If you are new to Move the Gas Plant, please see the ABOUT US page, our RESOURCES page, and our NEWS page (Blog) to learn how we got here in response to Sandow Lakes Energy's surprise announcement in 2024 of its intention to construct a 1200 mega-watt (MW) natural gas-powered power plant in the heart of the Blue community of northwest Lee County. (Photo at left is what SLE says the plant will look like.) This HOME page shows how many nearby residences are impacted. The DONATE page explains our 501c3 status. The EVENTS page details our Aug. 10 raffle. Please be sure to read OUR CONCLUSIONS at the end of this section, and SEE THE "NEWS" or RESOURCES" PAGES FOR OUR MOST RECENT BLOG POSTS.
We owe a big thank you to our generous donors, and to all of you who submitted written and oral comments to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and attended the TCEQ public meeting on April 24. After the public meeting, we heard from TCEQ staffers they were impressed with the quality of our input on the draft permit, but that didn't stop the TCEQ Executive Director from glossing over our issues with inadequate comments. See the July 24 TCEQ letter to those who commented, including MTGP's attorney and technical expert, here . Trust us, we're not done yet! Stay tuned!
IT'S A FACT: TCEQ will not be authorized to issue a permit, and SLE will not be authorized to begin construction on the power plant, unless and until many time-consuming issues are resolved.
A 1,200 megawatt (MW) power plant at the corner of CR 312/309 is not a done deal!
As Travis Brown of MTGP frames it: "The more of us in the Blue community who join the effort, the better our chances are. If we all just go home and do nothing...well, our chances to stop this go to zero."
Despite being brushed off by TCEQ, serious legal and technical questions and issues have been raised with TCEQ by MTGP's premier environmental law attorney (Eric Allmon, Esq.) and scientific expert (Dr. Ron Sahu), and by members of the public. Those concerns won't just disappear now ---there are pending requests for contested case hearings that must be dealt with by TCEQ sometime after August 25.
MTGP and at least one other landowner has asked TCEQ for a formal administrative proceeding called a "contested case" hearing before independent administrative law judges (ALJs) at the State Office of Administrative Hearings to allow persons affected by the power plant to challenge TCEQ's draft air permits for SLE.
Our request for a hearing will not be considered by the TCEQ Commissioners until at least 30 days after TCEQ's responses to our comments and TCEQ's preliminary decision are mailed. Longer delays in convening the hearing could be caused by that same backlog of permit applications. The hearing itself can be a time-consuming administrative law and legal process.
(See RESOURCES page to download and read our attorney's and expert's submissions to TCEQ. To read 136 public comments to TCEQ, go here.)
Over a hundred other gas-fired power plant permit applications are pending or expected to be filed at TCEQ! (See, RESOURCES page for more information and media coverage)
Permit delays, supply chain issues, investor jitters, and who knows what other pressures in these volatile economic times, could ultimately help derail this project. The numerous proposed gas-powered power plant projects Texas is seeing can't all come to fruition.
HERE ARE THE IMPORTANT TAKEAWAYS FROM MTGP'S EFFORTS SINCE 2024:
Efforts by MTGP already have had a major impact on SLE’s plans. If MTGP had not organized and taken action, SLE likely would already have its air permit from TCEQ and would be constructing its gas plant right now. But all that was delayed many months when MTGP:
As a result, it’s possible SLE’s efforts to obtain an air permit might extend into 2026. Many issues could arise during such a long delay, ones that might help derail this project.
SEE THE NEWS PAGE FOR OUR MOST RECENT BLOG POSTS --- and you can download them on the RESOURCES page.
MTGP'S mission includes helping to form and guide community groups that focus on local environmental protection and restoration, protection of wildlife and allied natural resources, assurance of the public health, maintenance of property values, and building community.
In this case, we are assisting the Blue community that opposes the unreasonable impacts of locating a behemoth power plant in its midst ---when you help us defray the considerable legal and expert fees we are incurring, you are helping your community and your neighbors.
We are an all-volunteer organization that relies on public, tax-deductible donations though we also work to capitalize on any available grants to 501c3 organizations like ours, as well as other fundraising events. Those grants are few and far between these days, but having matching funds from the community helps our chances.
Your donations, especially donations on a recurring basis, are critical to our success. Use this link to DONATE and ask your neighbors to DONATE!
And please buy a raffle ticket before August 10th --raffle ticket purchases aren't tax-deductible like donations, but the prizes are pretty dang great! See more raffle info below.
Learn more about our organization, our mission, and our values. We're dedicated to serving our community and making a positive impact in Lee County.
Have a question or want to get in touch? Use our contact form at the bottom of this page to reach out to us and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Get your tickets for the Move the Gas Plant SUMMER 2025 RAFFLE FUNDRAISER in advance of the August 10 drawing! As of August 1, raffle ticket availability is limited; please act now to get your tickets!
With only 300 tickets to be sold, the odds of winning are favorable and, best of all, you will be helping your neighbors ~~ the funds raised will come at a critical time for the legal and expert fees we are incurring. Grassroots funding also helps us qualify for any available matching funds or grants that may become available.
In a nutshell, here's Move the Gas Plant's reaction to Lee County's new resolution, passed in February, 2025 :
“The resolution passed by the commissioners is not as direct or focused in its conclusion as we preferred. However, we do think it conveys support by the county for our position – that the gas plant does not belong in our community and that there may be other feasible, suitable and less damaging locations for that facility.”
JUNE 2025 update:
The Lee County resolution was passed prior to MTGP's legal and technical expert review of the draft permit TCEQ has proposed to issue to SLE. Both reviews revealed serious deficiencies and issues with the SLE project, wherever it might be built. MTGP has always preferred siting the plant on the old Alcoa industrial site near Rockdale, while the Commissioners want the tax revenue from a less-populated Lee County site.
Our current view is that the draft permit should not be issued, and we would not object to this gas plant not being built at all. If and when those deficiencies and issues are resolved, and the plant is going to be built, then it should be at a site where it does the least damage to human health and the environment. Thus, MTGP still prefers the old Alcoa industrial site.
See our NEWS page for more details, and the RESOURCES page for the resolution as adopted, plus local media reports and an April 3, 2025 Houston Chronicle story on MTGP.
SEE BELOW SLE's map of the Blue site showing SURROUNDING RESIDENCES.
**We have launched a new page on our Website --- the NEWS page, where you will find new content that in the past was found on the HOME page.
We will still post outside media and other information on the RESOURCES page, but NEWS will be more of a blog, offering and preserving information on a variety of topics, with links to any related RESOURCES. Banners or other notices will still appear on the HOME page to alert you to NEWS.
Blog posts will be sent to our subscribers to our newsletter --- scroll down to "Contact Us".
And PLEASE donate to put our community's interest on its best footing.
Map of proposed 309/312 power plant site with nearby residences, submitted to TCEQ by Sandow Lakes Energy.
Read about US , be INFORMED, DONATE and CONTACT us as we come together to "Move the Gas Plant"
away from the rural community of Blue in Lee County to a more appropriate location for a
1200 MW natural gas power generation plant. Go to EVENTS page to buy raffle tickets!
Each of the above "red houses" were located on this map SLE submitted to TCEQ to show how many residences are within a certain distance of the proposed site. Each represents a family residence within a 1.5 mile radius of the proposed plant (site at corner of CR 309 and CR 312 outlined in red), amid private farms and ranches, and very near the historic Adina Christian Church and also near River View Christian Academy. The church was founded by an ancestor of a close neighbor to the power plant site. Needless to say, neither old nor new residents of the Blue community expected they would ever be put in this position when they settled in our beautiful part of rural Lee County.
If your residence or property is inside either the blue circle (3,000 ft. radius) or the yellow circle (1.5 mi. radius), please send us a message ASAP!
Travis Brown and Trish Siler on KXAN - see Resources page