these requests is doing real reporting, whether or not they think of it that way.

If you file one of these requests, tell CCDCFACTS what you get back — good, bad, or nothing at all. A response, a denial, or 10 days of silence are each their own kind of answer.

Sources