Residents voice water, power and HUBZone concerns over proposed data centers in Freestone County

During the public‑comment period at the Freestone County Commissioners Court on July 1, 2026, residents urged officials to scrutinize proposed data‑center development and asked for more information about power sources and water use.

A resident said the governor had recently called for restrictions on data‑center construction in rural areas and asked whether Calpine—named in the discussion as powering phase one—would supply electricity for additional phases. The commenter also asked for a contact at Cyrus One and raised potential property‑tax impacts from large corporate land purchases in the county.

The speaker warned about cooling‑tower water demand, citing a figure from the discussion that "for every 460 megawatts of power, 200,000 gallons of water a day" may be needed for cooling. The resident asked whether county staff had determined where power for phases two through six would come from and whether local groundwater resources had been considered; they also asked about meeting schedules for the Mid‑East Texas groundwater conservation district.

Another public commenter said rezoning near a defense contractor and new corporate development risked removing Freestone County’s federal HUBZone designation, which she said helps small and minority‑owned firms qualify for SBA contracting preferences.

Court staff answered that HUBZone designations are federal in origin and indicated they would follow up with contact information for Cyrus One and the groundwater district. The discussion generated no formal action; commissioners did not vote on development approvals during the July 1 session.

Next steps: Commissioners said staff would provide the requested contacts and post information if available. The county did not announce any permit, zoning or utility approvals during the meeting.