Executive order prohibits city staff to sign data center-related NDAs following Amazon wastewater concerns

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Non-disclosure agreements will no longer be tied to data center projects in the city of South Bend.

South Bend Mayor James Mueller is responding to transparency concerns by signing an executive order that prohibits any city departments and employees from signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or any confidentiality agreements regarding data center developments.

He says it comes as an effort to promote transparency and accountability following specific concerns about wastewater services provided by the city for the Amazon Data Center in New Carlisle.

"We're living in strange times when wastewater is a topic of interest," says South Bend Mayor James Mueller.

Wastewater concerns prompting executive action to promote transparency.

"This step was taken to remove all doubts that the city operates transparently," explains Mueller.

South Bend Common Councilmembers Oliver Davis and Shery-Bolden Simpson have been pushing for answers when it comes to the quality of the water flowing back into the city's treatment plant from the data center.

According to a recent presentation by the city's public works director Eric Horvath, the water is clean.

"It's among the cleanest discharges of any industrial user connected to the city's system," says Mueller.

But those councilmembers say when they asked for that information, they were told an NDA prevented Horvath from sharing.

"We are talking to him about issues that are currently happening now, and he cannot give us information right now because the city's currently under a non-disclosure agreement with Amazon," recalls South Bend Common Councilman at Large Oliver Davis.

The Amazon data center is the only economic development project with an active nondisclosure agreement.

It expires in December of this year.

A handful of the city's public works team signed the agreement in December of 2023 because of the city's involvement in providing wastewater service.

"I can't say for certainty but I'm guessing a big part of is that you didn't want the City of South Bend to accidentally or intentionally release the details of this project before the governor had the chance to announce it," Mueller explains.

Before Wednesday's executive order Davis and Bolden-Simpson had plans to introduce an ordinance that would ban city employees from signing NDAs.

But now, Mayor Mueller has taken that step with this executive order.

"I'm grateful that he's moving this way, but it took us to even have this legislation for him to be open with the people of South Bend about this nondisclosure," says Davis.

"I would hope that they would not knowingly push legislation that they don't have authority to do, I would hope they also recognize the issue at hand is not an issue of actual concern but that's something only they can decide," Mayor Mueller says.

Davis says their proposed ordinance was supposed to have first reading in their September 14th meeting but was unexpectedly pushed back to September 28th.

Mayor Mueller says that's because the legislation was created by AI and there were mistakes in it.

Mueller says if the council were to pass an NDA ordinance and it made it to his desk, he would veto it.

Davis says they would try to override that veto.