We are residents representing a wide coalition opposed to the Fermi America Data Center being built in Amarillo. We call on you to work with us to stop this harmful project and generate a future economy that is worthy of our collective wellbeing. The most urgent concern is the discussion the City Council has initiated to sell our limited water to Fermi America, threatening our access to water, agricultural industry, and way of life.

Here are the facts: At full expansion, Fermi’s energy campus could use 10 million gallons of water a day, roughly 32 percent of the region’s total water use. Furthermore, the Texas Panhandle has been experiencing prolonged dry spells, while the Ogallala Aquifer is experiencing steady declines in its reserves. The proposed water agreement with Fermi locks Amarillo into an initial 20-year contract, with potential for increases. In other words, this proposed project will strain on the region’s Ogallala Aquifer water resources – the main groundwater supply for the region’s households, farms and ranches. Our region is already in a drought. We’ve dealt with wildfires. Our Ogallala aquifer needs to recover. Our farmlands would be devastated with even less water available.

We demand that the Amarillo City Council protect our water and oppose any agreement with Fermi America or any other corporation to extract our water at any cost. The second reading and vote scheduled for Tuesday, October 29, on the memorandum of understanding between the City of Amarillo and Fermi America, must be delayed so that community members can have their voices heard. This is critical for communities and farmers to succeed over exploitative corporations.