Graham Seeks Data Center Safeguards After County Abatement Talks Collapse
GRAHAM – Young County commissioners announced last week that Stream Data Centers had abandoned negotiations over a tax abatement that would have provided environmental and quality-of-life protections for residents, while the City of Graham moved forward with a separate water and wastewater agreement aimed at recovering some, but not all, of those safeguards.
The developments came just two days apart, as Stream prepares to begin construction in November on a hyperscale data center campus covering approximately 2,500 acres near Graham.
County Judge Win Graham announced at the Oct. 13 commissioners court meeting that Stream withdrew its request for a tax abatement after months of increasingly vocal opposition from a small group of landowners.
“They were always coming,” Judge Graham said afterward. “They were open to a tax abatement. They were open to trading with the county.”
Without the abatement, commissioners lost their principal bargaining tool for securing protections and financial assis- tance to prepare for 2,000 or more construction workers.
The county had sought a 500foot perimeter buffer, vegetation barriers, limits on building heights, noise and lighting restrictions, water safeguards, runoff controls and road improvements. Commissioners also wanted upfront funding for 10 additional sheriff’s deputies and dispatch improvements.
The collapse means those commitments remain unsecured, although commissioners intend to pursue a separate development agreement.
“We may not get anything,” Judge Graham warned.
On Oct. 15, the Graham City Council unanimously agreed to release a draft agreement with Headwaters Site Development LLC, which is developing the Stream project, and schedule a public hearing for Oct. 29.
The city’s proposal would provide wastewater services and reclaimed water for the data center in exchange for infrastructure payments and operating restrictions.
Headwaters would pay at least $2 million for the first building and $750,000 or $4 per square foot for each additional building, plus 20 annual payments of at least $900,000 per building, a sum that could exceed $250 million over the term of the proposed contract.
The draft requires closed-loop cooling systems, restricts noise to the greater of 65 decibels or existing background levels, limits outdoor lighting, and requires the developer to pay for electrical infrastructure upgrades.
It also addresses road damage, construction-worker housing and eventual site cleanup.
However, Graham’s agreement does not recover all the county’s proposed protections, including specific vegetation buffers, green-space requirements and funding for additional law enforcement.
Several important provisions remain unfinished, including water volumes and cleanup escrow funding. Neither the city nor the developer has agreed to the final terms.
The Graham City Council will consider the proposal and hear public comments at 6 p.m. Oct. 29 at City Hall, 608 Elm St.
For a detailed explanation of the proposed agreement, its financial provisions and the protections residents could gain or lose, see the special data center issue included with this week’s Olney Enterprise.