By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
RIO HONDO, TX—Now that Cameron County has officially announced that a worksite permit has been issued for a data center near this community, leaders here, citing citizen concerns, have chimed in, stating that no one currently with the city has been contacted about it, although there could be future discussion on the matter among elected officials.
On Aug. 31, a day after the City of Rio Hondo issued a press release, the City Commissioners held a special meeting unrelated to the issue.
According to the minutes, during the Mayor’s and Commissioners’ Reports portion of the special meeting, Commissioner Diana Bustamante-Zavala initially apologized to Chief Julian Longoria if he had been directed to post on the City of Rio Hondo’s Facebook page about data centers.
Longoria currently serves as interim city administrator after Ben Medina, Jr.’s departure.
The press release, approved by the city attorney’s office, read in part: “The City of Rio Hondo has heard and understands the concerns expressed by residents regarding the proposed development of a data center outside the city limits.”
According to the meeting minutes, Commissioner Bustamante-Zavala added that Medina, who served in this capacity for 14 years, “had presented a commissioner packet to MDD from Fluidstack.”
The minutes recorded that Mayor Gustavo Olivares said it was not a misdirection, but rather that Longoria had asked him whether any commissioners were aware of prior commitments, since many citizens had asked.
The minutes showed that Mayor Olivares, Commissioner Bustamente-Zavala, and Commissioner Esteban Bocanegra shared their thoughts on the matter and pondered in what capacity data centers had been brought up during past meetings, or whether any other terminology had been used to describe them.
The minutes also showed that Commissioner Bustamante-Zavala said former city administrator Medina did present an item regarding data centers while still employed, but didn’t specify when. She remembers the term “Javelina project of a data center” being used.
Finally, in the minutes, city attorney Robert Drinkard interrupted the commissioners and instructed them to place this item on the agenda if it needs further discussion or even a public hearing.
A regular Sept. 15 meeting of the Rio Hondo Commissioners didn’t show any items regarding data centers.
Medina resigned on Aug. 11, and Longoria was appointed shortly thereafter.
The Rio Hondo press release was titled “Public Statement Regarding the Proposed Data Center Development.”
It continued with the following: “We want to respectfully clarify that no representative of the City of Rio Hondo has been contacted by, nor has communicated with, the developers of any data center regarding permits, resources, utilities, or development agreements. At this time, there are no agreements, discussions, or commitments involving the use of city services, infrastructure, or utilities related to any data center development.”
On Sept. 10, Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Jr. also shared his thoughts on the worksite permit issued for the Fluidstack data center project. He said the Fluidstack would be constructing a closed-loop technology data center facility in the unincorporated area of the county, east of FM 509 and west of FM 106, near Valley International Airport in Harlingen.
“A worksite permit allows a company or developer to make changes to a piece of land before constructing any buildings. Such changes include clearing and grading the land, installing utilities, building surface infrastructure such as streets and parking lots, and building retention ponds or other storm water management infrastructure,” Judge Trevino said.
He added that the permit’s issuance follows the county’s mandatory review of the application and the materials submitted by the company.
As part of the permitting process, Fluidstack has agreed to voluntarily comply with the provisions outlined in a county resolution and with directives issued by Gov. Greg Abbott related to data center development in Texas.
On Aug. 3, Gov. Abbott, in a press release, said he directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and ERCOT to conduct a comprehensive audit of all data centers that advance through ERCOT’s interconnection process.
He said the audit requires detailed information on water consumption, water supply sources, and the implementation of water-efficient technologies. He said any data center project that fails to complete the audit process must be denied interconnection.
On Sept. 14, Gov. Abbott directed the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to compel major water users, including data centers, to comply with water-use reporting requirements and to impose legal consequences for past and future failures to comply with state law.
In a press release, he said major water users, including data centers, appear to have committed civil and criminal violations by failing to provide TWDB with required water-use information. The Governor also directed TWDB to partner with ERCOT in its audit of data centers to obtain additional water-use information.
“Data centers must share the responsibility to protect Texas water,” said Gov. Abbott. “The Texas Water Code requires a complete and accurate water-use survey. I direct the Texas Water Development Board to use its enforcement authority to penalize past failures and to impose legal consequences for any future noncompliance.”
Judge Trevino said he understands the public concerns about data centers. “The county recognizes that residents have expressed a range of opinions regarding data center development in Cameron County. Officials will continue to work with state agencies, utility partners, and the developer to ensure that all applicable requirements are met and that local concerns are addressed,” Judge Trevino said.
Cameron County is not providing a tax abatement for this development, the judge added.
The exchange of data center information via Facebook still has county and Rio Hondo citizens distressed. There were numerous shares of the posts, along with comments.
Cameron County received 241 comments. Among the replies on the county’s Facebook were: Rachel Reynolds, who posted, “It’s not near Harlingen. It’s right next to Rio Hondo without one word to our town.”
Rodrigo Dávila added, “The issuance of this worksite permit is an important development, but it is not the final building permit. Judge Trevino stated that future permits will still be required before construction of the facility can begin. This means there remains an opportunity for Cameron County, Fluidstack, local leaders, and residents to negotiate a transparent, enforceable Community Benefits Agreement.”
Nick Rojas posted, “Everybody wants Netflix, Spotify, maps, and on-line banking but nobody wants the hardware to do it.”
Dana Ann Baldwin was more critical, posting, “Backdoor deals with no public vote — there’s a reason they are placing these centers in economically disadvantaged areas. Ask yourself why. How does a water-intensive facility like a data center make sense in a drought-prone area like the RGV? What will happen to our water and sewer rates and property values? Where will this water come from? What will the environmental impact be? Fluidstack’s data center is a 1,100-acre project. That’s over 756 football fields.”
Daisy Gutierrez added, “Go to YouTube and type data centers. You will be surprised how bad they are and how people do not want them and why?”
The City of Rio Hondo received 81 comments. Among some of the replies on Rio Hondo’s Facebook included Daniel Field, who posted, “Ok but as elected officials, you can stand up for us and have a bigger voice at the county level! You can express how the existence of such a thing just outside of your city limits can impact the city! You could also advocate for people’s families about this proposed highway going right through generationally owned properties! Don’t just act like you can’t do anything! You were voted in and can be voted out!”
Mayte Lozano Chapa posted, “With all due respect, as representatives for the community of Rio Hondo, our commissioners and our mayor, should demand a “seat at the table” when decisions are being made about the data center since the proximity of the data center will also impact the citizens of Rio Hondo. The data center is approximately one-mile from our city limits sign.”
Soni Fig engaged by posting, “Thank you for sending this out. However, there does seem to be a substantial amount of evidence that something is being developed right outside our city. Seeing that we would be impacted one way or another, it feels appropriate for our leaders to reach out to those stakeholders for more information and transparency. That information should then be shared with the residents of Rio Hondo. Can a special meeting be held on this topic specifically? Clearly there are a lot of people scarred and worried about this and we are simply asking for more action to clear up the confusion and ease the panic. Thank you in advance.”