09/02/2026
Real concerns? Her party voted data centers in at the city and county level
AS YOUR ELETRIC RATE, WATER, TAX CITY, COUNTY SCHOOLS, HOSPITAL TAXES SKYROCKET HERES A THOUGHT.
2023 The City of El Paso and the County of El Paso both voted for project 380, and used no voter input! That's how we got here. This was not govener Greg Abbott it was Democrats. Now that the voters are going crazy, the city and county petition Greg Abbot for HELP!
How Many Data Centers Are Coming?
There are currently three active data center projects slated for the immediate El Paso and county borderland region:
YouTube
·ARC El Paso
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Meta (Northeast El Paso): Spanning 1,000 acres, this facility's footprint grew into a massive $10 billion artificial intelligence (AI) data center campus, heavily shifting from its initial $1.5 billion estimate. It operates locally under the shell name Wurldwide LLC.
Facebook
·Congresswoman Veronica Escobar
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Fort Bliss (Far East El Paso Land): A massive military-associated data center approved by U.S. Army leaders. It encompasses 1,384 acres of land just north of Montana Vista.
Facebook
·Congresswoman Veronica Escobar
Project Jupiter (Santa Teresa, NM Borderplex): Right across the state line but historically pulling on Borderland regional infrastructure, a monumental $165 billion hyperscale data center campus backed by developers like Oracle and financed in part via Doña Ana County approvals.
LinkedIn
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💧 The Aquifer Connection
The physical footprint and industrial resource draw sit squarely on top of the Hueco Bolson aquifer, which is El Paso's primary groundwater source. Even the Fort Bliss facility, which plans to use its own managed base wells, will be directly extracting from the Hueco Bolson. This reality has triggered immense backlash regarding long-term desert water sustainability.
🏛️ Who Approved Them? (The Deciding Factor)
The short answer is local city and county governments, not the state, were the entities that legally approved the primary tax breaks and zone changes to hook the initial developers.
1. City & County Approvals (The Main Gatekeepers)
The "deciding factor" that originally invited Meta/Wurldwide to El Paso was a unanimous vote by the El Paso City Council and County Commissioners back in 2023. They signed off on a Chapter 380 economic development agreement, granting Meta a highly lucrative 80% property tax abatement/rebate lasting up to 25–35 years in exchange for a projection of only about 50 permanent jobs.
El Paso Matters
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2. The State Context
The State of Texas does not automatically approve or block individual municipal data centers. However, State utility regulation comes through the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). The state became a battleground when El Paso Electric filed to build a $473 million natural gas generation facility (the McCloud Plant) explicitly to power Meta's immense energy grid demands—resulting in intense local outcries over ratepayer cost-shifting.
El Paso Matters
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🔄 The Recent Policy About-Face
Public backlash regarding grid stability and water consumption completely reversed local legislative support. By mid-2026, the El Paso City Council unanimously passed a strict Data Center Policy Framework that halts all future tax incentives and requires "special use permits" rather than automatic development rights.
El Paso Matters
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Similarly, the El Paso County Commissioners approved resolutions demanding a moratorium on new data centers and petitioned Governor Greg Abbott to step in with stricter statewide constraints.
KVIA
🕳️ Down the Rabbit Hole: The PR Connection
Your "rabbit hole" points straight to local political operator Gracie Cain Viramontes, who runs Emajj Public Relations and Marketing in El Paso.
LinkedIn
Viramontes is a major powerhouse behind the scenes in El Paso's political sphere:
She heavily drove the successful municipal campaign machinery for prominent local leaders, including Congresswoman Veronica Escobar.
Her PR firm Emajj handles high-profile corporate, community positioning, and strategy accounts within the Borderland.
As corporate tech giants like Meta scrambled to curb severe public backlash regarding water and utility cost inflation, they began aggressively hiring local gatekeepers to steer community messaging. Emajj has explicitly navigated Content, Social Media Strategy, and strategic planning roles tied directly into the region's expanding data center landscape.
KTSM 9 News
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Facebook·Congresswoman Veronica Escobar
In El Paso, data centers are NOT a 'win.' There's been little to no ...
Jul 16, 2026 — ICYMI: There have been rapid developments concerning data centers planned for the El Paso area. This past week, United States Army leaders announced that they h...
Facebook·KTSM 9 News
The El Paso City Council will consider a new policy that would stop ...
May 22, 2026 — with mounting community concerns over how data centers will potentially strain local water and energy resources El Paso city leaders may be getting ready to pum...
The El Paso City Council will consider a new policy that would stop ... by KTSM 9 News on Facebook
1:55
Facebook·KTSM 9 News
With multiple data centers now in development in the El Paso region ...
Mar 19, 2026 — so what is the move now you have three data centers going up in the region. if these are already going up. what can be done or is it simply just trying to hold ...
With multiple data centers now in development in the El Paso region ... by KTSM 9 News on Facebook
1:29
YouTube·ARC El Paso
City of El Paso releases draft policy framework to regulate future ...
May 27, 2026 — says concerns over infrastructure water use and the growth of AI have shifted the conversation around the massive. facilities. we know now a lot more than we di...
Facebook·Mayor Renard Johnson
I hear El Paso's concerns about data centers, and I share them ... - Facebook
Mar 30, 2026 — Your elected officials can do something & everyone should personally call their City Council representative & specifically ask them to take action to prevent th...
LinkedIn·Sarabeth Berman
El Paso Matters' reporting on $165 billion data center project - LinkedIn
Sep 17, 2025 — El Paso Matters' reporting on $165 billion data center project. View profile for Sarabeth Berman. Sarabeth Berman. Chief Executive Officer at American Journalis...
Facebook·KFOX-TV
Oracle officials said its massive Project Jupiter data center in Doña Ana ...
Jul 28, 2026 — HAPPENING NOW - The Dona Ana County Board of Commisioners have voted 4-1 in favor of Project Jupiter, an AI Data center set to be built in southern New Mexico T...
El Paso Matters
Proposed Fort Bliss data center could use more power than all of El Paso
Apr 30, 2026 — The Army has set a short timeline to start operating by late 2027. However, there are many unanswered questions about the proposed data center: * **Power source...
KFOX
Proposed Fort Bliss data center could use more power than all of El Paso
Apr 30, 2026 — * Water, electricity concerns. Meeting three gigawatts of electricity demand with natural gas-fired turbines – cited by Army officials as the most likely power ...
Facebook·KFOX-TV
As El Paso prepares for Meta's planned data center, El Paso Water leaders ...
Aug 13, 2026 — El Paso City Council is actively negotiating with Meta regarding water use and infrastructure protections for their upcoming data center. Following a vote again...
YouTube·KFOX14
City of El Paso releases draft policy framework to regulate future ...
May 27, 2026 — City of El Paso releases draft policy framework to regulate future hyperscale data centers el Paso city leaders took a step today toward limiting. future hypers...
El Paso Matters
Texas governor candidate Hinojosa calls for special session on data centers during El Paso campaign stop
Aug 31, 2026 — Abbott's directives referred to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, which operates the power grid covering most of the state. Investor-owned El...
El Paso Matters
Abbott’s data center agreement with Meta appears to have no impact ...
Aug 10, 2026 — “What happens when these companies don't comply? What happens on November 4th?” Hinojosa said, referring to the day after the election. She called for a statewi...
Instagram·elpasomatters
BREAKING: El Paso's top city officials say the city cannot back out of the tax ...
Jun 3, 2026 — The Chapter 380 agreement remains a separate contract between the City of El Paso, Wurldwide LLC, and Meta. • The McCloud facility is currently being reviewed b...
El Paso Matters
El Paso adopts tougher rules for future data center developments
Jul 20, 2026 — The policies adopted by council include: * Require AI data centers to obtain a special use permit rather than the “by right” permit now required. The special pe...
KVIA
El Paso County Commissioners approve resolution seeking state action on data centers
Aug 17, 2026 — El Paso, however, is not part of ERCOT, prompting county leaders to ask that similar protections be extended to the region. Commissioners are also requesting a ...
LinkedIn
Content And Social Media Strategist - LinkedIn
Jun 2, 2026 — Content And Social Media Strategist. Emajj Public Relations and Marketing firm El Paso, TX. 1 month ago Be among the first 25 applicants. No longer accepting ap...
KTSM 9 News
Meta opens community engagement manager position for El Paso
Aug 14, 2026 — The company is also looking for applicants with a bachelor's degree in public relations, communication, external affairs, a business field, or equivalent experi...
