McAlester council authorizes negotiations for 6,000,000-gpd raw water sale to Black Mountain Energy Storage

McAlester — The City Council voted to authorize the city manager to negotiate terms with Black Mountain Energy Storage for the possible sale of approximately 6,000,000 gallons per day of raw water to serve a proposed data center south of Kiowa.

City staff said the request exceeds any previous raw-water purchase agreement the city has on file and therefore requires negotiation. Caroline O—Brien, representing Black Mountain Energy Storage, told the council they were seeking the water for cooling an AI data center and said the project team is coordinating with the county and nearby towns. "We are looking at obtaining 6,000,000 gallons day of raw water from you guys, for a proposed data center," O—Brien said.

The city manager and staff emphasized that the authorization is limited to negotiating terms; any final purchase agreement would be returned to the council for formal approval. Councilor Gilmore moved to authorize negotiations; Councilor Woodley seconded and the motion carried on a recorded roll call.

Councilors asked for basic assurances about noise, cooling method and local impacts during the discussion. Black Mountain said the facility would be water-cooled rather than air-cooled to reduce noise and that more project details would follow. "There's a difference between Bitcoin and data center in terms of the noise," O—Brien said, noting the company does not propose an air-cooled (and louder) design.

Next steps: staff will negotiate terms with Black Mountain Energy Storage and return any proposed agreement to the council for approval.