BESSEMER, Ala. (ABC 33/40) — Environmental groups are raising new concerns about transparency surrounding the proposed Project Marvel data center after the City of Bessemer released a non-disclosure agreement only after being threatened with litigation.
The Southern Environmental Law Center and Alabama Rivers Alliance say they spent months requesting a copy of the agreement under Alabama’s Open Records Act before finally receiving it after threatening legal action against the city.
“They did not give access to that document until a few weeks ago we threatened to file litigation on behalf of Alabama Rivers Alliance,” said Ryan Anderson, a staff attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.
The agreement, which became effective in February 2025, requires the city to keep certain information about Project Marvel confidential for two years.
According to the agreement, confidential information includes a broad range of project-related materials. It also contains language requiring confidential information and certain materials derived from it to be destroyed upon request.
Anderson said that provision raises significant concerns. “That’s deeply problematic not just from the perspective of constituents who elected these folks to represent them but also in the context of public records laws because it is clearly illegal for public officials to destroy public records,” Anderson said.
The environmental groups acknowledge that non-disclosure agreements are common in economic development negotiations but argue this agreement extends beyond protecting proprietary business information.
“The NDA is very broad in its scope,” Anderson said. “It prevents the city of Bessemer in its entirety from disclosing impacts about the project including environmental impacts, the identity of the developer or the end user of the data center and that’s very concerning to us because public transparency laws aren’t just bureaucratic formalities, they’re foundational to an open and democratic society.”
Project Marvel has been described as a hyperscale data center that could become one of the largest in the world.
According to Anderson, documents reviewed by the groups indicate the facility could require approximately **1,200 megawatts of electricity**. That is roughly the equivalent of the power used by **760,000 Alabama homes**.
Questions also remain about the project’s water usage. “There are still unanswered questions even on the water front,” said Charles Miller, policy director for Alabama Rivers Alliance. “We have documents that indicate they’re initially requesting 2 million gallons of water a day from Warrior River Water. What we still don’t know is that the final amount? Is that the amount for just construction?”
The groups say they are also concerned that the agreement could limit public access to information about the project’s environmental impacts, water use and other key details as the development moves forward.
Questions sent to Bessemer Mayor Kenneth Gulley:Why did the city not release the NDA until legal action was threatened?Who made the decision to enter into the NDA on behalf of the city?Why does the agreement require the destruction of certain confidential information, and will that comply with Alabama’s Public Records Act?How does the city determine what information can legally be withheld from the public under this agreement?Does the city believe residents have a right to know how details such as how much public resources Project Marvel is expected to use?
As of publication, the city had not responded..