BASTROP, Texas — Elon Musk's tunnel company in Bastrop, The Boring Company, has received its first fine from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
Last October, The Boring Company was facing four water quality-related violations that were sent for enforcement action.
New documents show TCEQ issued its first fine to the company, for $11,876. The violations are mainly surrounding its construction activity, which includes having ineffective erosion controls to minimize discharge of pollutants and dumping industrial stormwater without a permit.
Bastrop County residents, including Chap Ambrose, have been filing complaints against The Boring Company for years. Ambrose said while this fine is a drop in the bucket for Musk's company, it sends a message: Don't pollute Bastrop's drinking water.
"It does affect their compliance history and their reputation with the state and could impact future permits," Ambrose said. "We don't have to bash the environment to see all this growth and these new jobs and this new investment. Those aren't mutually exclusive. So, I think just by engaging in these processes, we can see improvement. We can stop pollution."
Ambrose said with the Bastrop community paying attention and staying involved, they've continued to help protect the environment. After residents spoke up, The Boring Company dropped its requests to dump 140,000 gallons of treated wastewater into the Colorado River daily. Instead, it signed a deal to operate through Bastrop's new wastewater treatment plant.
That plant is being built and is expected to be completed in 2026.