A project requiring federal permits for wetlands or waterways may be subject to a NEPA Environmental Assessment by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Air-emissions and wastewater discharges require permitting and regulatory compliance through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

If the development subdivides or replats the tract, Delta County’s subdivision rules apply and the Commissioners’ Court has discretionary oversight of that element.

Battery-energy storage systems with a capacity of 1 megawatt-hour or more must comply with Chapter 187 of the Texas Utilities Code, including applicable national fire-safety standards, safety documentation, emergency plans, and first-responder training.

For BESS facilities, the county or municipality may require, at the developer’s expense, a third-party review by a Texas-licensed fire-protection engineer confirming compliance with UL 9540A and NFPA 855; the review must be repeated at least every five years.

BESS operators must provide local first responders with requested site, fire-protection, and emergency-operation documents, as well as education, annual training, and an on-site review.

Non-utility BESS leases entered into on or after September 1, 2025, must include decommissioning, land-restoration, recycling, and financial-assurance provisions. Equipment and certain foundations and cables must be removed, and financial security must cover removal costs by the 15th anniversary of commercial operations.

The county states that BESS projects must comply with NFPA 1, NFPA 68, NFPA 69, NFPA 855, and UL 9540A, and must provide an Emergency Response Plan and Fire Risk Assessment.

The Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act restricts agreements involving critical infrastructure when a company from a designated threat country would receive direct or remote access or control, subject to limited warranty and support exceptions.

Water service may be denied if the applicant violates applicable state, municipal, or utility regulations; fails to comply with the utility’s approved tariff; owes the utility for similar service; seeks service outside the utility’s certificated area; fails to pay authorized standby fees; or is affected by platting-related utility-connection restrictions.

If water service is requested from Jim Chapman Lake, the developer must bear the costs of constructing intake infrastructure and delivering and distributing the water because no current intake system exists.

Lamar Electric Cooperative’s policy requires developers of loads greater than 10 megawatts to pay all project-related engineering, studies, ERCOT applications, modeling, distribution and transmission upgrades, substations, metering, construction, legal, and administrative costs.

Under the described Senate Bill 6 framework, large-load customers may be required to provide advance payment, deposits, or other financial security for interconnection facilities, and costs for facilities or upgrades serving the load are directly assigned to that customer.

Noise exceeding 85 decibels is presumed unreasonable after the person responsible receives notice from a magistrate or peace officer that the noise is a public nuisance; unreasonable noise may constitute a criminal offense under the Texas Penal Code.

To receive the state data-center sales-and-use-tax exemption, a facility generally must have at least 100,000 square feet, create at least 20 qualifying county jobs, make at least $150 million in capital investment over five years, and meet specified operational requirements; the exemption lasts 10 or 15 years depending on investment.

Qualifying data centers may receive a state sales-and-use-tax exemption for essential equipment and services, including electricity, cooling systems, generators, servers, storage, network equipment, software, and related infrastructure. The facility generally must be at least 100,000 square feet, create at least 20 qualifying county jobs, and make at least $150 million in capital investment; the exemption lasts 10 or 15 years depending on investment. Qualifying data center exemption

A project sponsor may pay an expedited-review fee to have a NEPA Environmental Assessment completed within 180 days. The sponsor must pay 125% of the estimated preparation cost, and the expedited process applies only when the project otherwise requires the federal environmental review. Expedited NEPA Environmental Assessment

Texas counties generally cannot approve or deny large-scale industrial developments in unincorporated areas, preventing Delta County from exercising a general project veto. Counties do not have the authority to approve or deny

Delta County generally has no zoning or broad land-use authority over the proposed development because the limited statutory exceptions do not apply to this project. Counties in Texas generally do not have zoning

Counties generally cannot impose a development moratorium, reducing the risk that Delta County could halt or suspend the project through a countywide or project-specific moratorium. Delta County has nevertheless requested an Attorney General opinion on the issue. Counties do not have authority to enact development moratoria

Delta County cannot issue building permits or certificates of occupancy for this project because it does not meet the population requirements to adopt a local fire code, limiting county construction-permit requirements. Delta County does not issue building permits

Delta County lacks authority to adopt administrative noise ordinances in unincorporated areas. Noise remains subject to existing state criminal laws, including the unreasonable-noise statute and its 85-decibel presumption after required notice. Counties remain unable to administratively regulate noise

A water utility holding a certificate of convenience and necessity generally must provide continuous and adequate service within its certificated area, subject to specified grounds for denial such as noncompliance with regulations or tariffs, indebtedness, location outside the service area, or platting restrictions. Continuous and adequate service

Electric utilities and cooperatives must provide service to requesting customers within their service territories and may not unreasonably refuse or discriminate in providing service. Service cannot be unreasonably refused or discriminatory

Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code permits counties to consider tax-abatement agreements for qualifying projects under specified conditions. No abatement has been requested or offered for this project, and Delta County's Commissioners Court has expressed opposition to such agreements for data centers and similar high-water-use industrial projects. Chapter 312 allows counties to consider tax-abatement agreements