The Hastings City Council unanimously authorized the mayor to sign a nonbinding water term sheet with TES US Development LLC and TotalEnergies Hydrogen Holdings USA LLC to explore sale of treated effluent from the city wastewater treatment plant to a proposed low‑carbon synthetic natural gas project.

The council approved the authorization 8–0 after a presentation by Matthew Laborde, director of project development for TES US Development, who described a plan to use renewable electricity and municipal effluent to produce green hydrogen and then synthesize a low‑carbon methane product paired with regional carbon‑capture projects.

Why it matters: The project would repurpose treated municipal effluent as an industrial feedstock, potentially create local jobs, and link municipal infrastructure to an energy development chain that relies on renewable power and CO2 pipelines.

Project outline and inputs: Laborde told the council the proposed facility would take roughly 500,000 gallons per day of effluent from a municipal plant rated at over 4,000,000 gallons per day and transport it by pipeline to a site approximately 10 miles south of Hastings off U.S. 281. TES said it would provide capital for pipeline construction, pump stations and on‑site water treatment, including reverse‑osmosis and demineralization equipment, and that the facility’s only planned routine byproducts would be oxygen and recycled water.

Environmental and water details: Laborde said the company plans to retire about 320 acres (half a section) of irrigated farmland as part of a strategy to create a net benefit to the High Plains Aquifer. He also said the currently discharged effluent is treated to surface discharge standards; TES would add additional purification to meet process needs.

Jobs, timeline and infrastructure: Laborde estimated the finished facility would employ 40–50 full‑time workers, with a peak construction workforce of about 1,500. The company cited a target in the 2030 timeframe for startup, conditioned on permitting, interconnection and further engineering studies. Staff noted TES will fund the pipeline and that the city expects no capital costs to the utility for the arrangement.

Council and staff perspective: Utility staff said the arrangement presents an opportunity to generate revenue from water the utility now discharges and that a local industrial electrical load could have positive effects for the utility node price even if the facility’s retail electricity service falls outside the city’s distribution territory. Staff described the document as a nonbinding term sheet that would be followed by definitive agreements and additional studies.

Discussion and next steps: Council members asked about location, downstream impacts, whether similar projects exist regionally, and whether the company would provide on‑site staff. TES representatives said the project is similar to projects elsewhere in the U.S. but not local to the region. City staff and TES agreed further engineering, water‑quality work and coordination with local and regional utilities and permitting authorities will be needed before any binding agreements.

Ending: The council’s authorization enables staff to proceed with nonbinding negotiations and technical study with TES and TotalEnergies; engineering, permitting and definitive contracts remain to be completed.