Secrecy · Public records · Permitting fights
The first infrastructure fight is often the right to see the file.
Brookwood, an EPA proposal, and Leon County's pause show three versions of the same problem: the public is asked to absorb concentrated computing power before it can see who holds the land deal, which permit rules apply, or what electricity, water, and rate burden is being priced. That is not proof of wrongdoing. It is a control question—and secrecy decides who gets to answer it.
In Brookwood, the public record is split.
WBRC reported that records requests found rezoning documents tied to entities connected to a proposed development, while an Alabama permit record described a possible 2-million-square-foot data center. Applied Digital said no decision had been made. The city said an NDA would be held through the county economic-development authority, not in the city's files. That documents a disclosure gap—not proof of a signed project, unlawful conduct, or what the NDA legally does.
The file is also easier to misunderstand because there is more than one proposal. The Tuscaloosa Thread reported that a separate Project Brookwood LLC petition, tied to Youngwoo & Associates, sought annexation and rezoning of 374 acres; the planning commission recommended it, with a city-council vote scheduled for September 15. That land is distinct from Applied Digital's larger tract. A rezoning recommendation is not a signed buildout, and neither report establishes the projects' final power, water, tax, or public-cost terms.
An earlier WBRC report says Mayor Joe Barger told residents he had signed an NDA when he joined the county authority and described confidentiality agreements as standard economic-development practice. The same report says a city handout made claims about quality of life, tax revenue, and jobs, but cited a source only for the jobs claim. That is a records-and-evidence problem, not proof that the NDA hides misconduct or that the handout's claims are false.
The city's official government page identifies the mayor and council, but does not publish the rezoning packet there. That keeps the operative file—and which public body can release it—an open records question, not an accusation.
Federal notice rules are part of the cost ledger.
The Associated Press reported that EPA proposed ending a federal public-notice and comment requirement for some minor-source air permits, leaving states to decide whether to keep their own rules. The proposal was not final in the report. If fewer notices arrive before permits move, communities have less time to test emissions, backup generation, water demands, and who pays for the buildout.
Leon County is asking the price before it says yes.
Tallahassee Reports says Leon County scheduled the first of two hearings on a proposed 18-month pause for large-load facilities in unincorporated areas. The proposal would give officials time to study electricity, water, utility rates, environmental effects, and local rules. The report says it is not a permanent ban and that no large-scale data-center application is currently approved or pending there. That is a proposed review process, not proof that a project is coming or that the county has solved the cost question.