Glendale advances industrial annexation, teeing up EPCOR wastewater application

Glendale advances industrial annexation, teeing up EPCOR wastewater applicationThe City Council's review of a pre-annexation pact for the Project Bacara development allows EPCOR Water to proceed with its sewer application to the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Glendale is processing a pre-annexation development agreement for Project Bacara, which includes a proposed utility-scale gas power plant and data centers.

The developer will not pay municipal water and wastewater impact fees, as those services will be provided exclusively by private utility EPCOR Water.

City officials noted the agreement is a necessary prerequisite for EPCOR to complete its sewer application process with state regulators.

The council also approved joint legal representation with four other cities for the Gila River General Stream Adjudication.

The City of Glendale, Arizona, is paving the way for private utility EPCOR Water to extend wastewater services to a 160-acre heavy industrial development known as Project Bacara. During an April 28 meeting, the Glendale City Council reviewed a pre-annexation development agreement for the site, which currently sits as a county island within the city's municipal planning area. The proposed development includes a utility-scale gas power plant and a group of data centers. Because the site falls within EPCOR Water's service territory, the private utility will handle all water and wastewater services for the industrial complex. Randy Huggins, Glendale's Director of Development Services, confirmed to the council that the developer will be responsible for municipal impact fees "other than the water and wastewater impact fees." Advancing the pre-annexation agreement serves as a critical regulatory trigger for the water utility. "Approving this pre-annexation development agreement will allow the development to officially start the annexation process and allow EPCOR to complete their sewer application process with the Arizona Corporation Commission," Huggins stated. The project has faced local pushback, with residents at the meeting raising concerns about the environmental impacts and emissions of co-locating data centers and a gas-fueled power plant near residential areas and Luke Air Force Base. In separate water-related business, the city council unanimously approved via consent agenda an amendment to an intergovernmental agreement for joint legal representation in the ongoing Gila River General Stream Adjudication. Glendale will partner with the cities of Avondale, Mesa, Scottsdale, and Tempe on legal services for the sweeping water rights litigation.