Megasite authority says state infrastructure for Blue Oval City is largely complete; Ford invoices now being issued

Representatives of the West Tennessee Megasite Authority told the Senate Finance Ways and Means Committee on March 18 that the state has delivered the infrastructure it committed to for Blue Oval City and that the authority has begun invoicing Ford for utility use based on a recent rate study.

Clay Bright, speaking for the Megasite Authority, said the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) at the site opened June 14, 2024; TDOT’s phase 1 roadway work was expected to finish in late 2025; and the water treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant, pipeline to the Mississippi River and pump station were completed and started furnishing water in November 2023 and accepting sewer in July 2024. Bright said the authority started billing Ford this year based on a rate study and discussions with Finance & Administration and the comptroller’s office to comply with a statutory requirement not to operate at a deficit after December 2026.

Bright said Megasite Authority staff performed a rate study to determine full costs, including depreciation, and that invoices to Ford reflect those rates; he said the authority has begun sending invoices "based on those rates to Ford first this year." Bright also said the authority engaged a third-party operator, Clearwater Solutions, to run the wastewater treatment plant and has been invoicing Ford for operations costs; he told the committee the site was using only a small share of capacity so far — about 6% of water capacity and less than 2% of sewer capacity according to the authority’s initial bills.

When asked about Ford’s internal plans, Bright said the authority does not receive updates from Ford and "I read the same paper everybody else does." He added that, to his knowledge, Ford told the megasite authority it will start making some batteries for another vehicle in 2026 and that assembly-plant activity has shifted to a later date, with the assembly plant postponed to sometime in 2027.

Senators asked the authority about governance, oversight and billing. Bright said the authority initially met more frequently and now meets several times a year and that the board acts when there are items to decide. He said invoices are being sent and that, "so far so good" when asked whether Ford had paid the initial bills.

The committee’s discussion also touched on local sewer authorities and the potential for future requests for regional sewer funding as residential development follows industrial infrastructure.

The Megasite Authority’s briefing indicated the state’s infrastructure commitments for the site are largely complete and that the authority has begun operational billing to recover costs consistent with statutory constraints on authority deficits.