After more than two hours of public comment, the Amarillo City Council on Oct. 14 approved a water supply agreement with Fermi America that lets the city supply up to 2.5 million gallons of potable water per day to the company’s proposed Advanced Energy and Intelligence campus in the Panhandle. The 5-0 vote authorizes city staff to enter the contract while staff and Fermi continue negotiating implementation details and related infrastructure work.

The council and city staff framed the action as an initial step that secures a defined, limited supply while leaving future, larger requests for further review. City officials said Fermi will pay the construction costs for the new wells, pipelines and meter infrastructure needed to deliver the water and will reimburse the city for other project costs; the agreement sets the delivery cap at 2.5 MGD and contains standard provisions on drought response, metering and termination.

Why it matters: Council members and staff described the vote as a consequential, but narrowly tailored, decision: it creates a contract vehicle that would allow the city to sell water for a large industrial campus while preserving the council’s ability to require mitigation, monitor use and negotiate additional conditions before any larger future allocations are approved. Opponents said the deal could accelerate depletion of the Ogallala aquifer and urged a slower, more public process.

What the council approved
- The agreement authorizes city staff to supply up to 2.5 million gallons per day of potable water to Fermi America for the project site.
- The contract requires Fermi to design, construct and pay for the public improvements needed for delivery (drilled wells, transmission piping, meters and related infrastructure); after completion the improvements would be dedicated to the city.
- Rates in the draft use a multiplier (the agreement specifies twice the city’s in-city commercial water rate for the delivered potable water) and include standard metering and reporting requirements.
- The contract term is 20 years with up to two 10-year renewal options; council discussion noted further negotiation of termination language and other details would continue.

Public comment and council concerns: The public comment portion of the meeting was dominated by residents and local farmers who expressed alarm about large data-center-style projects and potential long-term stress on local water resources. Speakers described lost notice of construction activity, worries about property values and wildlife, air-quality and health concerns, and skepticism about jobs claimed by such projects. Several speakers called for public hearings focused solely on the Fermi project; others pushed for consideration of alternatives such as direct potable reuse.

Developer and expert presentations: Fermi representatives and their technical team attended and made a series of technical presentations and replies. Founder Toby Nagelbauer and other representatives said the company is pairing nuclear, natural-gas and solar power generation at a campus scale and that the site would be built in phases, typically a gigawatt at a time. Nuclear and hydrology experts on the team said the design aims to minimize consumptive water use through “dry” or hybrid cooling approaches and use of non‑potable sources (effluent, treated water and other alternatives) where technically feasible. Ken Rainwater, a Texas Tech groundwater hydrologist who joined the presentations, described the Ogallala as a heterogeneous aquifer and said water availability and impacts depend on local saturated thickness; he stressed that impacts are best evaluated with formal groundwater modeling and district permitting.

Direct quotes (from meeting)
- Toby Nagelbauer, Fermi founder: “If the city says no to the water, you’re going to get the water somewhere else.”
- Ashlyn Major, Amarillo resident: “We will give this one company the water for 30,000 people for a year” (commenting on Fermi’s reported consumption figures).

Council action and next steps: Council voted 5-0 on the measure. City staff said they will continue negotiating specific contract language (notably termination provisions and final technical specs for metering and dedicated facilities), develop the public-improvement plan, and return to council with any required amendments. Staff and Fermi representatives said they expect further public outreach and additional requests from Fermi if the campus moves beyond the initial phase; council members asked for commitments on public engagement, workforce development and environmental monitoring that staff will attempt to capture in follow-up documentation and future agreements.

Background and context: The Fermi proposal has been publicly discussed across the Panhandle in recent weeks. City staff said the initial letter of intent and related negotiations were touched off earlier this year; the company’s team has circulated a memorandum of understanding and other technical materials. The city’s Water Utilities staff told council that the 2.5 MGD figure is deliverable with new wellfield and transmission work but that substantially higher or additional volumes would require larger capital projects and more time to implement.

What remains unresolved: Council and residents asked for clearer, written commitments on (1) how Fermi will pursue nonpotable and reclaimed water; (2) a formal community‑benefits package, including local hiring and workforce training; (3) an enforceable monitoring and reporting program; and (4) assurances about how sales, rates and dedicated infrastructure will be treated if the project is delayed, restructured or not completed. Staff committed to returning with more detailed amendments and to making relevant documents public.

Ending: The vote establishes a legal path for limited potable water delivery to Fermi’s project while keeping additional allocations subject to later council review and public processes. Councilmembers said they intend to press for more detail and public engagement as the project proceeds.