Your pocket kit for lawful, on-the-record oversight of the “Project Seafox” data center.
Where
7001 Stan Roberts Sr. AveNE El Paso · north side, west of US-54
Scale
~1,000 acres · 5 phases · up to 1 GWPhase 1 underway · filed as “Seafox” by Wurldwide LLC (Meta)
Power under review
PUCT Docket 57501McCloud 366 MW gas plant · 813 modular gas units · $473M
Core message
A code name is not consent. A press release is not a permit condition. A projection is not an audit. A standard permit is not a full pollution review.
Where it stands
The deal is approved — and actively contested.
Dec 2023 — City Council approves the Chapter 380 incentive and Chapter 312 tax-abatement agreements under the “Seafox” code name, before residents knew the applicant was Meta.
2026 — The project scales publicly to a ~$10–14B Meta / BlackRock venture; El Paso Electric files for the McCloud gas plant (PUCT Docket 57501).
Jun 9, 2026 — After a 7–8 hour hearing with ~200 residents testifying, Council votes 5–3 to keep the deal and not open termination talks (Reps. Acevedo, Limón & Canales in favor of ending it). City attorneys warned canceling carries legal and financial risk.
Ongoing — Public protests, a council recall petition, and the Nov 3, 2026 city elections (Districts 1, 5, 6, 8) keep the agreement contested. The air, water, and rate decisions at TCEQ and the PUCT are still open.
The four-part test
For every major claim, ask for:
01
The enforceable document
02
The underlying data
03
The named decision-maker
04
The consequence for noncompliance
What this is — and is not
A resident’s companion for lawful oversight of Meta’s El Paso “Project Seafox” campus.
Not affiliated with Meta, the City of El Paso, or any agency — and not legal advice.
The binding decisions live in named venues — City Council, the Public Service Board, TCEQ, and PUCT Docket 57501 — not in press releases.
The open decision points
Power PUCT Docket 57501
El Paso Electric’s application (filed Dec 8, 2025) to build the $473M, 366 MW McCloud gas plant — 813 modular gas units on ~31 acres — to power Seafox exclusively for a five-year “bridge period.”
Costs are meant to be recovered from Meta under a commission-approved rate — ask what legally stops those costs from shifting to other ratepayers later.
El Paso is on the Western grid, not ERCOT. Interventions and comments go through the PUCT — and in Jan 2026 the City Council voted unanimously to intervene, so El Paso itself is a party to the case.
Air TCEQ standard permits
On-site generation was authorized through a TCEQ standard permit (Enchanted Rock, Oct 2025, ~225 MW) that caps gas use to avoid Title V and PSD major-source review — the registration names Meta.
A standard permit is the same class of authorization used for minor sources — ask why a data-center power source qualifies, and where the single-source aggregation analysis is documented.
A proposed state/EPA rule change could further limit public input on these permits — comment while the window is open.
Money Chapter 380 & the PSB land
City Council approved a Chapter 380 agreement + tax abatement in December 2023 under the “Seafox” code name — an 80% city property-tax rebate, up to 15 years per phase (potentially ~$550M across all phases).
Incentives are tied to maintaining an $800M investment and just 50 jobs — ask for the clawback and the public cost per permanent job.
The ~1,000-acre parcel moved from El Paso Water / the Public Service Board to the City, then to Meta — reportedly sold to Wurldwide LLC for about $8,156/acre (~$8.5M). Request the appraisal and sale terms.
Game plan
Before Prep your ask
Pick one subject: process, air, power/rates, water, money/jobs, or corporate structure.
Write one question per card — start from a documented premise, end with a request for a number, document, legal authority, or deadline.
Match the question to the venue. Rates → PUCT 57501. Emissions → TCEQ. Subsidies & land → City Council / PSB.
File written comments where a docket or comment period is open — those get the strongest procedural protection.
During Work the room
Record the exact answer, speaker, time, and any promise of follow-up. Follow all venue & recording rules.
If an answer is vague, ask: “Will you put that in writing and identify the enforceable document — permit condition, contract clause, or ordinance — that supports it?”
Ask for maximum annual figures — worst-year water, total authorized emissions — not promotional averages or per-unit numbers.
No personal accusations. Use: unsupported, unverified, inconsistent, not publicly documented, or contradicted by a named record.
After Lock in the record
Circulate questions that were submitted but not publicly answered.
Send targeted Texas Public Information Act requests to the body holding each record category (see Docs tab).
Log every promise in the Answer Tracker: question, official, promised action, deadline, source, status.
File technical concerns through the formal TCEQ and PUCT processes — a comment card is not a substitute for a docket filing.
Remember
Final reminder
Document the question. Document the answer. Document the promise. Then request the record.
Not legal advice. This is civic-organizing and public-records information. Preserve original records, quote accurately, follow venue rules, and consult a Texas attorney about litigation deadlines, PUCT intervention, permit standing, or enforcement strategy.
Question Bank
Tap ★ to save a card, or ⧉ to copy it for a comment, email, or meeting.
Send it where it counts — match each question to the right venue (PUCT, TCEQ, or City).
My Cards
Your starred questions and anything you write yourself. This is your ask queue.
Answer Tracker
Log what officials actually promise. Every vague answer is a future records request.
Docs & Templates
The signed Seafox agreements, copy-paste Texas Public Information Act letters, and primary sources.
Primary documents
Document archive
Loading the Project Seafox archive…
Copy-paste templates
Letter to Council & the PSBDemand a complete, verifiable public record on Seafox
Reusable TPIA requestTexas Public Information Act · fill the brackets
Public commentFor City Council, TCEQ, or the PUCT docket
TPIA follow-up map
Public body
Request narrowly
City of El Paso / City Council
The Chapter 380 agreement; tax abatement agreement; “Memo Seafox Stan Roberts Development Packet”; incentive valuation & net-revenue models; job/wage/clawback definitions; the $5M roadway funding; amendments; and communications referencing Seafox, Wurldwide, or Meta.
El Paso Water / Public Service Board
Transfer & sale of the parcel (appraisal, terms); will-serve / water-service letters; capacity & aquifer studies; metering; tiered allocations; drought & emergency potable authority; and the 200% water-restoration contracts & verification.
TCEQ
Every standard-permit registration and authorization naming Meta / Enchanted Rock / the generators; emissions calculations; single-source aggregation analysis; monitoring & enforcement plans; and public comments received.
Incentive modeling; job & investment projections; recruitment communications; and talking points or draft responses shared with public officials. (Note: a private nonprofit may be outside the TPIA — route through the public bodies it corresponded with.)
Timing: Under the Texas Public Information Act, a governmental body must “promptly” produce public records. If it wants to withhold anything, it generally must ask the Texas Attorney General for a ruling within 10 business days of receiving your request — otherwise the records are presumed public. You do not have to say why you want them.
Source check
Texas → use the Public Information Act (Gov’t Code Ch. 552) for city, county, and state records. Use federal FOIA only for federal agencies. This packet is not individualized legal advice.