The implications of recent work at the Rock City Admiral Parkway Development business complex in Old Valmeyer has a number of nearby residents concerned. 

As previously reported, a large Kiewit Corporation workforce was performing “prep work” in a section of currently vacant caves complex “in anticipation” of a new company utilizing the space, according to Admiral Parkway, Inc. owner and president Joe Koppeis.

On Friday, Koppeis told the Republic-Times the company that ordered this exploratory work at Rock City “backed out” last week, but his development is now in talks with a different business which may benefit from the climate-controlled environment of Rock City.

“The original client is not materializing,” Koppeis said before reporting his company is now working with another potential business tenant in the unoccupied south end of the cave complex.

While not confirming the nature of the company with which he is currently engaging, Koppeis said he is “looking at all options for development.”

Koppeis also added that work will continue to stabilize the roof in the south-end caves, along with other required infrastructure and “clean-up” work, all which will be required before any new business can move in to Rock City.

While the nature of the businesses expressing interest in Rock City has not been disclosed, the prevailing theory shared online and during Tuesday’s meeting of the Valmeyer Village Board is that the caves will be used to house a “data center,” presumably for use in artificial intelligence computing.

Part of the speculation is based on a submission to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources “Ecological Compliance Assessment Tool,” or EcoCAT.

This service is used by  the government, commercial and private sectors in Illinois to determine the need for natural resource reviews. 

One such submission was entered Sept. 23 regarding a “Rock City 200 (MegaWatt) Gas Fired Power Facility” in Valmeyer. 

Earlier this year, two facilities with the same description as the one listed in the EcoCAT report have been tied to proposed AI data center developments in New York and Ohio.

Furthermore, the Valmeyer EcoCAT submission was initiated by Michael Bell, senior vice president of Hunt Midwest, a privately held real estate development company with expertise in “energy/natural resources,” among other interests.

During Tuesday’s board meeting, Valmeyer resident Jenny Kipping voiced concerns about a data center at Rock City, which she said reflected the sentiment of many in the area. 

“I don’t really know a lot about it, so I started talking to people in town. I started talking to people in other cities that have data centers,” Kipping began. “I found a lot of concerning issues.” 

Valmeyer Trustee Kyle Duffy later noted that having a public hearing in the event a company officially committed to constructing a data center or other similar business would likely ease residents’ uneasiness.

Kipping agreed, saying “People are very uncomfortable.”

She began her list of concerns by saying she learned data centers use millions of gallons of water annually to regulate the temperatures of the machines, although part of the allure of Rock City as a data storage site is the natural insulation of the caves which limits heat and humidity inside the complex.

In addition to wondering about the water source, Kipping also wondered where the “wastewater” would end up, saying the water becomes contaminated once it cycles through a data center.

Kipping also asked about how electricity would be generated for a data center, as many have suggested the current regional power grid would be insufficient for the demands of a data center.

She also referred to the 200 MW facility listed on the EcoCAT report and asked how the village would be able to handle pollutants from such a facility.

“I just had concerns, and I’m not the only one,” Kipping concluded.

Valmeyer Village President Howard Heavner did his best to answer Kipping’s questions as much as he was legally allowed.

Heavner began by “complimenting” Kipping for bringing her concerns and the concerns of others to the board.

“That’s a difficult thing to do,” Heavner said, adding that “fear of what’s happening, or what could happen, is probably one of the biggest challenges” in bringing a potentially controversial business to Rock City. 

“In a perfect world, I’d love to answer every one of your questions tonight,” Heavner said after distributing a prepared statement about this recent activity at Rock City.

The statement begins by noting Valmeyer was “required to purchase the Columbia Quarry property in the mid-1990s to provide mineral rights to the property owners residing above the mine” prior to signing a long-term lease with Admiral Parkway in 2000, which led to the creation of Rock City.

Heavner continued by explaining Admiral Parkway has the sole authority of how this property is used. 

The village is only responsible for issuing building and occupancy permits and maintaining utilities and roadways.

Heavner also stated the village and Admiral Parkway are beholden to a non-disclosure agreement “with the potential tenant at their request,” adding no final contracts had been signed as of Tuesday night.

The official statement concluded by encouraging interested individuals to contact Admiral Parkway for further information.

“What I ask for most is patience,” Heavner said. “Our responsibility is to make sure the (village trustees) know what’s going on. That’s very difficult when you don’t know yourself.”

Heavner then addressed some of Kipping’s specific concerns.

“We’re not going to do anything dangerous,” Heavner said of possible electric power generation. “If we’re going to have electricity, it’s going to be sized appropriately” and built according to village code.

He also noted “any agreement (the village) makes on these leases is for inside the caves.”

Koppeis expressed a similar sentiment Friday, saying any development would be “underground” with the exception of a rock parking lot needed for construction equipment.

Koppeis also said the IDNR earlier this week gave him a favorable ecological report regarding submitted proposals.

Koppeis said the only instructions IDNR officials gave him were to not “kill any rattlesnakes” or disturb hiking trails in the area.

Following Tuesday’s meeting, a number of Monroe County residents reported receiving text messages containing a survey regarding opinions about data centers in this area and AI in general. 

It is unclear from where or whom the text message survey originated or how widespread this text campaign was cast.

In other Rock City news, it was reported Oct. 7 that an Italian company has taken a major step in bringing its SOLO “thermal-moderated, gas-cooled micro modular nuclear reactor” to the U.S. by 2028, with Rock City potentially as the first site of civilian use.

On Friday, Koppeis confirmed those reports, clarifying it would be at least three years until talks could begin in earnest.

As reported July 16 by World Nuclear News, a memorandum of understanding between Terra Innovatum and Admiral Parkway was signed, paving the way for a Rock City installation if approved by the U.S. Department of Energy and other regulatory bodies.

In the news report, Terra Innovatum co-founder and CEO Alessandro Petruzzi said “Rock City is the perfect location for our first deployment as it showcases the massive real-world application potential of our micro-modular reactors and is in close proximity to a hotbed of nuclear research and talent,”

Koppeis said the memorandum basically states that Admiral Parkway is “willing to consider” proposals from Terra Innovatum if approved for domestic use. 

Koppeis also said that if a reactor was allowed in the U.S., Rock City would be a “test site” and the nuclear module would be “very, very small.”

Koppeis also said the first domestic use would be by military units that do not want to be attached to the stationary electric grid.

An amended memorandum was signed Sept. 3 which allows Terra Innovatum to pursue other sites if necessary.

“As a number of conditions are expected to be required in order for Rock City to host the (nuclear power device), we are concurrently examining potential alternative sites, including other locations owned by the owner and developer of Rock City,” according to a statement found on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website.

The statement was made by GSR III Acquisition Corp. prior to an Oct. 7 shareholder meeting.

During this meeting, shareholders approved a merger with Terra Innovatum.

Petruzzi said “the proceeds from this transaction are expected to provide us with more than sufficient capital to complete the (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) licensing process and build and operate our (first-of-a-kind) reactor, positioning us for accelerated growth,” according to an article on Fidelity.com, the website of the global financial services firm.

That growth, Petruzzi speculated, could make a nuclear power proposition in the U.S. – and possibly Valmeyer – realistic by 2028.