Amarillo City Council authorizes a twenty year water supply agreement selling city water to Fermi America's Project Matador
Amarillo City Council voted five to nothing on first reading to authorize a water supply agreement with Fermi America, then took the required second reading later that month. Under the terms the city posted itself, Fermi may buy up to 2.5 million gallons of water per day at a rate twice the standard cost. Fermi pays for the wells, piping and other public improvements. The campus is not in the city. It sits next to Pantex about 35 miles north of the Amarillo city limits in Carson County. The city says it has adequate water resources for that volume without affecting the community's water supply or triggering changes to its drought contingency plans. This is a municipally owned utility selling water outside its own limits, which puts the decision in a council chamber rather than at a state agency. The Panhandle grid around it is the Southwest Power Pool rather than ERCOT.
How to take part
The council took public comment before the vote. The City of Amarillo maintains a Fermi Project page carrying the final water supply agreement, the non binding memorandum of understanding and an FAQ. A resident can read the executed terms rather than a summary of them.
Where
3 counties. In Amarillo.
Timeline
- ordered
Second reading of the water supply agreement scheduled by the City of Amarillo, per the city's Fermi Project page
- signed
The city posts a document titled Final Fermi Water Supply Agreement 10-30-2025 on its Fermi Project page
- Today
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-08-19
Checked and unchanged. The city's project page still gives the final water supply agreement dated October 30th, 2025 as its most recent document.
- 2026-08-22
Checked and unchanged. The city's project page still gives the final water supply agreement dated October 30th, 2025 as its most recent document, and no later water agreement appears.
- 2026-08-26
Checked and unchanged. The twenty year water supply agreement still stands, and the letter of intent described in the company's securities filing is still the larger of the two volumes on the record. Council members are still on the record that the letter of intent does not bind anyone.
- 2026-08-29
Checked and unchanged. The water supply agreement the council authorized still stands and the city's own posted terms are unaltered. The campus the water goes to still sits outside the city limits.
- 2026-09-01
Amarillo's long-term water-supply agreement for Project Matador remains authorized.
- 2026-09-02
Checked and unchanged. The decision still stands as decided.
- 2026-09-05
Amarillo's water supply agreement for Project Matador still stands for its full term. No amendment has come back to the council.
- 2026-09-08
Amarillo's water supply agreement with Fermi America runs on the term the council authorized. No amendment has been brought back to the council.
- 2026-09-09
Amarillo's twenty year water supply agreement with Fermi is still authorized on the terms the council passed, and no amendment has been filed against it.
- 2026-09-12
Checked and unchanged. The decision still stands as decided.
- 2026-09-13
Checked and unchanged. The decision still stands as decided.
- 2026-09-16
Amarillo's water supply agreement for Project Matador is still authorized for its full term. No amendment has been posted and the volumes have not been revisited.
- 2026-09-19
The water supply agreement stands, so city water is still contracted to the project for the term the council authorized.
- 2026-09-23
Amarillo is still under the twenty year water agreement it authorized.
- 2026-09-26
Amarillo's water supply agreement with Project Matador still stands on the term the council authorized.
- 2026-09-29
Amarillo's agreement to sell city water to Project Matador holds for the term the council authorized.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
Council members then voted 5-0 on a resolution authorizing a water supply agreement with Fermi, a company co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.Watch: World's largest AI data center big topic of Amarillo City Council meeting Journalism · abc7amarillo.com
There will be a second reading and vote in two weeks before anything is official.Watch: World's largest AI data center big topic of Amarillo City Council meeting Journalism · abc7amarillo.com
If approved on second reading (scheduled for October 28, 2025), this agreement would allow Fermi to purchase up to 2.5 million gallons of water per day at a rate twice the standard cost.Fermi Project Updates - City of Amarillo Primary source, official · amarillo.gov
The City of Amarillo has adequate water resources to meet Fermi America's proposed usage without affecting the community's water supply or triggering changes to existing drought contingency plans.Fermi Project Updates - City of Amarillo Primary source, official · amarillo.gov
The campus would be located next to Pantex, about 35 miles north of Amarillo city limits in Carson County.Watch: World's largest AI data center big topic of Amarillo City Council meeting Journalism · abc7amarillo.com
In its filing with the SEC for an initial public offering (IPO) , Fermi said it entered into a letter of intent with the Amarillo Utilities Department to use between 2.5 and 5.5million gallons per day of both potable and municipal graywater supplies to serve the Project Matador Site.Watch: World's largest AI data center big topic of Amarillo City Council meeting Journalism · abc7amarillo.com
The SPP grid covers Oklahoma, Kansas, portions of Arkansas, Louisiana and the Texas Panhandle and parts of northeast Texas, including the cities of Amarillo, Lubbock, Texarkana, Longview and Marshall.Southwest Power Pool (SPP) — Association of Electric Companies of Texas Primary source, official · aect.net
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
Amarillo City Council voted five to nothing on first reading to authorize a water supply agreement with Fermi America, then took the required second reading later that month. Under the terms the city posted itself, Fermi may buy up to 2.5 million gallons of water per day at a rate twice the standard cost. Fermi pays for the wells, piping and other public improvements. The campus is not in the city. It sits next to Pantex about 35 miles north of the Amarillo city limits in Carson County. The city says it has adequate water resources for that volume without affecting the community's water supply or triggering changes to its drought contingency plans. This is a municipally owned utility selling water outside its own limits, which puts the decision in a council chamber rather than at a state agency. The Panhandle grid around it is the Southwest Power Pool rather than ERCOT.
Who decides it?
Amarillo City Council decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
The council took public comment before the vote. The City of Amarillo maintains a Fermi Project page carrying the final water supply agreement, the non binding memorandum of understanding and an FAQ. A resident can read the executed terms rather than a summary of them.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It covers Carson, Potter and Randall Counties in the Amarillo, TX area.
Has it been decided?
It has been decided. The dates on the item page carry when.
What happens next?
No future date is on the record. The last dated step on it was signed on October 30th.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is October 28th, 2025.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under land, water and permitting.
What sources back it?
Three sources back it. Two of them are primary.
Is it on the ERCOT grid?
No. It sits outside the ERCOT interconnection.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on September 29th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, Amarillo City Council authorizes a twenty year water supply agreement selling city water to Fermi America's Project Matador. Tracked since October 28th, 2025. Last verified September 29th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0047/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0047.
Beat
Filed under Land, water and permitting, with every other decision on that beat.