EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson defended the city’s decision to move forward with a previously approved agreement involving Meta’s planned data center project, saying canceling the deal could expose taxpayers to significant legal and financial risks.
In a statement shared on social media on Tuesday, June 2, Johnson addressed concerns residents have about the project’s potential impacts on water resources, energy consumption, infrastructure and long-term community development.
The mayor said the city has spent the past several months gathering public input, reviewing potential impacts and developing a policy framework to address issues including water use, electrical infrastructure, environmental considerations, incentives, land use and transparency.
El Paso seeks public input on data center policy as Meta project moves forward
Johnson said more than 800 residents participated in public meetings and online engagement efforts since February to help shape future policies related to data center development.
He also responded to calls from some residents to cancel the agreement with Meta, saying that the project was approved through legally binding agreements adopted by the City Council in 2023 and that construction is already underway.
According to Johnson, attempting to terminate the agreement without a contractual basis could expose El Paso taxpayers to legal liability, years of litigation and potentially significant financial damages.
“It could also harm El Paso’s reputation as a place where businesses, employers and investors can trust that agreements approved through a public process will be honored,” Johnson said in the statement.
He said the city remains focused on ensuring all requirements associated with the project are enforced, providing transparent information to the public and evaluating future projects under a comprehensive policy framework informed by community feedback.
“The question before us is not whether we can go back to 2023,” Johnson said. “We cannot.”
El Paso city rep. proposes to end Meta incentive agreement
The mayor’s remarks come after a El Paso city rep. Josh Acevedo posted on social media on Tuesday, June 2, that he is proposing to cancel the incentive agreement that was presented to Meta.
KTSM 9 News has an interview with El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson. Be sure to watch KTSM 9 News at 4 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Construction begins at Northeast El Paso Meta data center. Photo courtesy of Meta.
The City of El Paso’s manager and attorney released a statement Wednesday morning explaining why they can’t back out on the Meta deal.
The project was approved through legally binding agreements adopted by the City Council in 2023. Since then, Meta has invested millions of dollars in land acquisition, planning, engineering, infrastructure, and construction based on those agreements. Construction is already underway.
Because of those investments and contractual commitments, the City cannot simply decide to terminate the agreement. Any attempt to do so would likely result in significant legal challenges, and there is little reason to believe the company would voluntarily abandon a project after investing substantial resources in El Paso.
At its core, this is a matter of fiscal responsibility. The City has a duty to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars. Attempting to cancel a legally executed agreement would create substantial financial risk for residents while offering no assurance that the project would stop.
Taxpayers should also understand that legal costs associated with such an action are not currently budgeted. Any litigation would create new, unplanned expenses that would have to be funded by the public. Those costs could include outside legal counsel, expert witnesses, court costs, staff time, and potentially significant financial damages, including Meta’s legal fees, if the City were found to have violated its contractual obligations.
Just as important, filing or defending a lawsuit does not automatically stop a project. The City could find itself spending millions of taxpayer dollars on years of litigation while the project continues to move through the legal process.
The practical question is whether taxpayers should be asked to absorb potentially significant unbudgeted legal costs in an effort to undo agreements that were lawfully approved and relied upon by a company that has already invested millions of dollars in our community.
The City’s responsibility is to protect taxpayers from unnecessary financial exposure and ensure public resources remain focused on core priorities such as public safety, streets, parks, infrastructure, and other essential services—not on costly and uncertain litigation.
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