Archer County · Wichita County · Wichita Falls
Where the Project Raptor data center stands right now, and what we do about it. Neighbor-run, sourced to public documents.
Where it stands
The most important thing on this site. A great deal of energy gets spent fighting decisions that are already made. Here is where a citizen's voice still lands.
Google states plainly that power delivery is subject to ERCOT approval. In June the PUCT approved a new batch study process for large loads; ERCOT was to issue classifications on Aug 7. On Aug 3 the Governor directed ERCOT to verify data center loads first, and ERCOT stood down. It now goes to the PUCT's Aug 20 open meeting.
Without megawatts there is no data center, which makes this the single largest variable in the project, and PUCT filings are public.
Primary ERCOT market notice M-A080326-01, Aug 3 2026, which links the Governor's directive letter. PUCT approval of the Batch Zero framework, June 18 2026. Power-delivery language from the Project Raptor FAQ.
File a short comment with the PUCT before the Aug 20 open meeting saying you live here and you want the Governor's audit applied to this project. Anyone may file. Full instructions and the docket number.
The plan is to hold treated water in an evaporation pond until the state approves direct discharge to a stream. That permit has not been granted. TCEQ permits carry a formal public comment period, and some are eligible for a contested case hearing. This is the clearest procedural handle left.
Primary Project Raptor FAQ, April 28 2026, on the evaporation pond and the pending direct discharge permit. TCEQ comment and hearing procedures from agency rules.
Ask TCEQ to put you on the mailing list for any wastewater application at this site, before it is noticed. Once notice goes out the comment window is short. We are also asking Rep. Frank's office to request a public meeting in Archer County. How to do it.
A draft study with Wichita Valley Water Supply Corporation identified pump station upgrades and 9.5 miles of pipe replacement. Final results were expected in mid-2026. Who carries the long-term cost of a resized system, and what it does to capacity for existing members, is the question to press.
WVWSC is a nonprofit corporation distributing treated water to rural member households and businesses. It holds monthly board meetings and posts them at wichitavalleywater.com. If you are a member, that is a room you already have standing in.
What "air-cooled" has meant at other Google sites →
Primary Pipeline mileage, pump station upgrades and the mid-2026 timing are from the Project Raptor FAQ. WVWSC board meeting schedule from wichitavalleywater.com.
If you are a WVWSC member, attend a monthly board meeting and ask three questions: has the final hydraulic analysis come back, has any service agreement been signed, and what does this do to capacity and rates for existing members. Wichita Falls residents: ask your council what the wholesale contract permits. Details.
Data center siting, noise, water, and tax treatment are all live at the Capitol. Rep. James Frank represents House District 69 and has said this has become one of the biggest political issues across his 14 counties. The Senate Finance Committee has been taking testimony on data center tax exemptions, and the Governor's August directive signals more oversight coming.
Reported Rep. Frank's House District 69 comments as reported in April 2026. Senate Finance testimony on data center tax exemptions, July 2026.
Request an in-district meeting with Rep. Frank and our state senator this fall, before the session opens in January. What we want in statute: county authority over siting and setbacks, enforceable noise standards, and mandatory disclosure of water and power commitments. Details.
Rebuilds, deceleration lanes, and intersection work are described as pending TxDOT input. Road projects have their own public involvement process, and the county still negotiates its own road damage terms.
Primary Road improvements and the "pending TxDOT input" language are from the Project Raptor FAQ. Commissioner Scarbrough's description of the reviewed plan was Reported from the May 21 2026 public session.
At the next Commissioners Court meeting, ask in open session that road use and damage terms be negotiated now rather than after the first haul truck, and ask which county permits the project triggers. Watch for TxDOT public involvement notices on FM 2224 and US 79. Details.
Voted down unanimously. Worth understanding clearly: the abatement was the county's main lever for attaching binding conditions: noise limits, clawbacks, inspection rights. Denying it kept the tax revenue and refused the invitation, but it also means there is now no county contract governing how the site operates.
Reported The June 22 2026 unanimous denial and officials' statements come from local reporting of that meeting. The application date and applicant name are also reported. The underlying vote appears in the court minutes, Official record, linked on our documents page.
The abatement vote is over and we are not asking anyone to reopen it. Because no county contract now governs how this site operates, we are asking the Commissioners Court for a standing open-session agenda item: "Project Raptor status update." It costs the court nothing and it is fully within its power. Details.
Texas counties generally cannot zone unincorporated land. The Archer County Attorney has stated the county cannot impose a moratorium and that one would not stop construction. Petitioning the county to "just say no" asks for something it cannot legally do.
Reported The Archer County Attorney's statement that the county cannot impose a moratorium was made in open session and reported in May 2026. The general absence of county zoning authority over unincorporated land is Texas statute.
Please do not petition the county for a moratorium or for zoning. It cannot legally deliver either, and the request gives everyone an easy reason to dismiss us. If you were going to spend an afternoon on this, spend it on the PUCT comment or the water board instead.
Our position
Short enough that any one of us can say it from the podium without notes.
Secondary These are our positions, not findings. The 65 dBA design target they respond to is Primary, from the Project Raptor FAQ.
The plan
Sorted by deadline, not by importance, because deadlines are what you lose. Assign one person to each body. A coalition where everyone does the same thing covers one room and misses four.
Before Aug 20: the grid
8 days
ERCOT is asking the Commission for a good cause exception on the Batch Zero timeline after the Governor ordered an audit of every data center in the interconnection queue. Filings go through the PUCT Interchange at interchange.puc.texas.gov, and anyone may file. ERCOT has said it will update its market notice once the filing is made. That update names the project number to file under. Historically ERCOT's good cause requests land in Project No. 55999; confirm before filing.
Say who you are, where you live, that a 1,000 MW request sits near your home, and that you want the audit applied to Project Raptor specifically. Short is fine. Filings from real residents of the affected county are the point.
Owner: NAME · Body: Public Utility Commission of TexasToday
This is how we learned Batch Zero stopped. Free, at ercot.com. One person subscribes and forwards; everyone else stays on our text list.
Owner: NAME · Body: ERCOTThis month: the county and the water
Next regular meeting
Not a vote, not a moratorium. Just a recurring line on the agenda: "Project Raptor status update." It costs the court nothing, it is entirely within its power, and it converts a project we learn about from Facebook into one with a monthly public record. This is the single most winnable ask on this site.
Owner: NAME · Body: Archer County Commissioners CourtNext regular meeting
The county cannot zone, but it does administer floodplain permits, on-site sewage facility permits, and subdivision regulations, and it negotiates its own road use and damage terms. Ask in open session which of these the project triggers, and ask that road damage terms be negotiated now rather than after the first haul truck.
Owner: NAME · Body: Archer County Commissioners CourtMonthly
Three questions for WVWSC: has the final hydraulic analysis come back, has any service agreement been signed for this site, and what does resizing 9.5 miles of line do to capacity and rates for existing members.
Owner: NAME · Body: WVWSC boardThis month
The city has said it has no agreement with Google and that its role is wholesale sales only. Fine. Then ask in open session what the wholesale contract with WVWSC permits, whether it caps resale to a single industrial customer, and whether council gets a vote before that happens. Wichita Falls residents should be the ones asking this.
Owner: NAME · Body: Wichita Falls City CouncilThis month
Ask TCEQ's Office of the Chief Clerk to add you to the mailing list for any wastewater application at this site. When a permit is noticed the comment window is short, and a public meeting can be requested, and a request carries far more weight coming from a legislator or a group of affected residents. Line that up with Rep. Frank's office now.
Owner: NAME · Body: TCEQThis month
To the Archer County Clerk: the Dynamo Ventures abatement application, all correspondence between county officials and the developer or its representatives, the road improvement plans discussed May 21, and any hydraulic analysis in the county's possession. Ask the county attorney what is releasable rather than guessing. Publish what comes back, in full.
Owner: NAME · Body: Archer County ClerkBefore January: the Legislature
Now through Jan 2027
The 90th Legislature convenes in January 2027, and the PUCT is expected to seek expanded authority over data centers. Senate Bill 6 in 2025 already established disclosure and curtailment obligations for large loads of 75 MW and up. What we want in statute: county authority over siting and setbacks, enforceable noise standards, and mandatory disclosure of water and power commitments. Ask for a meeting in district, in the fall, not a form letter in February.
Owner: NAME · Bodies: Rep. James Frank (HD 69) · STATE SENATOROngoing
Thirty residents showed up on June 22 and the abatement died. Not a petition signature. A person in a chair. That is the only currency in this that has ever worked anywhere.
Owner: all of usWho to call
| Who | Role | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Randall C. Jackson | County Judge | Courthouse |
| Wade Scarbrough | Commissioner, Pct. 1 | 940-586-1315 |
| Darin Wolf | Commissioner, Pct. 2 | 940-423-6423 |
| Kendall Coleman | Commissioner, Pct. 3 | 940-631-2005 |
| Todd Herring | Commissioner, Pct. 4 | 940-583-5825 |
Primary Names and phone numbers read directly from the Archer County Commissioners Court page at co.archer.tx.us.
One call from inside a precinct outweighs twenty from outside it. Say where you live, make one point, be brief and be civil. Archer County Courthouse, 100 S Center St, Archer City, TX 76351. Verify numbers against co.archer.tx.us before a call-in push.
Stay in it
Not a newsletter. A message when an agenda drops, a permit is noticed, or a room needs filling. Nothing in between.
Add me to the listWe keep your number for meeting alerts on this project and nothing else. No sharing, no selling, reply STOP to quit.