Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman has ruled that the Greenup County Judge/Executive's office violated the state's Open Records Act by failing to identify the proper custodian of records related to the proposed TeraWulf data center project at EastPark Industrial Park.

In a decision issued July 15, the Attorney General found the office did not violate the Act when it denied possessing emails and documents about the data center, but the response was deficient because it failed to direct requesters to the appropriate agency—the EastPark board—that might hold such records. According to state law, agencies must provide the name and location of the official records custodian when they don't possess requested documents.

The request was filed on June 5 by Joe Bilby, acting on behalf of five state legislators including Representatives Patrick Flannery and Scott Sharp, seeking all correspondence related to TeraWulf, Industrial Equity Partners, or the proposed EastPark data center facility. The Greenup County office responded that it had no records because the EastPark board position held by the Judge/Executive was outside his elected office duties.

The Open Records decision noted that while the office was correct that it had no direct custody of relevant records, it should have identified EastPark—formally known as the Fivco Area Development District—as the proper records custodian.

TeraWulf announced in May that it had acquired a site at EastPark for a major data center project that will eventually require over one gigawatt of electricity. The project, called the Muskie Data Campus, is located in a 1,000-acre industrial park managed by five Northeast Kentucky counties.

The Attorney General noted that the Fivco Area Development District and any organizations created by it are public agencies subject to Kentucky's Open Records Act. The decision provides that parties can appeal the ruling to circuit court within 30 days.