What We've Found:
$0.78 Revenue Earned for every $1 spent on water.
+25% projected energy bill increase w/o ratepayer protections.
Shell Creek Impairment
Shell Creek, listed as "Impaired" under the Clean Water Act 303(d), borders the proposed site.
A hyperscale facility's cooling demands could stress water supplies for decades - with no public impact study completed.
Emergency?
Emergency procedures exist for emergencies. Has the public record reflected what emergency justified their use here?
Tax Caveats
Hyperscalers routinely seek 5 year property tax exemptions + sales tax relief on equipment.
Jobs usually total 50-250 and most are from out of state and here for the construction phase then dwindle.
No decommissioning bonds required.
EIA Not Submitted
Ordinance 2026-003 requires full enviromental impact assesment at the developers expense before any SUP.
It has not been submitted on record.
OWRB Loan Covenants
Jan 2024 - City engineer stated the water system cannot serve existing residents.
$25.5M borrowed to make improvements that are not complete. City water revenue pledged against servicing that debt.
Will an independent third-party water capacity study be submitted?
Transmission Congestion
A hyperscale data center can draw 100-500MW, enough electricity to power 75k to 500k homes, or a city the size of Tulsa.
Will a transmission capacity study has been submitted confirming Piedmont's grid can handle this load w/o triggering congestion costs to be redistributed to local ratepayers?
Citizens Who Care
Hundreds of citizens reaching out for help understanding.
Land owners fearful their own multi-generational farms and homes will be negatively impacted.
We are building a collaborative spirit to identify and find solutions to regulatory gaps.
Charter
Law
Piedmont's City Charter gives residents specific rights to challenge development decisions.
We want to insure that the Citizens of Piedmont and the surrounding area are allowed to participate in the decisions that will drastically change our hometown and family farms.
Questions To Ask :
Resolution 02-23-26A authorized a $19.5M federal USDOT BUILD grant for Waterloo Road.
Can the City Manager confirm whether BUILD grant application references data center development?
Has it been disclosed to ODOT?
BUILD Grant
Due Dilligence
What due dilligence did city staff perform on financial capacity, operational history, and enforceability of any commitments made in this application?
Was the vetting documented?
Water Resource Impact
Has the city commissioned or received any independent hydrological or environmental impact assessment regarding Shell Creek and downstream water users, given the known impairment designation and the water demand profile of a hyperscale facility?
Public Notification
Can the city confirm that all required public notice timelines under Oklahoma Open Meeting Act and Piedmont's Charter were strictly followed for every hearing, reading, and vote related to this application?
Will the notice records be made availble?
Land Owner Reporting
Land owners along the Cimarron River and south to the South Canadian have reported being approached to sell water.
What transparency is there around total community water impacts? Will they disclose all sources of water?
Will an independent fiscal impact analysis completed - separate from any projections provided by the applicant?
If so does it account for the full lifecycle costs including infrastructure, maintenance, emergency services capacity, and potential tax abatements?
Fiscal Impact
What binding commitments, if any, have made regarding infrastructure costs — roads, water, sewer, power grid upgrades — and are those commitments enforceable in the current application as written?
What financial commitments has the City of Piedmont made in any way regarding any costs associated with data center projects?
Who Pays?
Abandonment Liability
What provisions, if any, exist in the current application to address site remediation, structural decommissioning, and financial liability?
Who bears this cost?
Number of Potential Developers
How many developers are actively entertaining developing in Piedmont? Is the increased interest in our Ag land due to the OG&E website ranking the community as an ideal location for data centers?
Property Value
Impacts
Has any research been presented to the public on property value impacts? Who is held accountable when citizens leave the community? Or land values or natural resources are impacted? Who repairs the road after construction phases are final? Who makes up for the developers who have decided to no longer want to develop in the area?
Is It Connected?
How much do we know about these developers and the projects they're associated with?
Transparency around how the transmission lines, supply lines and how these projects intertwine have yet to be defined.