Texas law does not require Leon County to accept elevated fire risk. Even without adopting a local fire code, counties retain authority to inspect, require mitigation, and contract enforcement using state-adopted fire safety standards.
Leon County Precinct 4 Commissioner and Marquez Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Thomas Jefferson (TJ) Foley sent a letter to multiple state and federal officials expressing strong opposition to the proposed Kahla Project and similar large-scale industrial energy developments in Leon County. Recipients include the Governor of Texas, U.S. Senators, U.S. Congressman, state legislators, TXDOT offices, and statewide fire and fire marshal associations. Summary of the Letter In the letter, Commissioner Foley: ...
Episode 3 of the Know Leon County podcast features a weekly wrap-up of the Commissioners Court meeting and the Jewett town hall, with Ann and Daniel joining the discussion.
This is the Know Leon County Weekly Wrap-Up, a regular update to share what happened this week and what’s coming next regarding the proposed data center and battery storage projects in Leon County. Community Organizing Updates This week, the team that runs the Citizens Against Marquez Data and Storage Center Facebook group met to prepare for two upcoming public events: The Commissioners Court meeting on Monday, January 12 The Town Hall meeting in Jewett on Tuesday, January 13 During that meeting, we discussed who would be speaking and which topics would be covered. We also reviewed the informational handbooks that will be handed out at the town hall. ...
Leon County is not facing a single project. We are facing at least four proposed data center and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects, with strong indications that more could follow. That distinction matters. Why this moment is different for Leon County One large industrial project is hard enough to evaluate on its own. Multiple large industrial projects — especially when they are: power-intensive water-intensive long-lived and regionally connected …create cumulative impacts that no single agenda item or court vote can fully capture. ...