Letter to the editor: Questions of trust

Let us discuss Synergen’s “Honesty and Integrity”.  I firmly believe that before any company may apply for any type of permit (high use water permit or waste water discharge permit) that honesty and integrity should be firmly entrenched as part of the company culture.  My belief is based on the fact that these permits rely on “self-monitoring”.  I do not believe Synergen has honesty nor integrity as part of their company culture.  I will cite examples to explain why I believe this to be the case.

On March 7, 2026 Synergen officials signed paper work and submitted this paper work to the Texas Comptroller’s office.  This paper work was an application for the “Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation (JETI) Act.  The JETI program offers a 10-year school district property tax limitation.

In order to apply for the JETI you have to have an alternative site that you may move your manufacturing or energy production to.  Synergen listed Aurora, Nebraska as the site they would/could move to if the JETI was not granted.  On 11/14/24 the Nebraska Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District (NRD) allowed Synergen’s conditional water use permit to expire and chose not to renew it due to aquifer unsustainability for Synergen’s water requirements.  In an article from the Aurora News-Register, dated November 20, 2024, it states that the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) stated that it would be 2029 or beyond before they could supply the amount of power that Synergen was requesting.  So, how is Aurora, Nebraska considered to be an alternative site?  It isn’t, this was a misrepresentation from Synergen! 

There was also a question on the JETI application with regard to whether public meetings had been held.  Synergen’s response was “Yes”.  To my recollection, which is confirmed by The Port Lavaca Wave Vol. 134 No. 28 edition, the first meeting was held March 31, 2026!  Again, another misrepresentation from Synergen!

There are numerous other misrepresentations by Synergen in the JETI application.  Due to limited space, and for the sake of brevity, I have chosen the above 2 as examples.

On or about 6/11/2026, Synergen started work on what will be their Solar Farm located at 24135 Hwy 172 Port Lavaca, TX.  This was not a small project; there were several pieces of heavy earth moving equipment involved.  They began this work with no permits in hand!  For some reason, Synergen either believes that required permits do not apply to them or they are “above” the permit process.

If Synergen is willing to make misrepresentations to the Texas Comptroller’s office and start working without permits, I think they will view making misrepresentations about water use and waste water discharge as “No big deal”, just how they do business!

All of this is why we, as a community, must watch what is occurring around us and if Synergen applies for any permits from Calhoun County Ground Water Conservation District (CCGWD Pumping Permit) or the TCEQ (waste water discharge).  They will be drawing 2 million gallons of water from the same aquifer that your well is drawing from.  They plan to discharge 800,000 gallons of potentially harmful wastewater into Lavaca Bay.  We must vehemently oppose these Permit Applications!

Jim McCabe

Letters to the Editor Policy: The opinions expressed in letters to the editor are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Port Lavaca Wave, its staff or ownership. Letters may be submitted to publisher@plwave.com.