The catastrophic flooding in central Texas has claimed an estimated 108 lives, surpassing the death toll of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Many remain missing as rescue efforts continue.
ABC News shared footage:
NewsNation noted:
The missing include five children and one counselor from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp. The camp confirmed Monday that it was “grieving the loss” of 27 campers and counselors.
In Kerr County alone, officials have recovered 87 bodies from the floods as of 8 a.m. Tuesday — of those, at least 30 were children, officials said.
Identification is pending for at least 19 adults and seven children.
The death toll is higher than that of Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Texas in 2017, killing 107 in total.
Upon investigation into the area, there are several red flags prompting concerns something nefarious may be involved with this tragedy.
Similar concerns arose with recent ‘natural disasters’ such as Maui and Asheville.
* Disclaimer – 100PercentFedUp is NOT claiming to know the cause of this tragedy *
However, it’s our job to investigate and report.
The first red flag is a $175 million power plant project in Kerrville, Texas.
Full text:
Kerrville approves a $175 million gas power plant.
Months later? Biblical floods swallow the town.This isn’t weather.
It’s war by water.Greenlight the project.
Drown the locals.
Build over the wreckage.Same playbook as Asheville.
Now it’s Texas.They don’t need to buy you out.
They wash you out, then break ground.
From the Kerrville Public Utility Board:
The Kerrville City Council unanimously approved the funding for the Kerrville Public Utility Board’s (KPUB) proposed natural gas-fired power generation facility this week, marking a significant milestone in the utility’s strategic plan to provide long-term cost stability for customers.
With this approval, KPUB will move forward with the financing and development of the project, which will be a natural gas-fired reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) generation plant. Project costs to build the facility are estimated to be up to $175 million, with 60% funded through a low-interest loan from the Texas Energy Fund (TEF) and the remaining 40% through tax-exempt revenue bonds issued by KPUB. Construction is set to begin by summer 2025, with the plant expected to be operational by June 2027.
“Our Board, members of City Council, and staff have invested countless hours and participated in numerous meetings to thoroughly review, evaluate, and advance this project,” said Mike Wittler, KPUB General Manager & CEO. “Their commitment and thoughtful decision-making have been instrumental in ensuring this investment is the right path forward for our utility and the community we serve.”
KPUB is one of 16 projects selected from 72 applicants to advance in the TEF In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program and the only municipally owned project. Established by the Texas Legislature and administered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the TEF program is designed to add up to 10,000 MW of new dispatchable power generation to support grid reliability across the state.
The approved RICE generation plant will provide up to 122 MW of peak capacity and offer key advantages, including high efficiency, minimal water usage, and quick response to power demand fluctuations. Due to the project’s competitive nature, the plant’s location—situated outside KPUB’s service area due to natural gas pipeline infrastructure limitations—will be announced at a later date.
While KPUB will remain part of the ERCOT market, this project—combined with an updated hedging program—will provide added protection from price volatility, especially during extreme weather events such as Winter Storm Uri in 2021.
From the Hill Country Community Journal last year:
Two controversial issues dominated the Monday morning meeting of Kerr County Commissioners’ Court. First, the construction of a lithium battery storage facility in West Kerr County and a request for tax abatements from the county by the developer drew a number of persons to speak against the proposal.
The lithium battery energy storage project on Reservation Road at IH-10 in Pct. 4 drew several local residents to commissioners’ court Monday to object to the project and a similar project planned for Center Point that has not been formally announced yet. Mike Prine from KE Andrews, a Dallas tax firm, and Jackson Hughes from Black Mountain Energy Storage, the developer of the Reservation Road project, gave a presentation to the court on the $87million project that will be fully operational by 2027.
They were seeking a property tax abatement from the county for construction of the project adjacent to the Mountain Home substation, alleging that it will create up to 200 jobs and provide up to $7.7 in new property tax revenue for the county and for the Ingram school district. Their presentation received no support from the commissioners’ court and multiple local residents spoke against the project as well as against a similar proposal for a facility in Center Point.
“The problem is that is none or very little regulation of these types of facilities. What’s driving this? Is it federal money?” said Pct. 2 Commissioner Rich Paces.
Paces pointed out the environmental concerns with the lithium battery storage facilities concerning safety, hazardous waste and especially the problems with the batteries possibly exploding and causing significant wildfires in the area of the facilities. Paces is a volunteer firefighter with the Center Point VFD.
“We do not have sufficient resources or the ability to put out the fires,” Paces said.
More info from The Kerr County Lead:
The Kerr County Commissioners Court faced the challenge of adopting a resolution to stop the development of lithium-ion battery storage facilities, with the idea of partnering with Kendall County.
Led by Precinct 2 Commissioner Rich Paces, the resolution didn’t outright say stopping battery storage facilities, but the first-term commissioner said it out loud.
“There’s a massive concern from our community,” Paces said when Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly questioned why the county should enter into this agreement.
“If a fire does occur, we can’t fight it,” Paces said. “We don’t have enough water; we certainly don’t have enough foam. We want to as a minimum to apply international fire code.”
Throughout this process, Paces has shown little regard for context about fire safety in the battery field. While quick to cite fire dangers, the Precinct 2 Commissioner consistently fails to mention that there were four fires in battery storage facilities worldwide this year. Improving technology has reduced the risk.
Kelly also saw another hand at work with the proposed resolution.
“This feels like this is a byproduct of the fossil fuel billionaires from West Texas that have been funding our local politics,” Kelly said. “I think that trying to stop these lithium battery storage facilities across the board is not legal.”
Kelly’s comments relate to efforts by organizations affiliated with oil and gas billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks to sow distrust of renewable energy. We The People, Liberty In Action’s Terri Hall’s involvement certainly signals a connection, considering her lawyers are part of a network attached to Dunn’s contributions.
More significantly, Kelly argued that the county has little to no say in preventing private property development. Still, he did go along with Letz’s revised plan to study the planning commission versus outright blocking its adoption. The compromise also drew the support of Precinct 1 Commissioner Anne Overby.
“I’m concerned we are going to get sued,” Kelly said. “We can’t pass ordinances. We don’t have this power. I think this is a thinly disguised effort to stop those property owners from developing their land.”
Kelly criticized Paces for not including the city of Kerrville in the process.
Lastly, the City of Kerrville participated in a Smart City program in 2024.
A closer look from Smart Cities Connect:
Read further details about the ‘Kerrville 2050 Plan’ at Hill Country Community Journal:
The council passed Ordinance 2025-14 on first reading, adopting a 423-page comprehensive plan that will guide Kerrville’s growth through 2050.
The council adopted the updated comprehensive plan after a presentation by consultant Caitlin Admire of Freese and Nichols, who summarized 12 months of planning work that included extensive public input and recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The updated plan incorporates several major changes from the original 2050 comprehensive plan, with emphasis on resilience planning and two new small area plans that were previously identified as catalyst sites.
“The most significant change is going to be those two small area plans that we pulled out of catalyst sites and made them their own whole plans,” Admire told the council.
The plan addresses housing demand projections of 2,000 to 2,500 units, though the city already has 800-900 single-family homes in various stages of development representing the next two to three years of demand.
Housing affordability remains a significant challenge, with 36 percent of homeowners considered cost-burdened, 48 percent of renters cost-burdened, and 25 percent of renters extremely housing cost-burdened.
Downtown Core Expansion
The plan recommends expanding downtown’s core area from the current five-and-a-half blocks east of Sidney Baker along Water and Earl Garrett streets to an eight-block area that includes development west of Sidney Baker.
The expanded core would encompass existing businesses like Pint and Plow and cultural assets including the library and heritage center. The plan includes character areas to target specific investments rather than spreading resources across the entire downtown area.
“What character areas do is allow you to really kind of target investments to certain areas,” Admire explained.
Nimitz Lake Development Framework
The Nimitz Lake small area plan focuses on activating the riverfront through development and recreation while balancing mixed-use and commercial development on both sides of the lake. The plan protects natural features and riparian areas, particularly flood-prone areas on the south bank.
Infrastructure limitations on the south side led planners to recommend large-lot residential development in areas difficult to serve with utilities.
The planning process included three meetings with the Planning and Zoning Commission, three meetings with a downtown advisory committee, public open houses, an online community survey and an interactive map that remained open throughout most of the project.
Dr. Bill Rector, speaking during public comment, praised the plan and noted support from the Main Street Advisory Board and Historic Downtown Business Association.
“This is a superb plan,” Rector said. “Business leaders downtown, business owners downtown have discussed it. They are behind it. They are excited about it.”
The comprehensive plan update represents the culmination of work that began in June 2024, delivered on schedule as originally projected. The plan updates the city’s action plan, which previously contained more than 400 items. Staff reviewed all existing actions, marking completed items and adding new actions to align with updated content.
Councilwoman Brenda Hughes commended the public engagement process, saying it “speaks volumes when you keep the public informed.”
Councilman Kent McKinney noted that city staff has consistently incorporated 2050 plan items into agenda items since the original plan’s adoption.
“The staff has done a really great job of following through on that,” McKinney said.
Whiskey Springs Development
The council held a public hearing on the proposed Whiskey Springs development, a $200 million mixed-use project that would include an 18-hole championship golf course, hotels and retail space on 787 acres.
The developers, led by Jim Boyden of North Salt Lake, Utah, and Dale Beddo, presented updated plans for the project that Assistant City Attorney Michael Hornes said has been entitled by the city for 23 years. The development would create a Public Improvement District (PID) to finance public infrastructure.
“This is an impossible lift” without the PID, Boyden told the council. “We’re grateful that you would consider our petition to form this PID.”
The project features 368 traditional single-family lots, Boyden said, with the smallest averaging about a third of an acre and the largest over three acres. He said the average lot size is almost three-quarters of an acre, and the development would preserve over 400 acres of open space.
Beddo, a golf course architect who said he has completed more than 50 major golf course projects during his career, told the council the Whiskey Springs property could become exceptional.
“We’ve had a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects tell us you guys are probably going to be the number one golf course when you open,” Beddo said. “We didn’t do that. Nature did that.”
The commercial component includes 44 acres, according to Boyden, with plans for a four- or five-star hotel resort, two additional market-rate hotels, retail shops and dining establishments. A “creek center” would feature boutique shops along one of the property’s creeks, designed to create a pedestrian experience similar to San Antonio’s River Walk, he said.
Financial Structure
Hornes explained that the initial cost estimate of $200 million includes $102 million for improvement costs and $40 million in bond costs. The figure does not include construction of a secondary water storage pond that the city may require, he said.
Boyden said the development would use only recycled effluent water from the city for outdoor irrigation and water amenities, with no potable water used for landscaping or the golf course.
Council members expressed support for the project. Councilwoman Brenda Hughes said she has lived in Kerrville for more than 30 years and “there’s always been something coming, something coming, and it never came. And now here it is.”
The council postponed consideration of the development agreement and resolution creating the PID until July or August, Hornes said. Under the PID structure, consultant Patrick Bourne explained, homeowners would pay annual assessments over 30 years to fund public infrastructure, with costs disclosed at the time of purchase.
Do any of these ‘coincidences’ prove the cause of this horrific tragedy.
No.
However, it warrants an open and honest discussion.
In related news, Rainmaker Technology Corporation, a California-based cloud-seeding technology company, faces scrutiny that it possibly contributed to the unprecedented storms.
Read more below:
https://100percentfedup.com/land-grab-175-million-power-plant-project-lithium/
