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Residents call site plans and lack of communication environmental racism
Littig community members last week voiced fierce pushback over a proposed wastewater treatment plant they say unjustly targets the unincorporated area and its cultural legacy without appropriate warning. Residents of Littig, southwest of downtown Elgin, challenged city leaders during a community meeting Dec. 9 on the site selection, environmental review and lack of transparency surrounding plans for the newly annexed land. City Engineer Beau Perry said the proposed plant is part of Elgin’s long-term plan to address future growth and relieve pressure from the city’s existing wastewater system.
“This has been under study from the city for quite some time — not a specific piece of property — but a specific area, from an engineering standpoint, it is very limited to,” Perry said. “We knew we were going to have to discharge somewhere in there and build a particular plan.”
Engineering constraints including gravity flow, proximity to a creek for discharge and Elgin’s sewer Certificate of Convenience and Necessity boundaries drive the decision on location, according to the city. Officials said the plan has been in consideration along the Elm Creek, Dry Creek and Willow creek area for more than a decade.
Locals, however, said they were not notified and felt the project was decided before the community was fully informed, calling the move environmental racism. Several speakers pointed toward the lack of a voting voice for increased frustration with the project.
Littig resident Valarie Neidig said awareness of the project remains limited and is concerned about the transparency, accountability and environmental impacts it could have on a historically Black community.
“A lot of people don’t know about this, not just within our community, but a lot of residents in Elgin have no idea,” Neidig said.
Perry said the city looked into multiple properties and selected a site that met 100-year floodplain requirements with around 40 acres of usable land and a buffer zone for nearby owners. He added the city was adamant it did not want to use eminent domain to acquire the land.
The city submitted an initial environmental and cultural review to the Texas Historical Commission (THC) before purchasing the site. The agency required additional shovel testing that has since been completed, according to Perry, and a final report is due by the end of the year.
“The archaeologists who are out there and did the shovel testing told the city verbally they did not find any effect that would have any reason for the THC to require additional permits or investigation,” Perry said.
Despite the review, Neidig said she was troubled by comments made at the meeting and how notices were delivered.
“His answer was that he delivered where he felt safe — that is racism,” she said.
City officials said that by law, they have to notify everyone within 200 feet of property boundaries. They added the wastewater plant’s design, discharge limits and permitting are dictated and controlled by state agencies like THC and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
“Legal or not, it’s unacceptable,” Neidig said. “I don’t want the water treatment plant built in Littig, Texas.”
Littig community members urged city leaders to pause or slow the project to allow for alternative sites to be explored and conversations to continue.
City staff acknowledged raised concerns and said they would continue engaging with residents but plan to move forward with required studies and permits at the current Littig destination.
