BASTROP, TEXAS, AUGUST 28, 2025 — Creating a Citizens Advisory Committee and adopting a more stringent surface and groundwater monitoring protocol are highlights of a settlement reached by Rambo Materials, Environmental Stewardship and Friends of the Land.
The agreement will reduce noise and dust from Rambo’s Wilbarger Bend sand and gravel mining operation while also implementing more stringent planning and monitoring of its ground and stormwater impacts on this critical watershed in western Bastrop County.
“This agreement highlights the need for enhancing communication and implementing best practices through-out the basin will help protect the health of the river and the surrounding communities,” said Skip Connett, co-founder of Friends of the Land.
Rambo Materials is one of three new aggregate production operations (APOs) that have begun mining along the river in and around Wilbarger Bend. It has applied for an air permit for a portable rock crusher from TCEQ (Texas Commission for Environmental Quality) and an industrial well permit from the Lost Pines Water Conservation District. The settlement will clear the path for those permits to be approved.
One year ago, Environmental Stewardship contested Rambo’s water permit to pull 103 acre feet per year from the Hooper aquifer for processing sand and gravel. A Riverkeeper affiliate, Environmental Stewardship insisted that a more thorough water quality monitoring and hydrogeological evaluation was needed before the permit was approved. Rambo agreed to design and utilize appropriate water quality protection measures that LCRA requires for mining upstream of Lady Bird Lake.
“These responsibilities described for the Wilbarger Creek watershed will be the first time these LCRA based practices will be implemented downriver from Austin,” said Environmental Stewardship executive director Steve Box. “This is an exceptional aquatic-life use segment of the river and is in need of improved management practices by state agencies”.Friends of the Land had requested TCEQ not approve the rock crusher air permit until concerns from affected landowners could be voiced in a public meeting. Friends agreed to withdraw its request for a contest case hearing contingent on Rambo Materials agreeing to several conditions, including its participation in establishing a citizens advisory committee.
This citizen advisory initiative will be a collaboration with local stakeholders including APO operators, residents, and local government to address concerns related to quarrying and aggregate mining in the county. Earlier this year, the city of Garden Ridge created a citizens advisory committee in response to increased quarrying activities, including the planned expansion of Heidelberg Materials, a German-owned international mining company. As in Bastrop County, top concerns for Garden Ridge residents include the aggregate industry’s impacts on local air quality, road safety, noise and light pollution. Long-term concerns include impacts on water quality and water consumption. Mining is responsible for approximately 20% of groundwater use in Comal County, according to Texans For Responsible Aggregate Mining (TRAM).
“Local advisory councils are vitally important since no other effective mechanisms exist in Texas for communities and industry to collaboratively address concerns and long-term planning, says TRAM’s executive director Cliff Kaplan.
Friends will be working with Rambo Materials, county, and city officials to create an advisory council to improve communication among the six APOs in the county now operating along the river.
Environmental Stewardship and Rambo Materials will work together to quantitatively evaluate changes in surface water and ground water quality and flows due to mining along the river. Bastrop flood plain regulations allow mining within 50 feet of the river channel, compared to 200 feet in Travis County. Rambo will use appropriate water quality protection measures found in the LCRA Technical Manual for mining in watersheds above Lady Bird Lake.
LCRA created more strict practices above Austin to protect the Highland Lakes — a major source of water for urban Austin because the karst formations in the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer make it more vulnerable to contamination. Environmental Stewardship has been pushing for similar protections in the Wilbarger Bend area because of the unique interaction between the Colorado River and the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer group in this segment of the river.
Groundwater aquifers contribute water to the flow of the river in this area of intersection between these two major state water resources (Figure 1). Permitted groundwater pumping in the Simsboro aquifer threatens to reduce or reverse the flow of the river during the next decade. To manage this threat, better monitoring and management of this segment of the river is needed.
Figure 1. Carrizo-Wilcox aquifers - Simsboro and Hooper - contribute water to the flow of
the river in the Wilbarger Bend where these two major water resources intersect and
