Project River And The Sunshine Law, tell me about this news in (https://www.chattanoogan.com/2026/9/15/523403/Project-River-And-The-Sunshine-Law.aspx)

The article “Project River And The Sunshine Law” published on Chattanoogan.com addresses transparency and open-government concerns surrounding Project River, an $11.3 billion proposed industrial energy and potential data center campus in Bradley County, Tennessee.Key points covered by the controversy and coverage include:

1. The Core Development:
   • Proposed by the Wright family (owners of Wright Brothers Construction), the project seeks to rezone and annex approximately 850 acres near the Hiwassee River and Interstate 75 in the Charleston/Cleveland area.
   • The plan includes up to 1,500 MW of on-site energy generation (via natural gas and woody biomass) to power major advanced industrial facilities, most likely large-scale AI data centers.
2. The Sunshine Law & Transparency Issue:
   • Tennessee’s Open Meetings Act (commonly referred to as the Sunshine Law) mandates that government bodies conduct business, discussions, and decisions in open public meetings with adequate public notice.
   • Local residents and critics have voiced frustration over how public officials, planning commissioners, and developers have coordinated. Concerns were raised regarding discussions held behind closed doors, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) typical of massive data center projects, and whether elected officials skirted open-meeting requirements ahead of formal rezoning and annexation votes.
   • Newly elected local officials and commissioners attending informational sessions had previously declined to speak or engage in informal discussions citing Sunshine Law restrictions, while residents argued that transparency regarding environmental impact, water usage, and tax incentives had been withheld from the community.
3. Community Pushback:
   • Public meetings held at the PIE Center in Cleveland drew strong opposition from community members worried about emissions, truck traffic, river preservation, and whether public infrastructure decisions were being fast-tracked without genuine public oversight.