A routine customer meeting between the Grand River Dam Authority and Oklahoma cities turned into chaos when officials discovered a journalist was present to document the proceedings. Rather than proceed with transparency, GRDA staff chose to cancel the entire meeting.
The investigation began with an unrelated case in Pawnee, Oklahoma, where Vietnam veteran Lynn Maltzberger faced false bomb threat charges after trying to speak at a city council meeting. While helping clear Maltzberger's name, Guerrilla Publishing connected with Miami, Oklahoma officials who requested assistance with their own battles against GRDA flooding and questionable business practices.
The $10.5 Million Flooding Settlement
Miami, Oklahoma has endured years of flooding tied to GRDA dam operations, culminating in a major lawsuit over the Pensacola Dam project. The city ultimately secured a $10.5 million settlement, but questions about dam management and downstream protection remain unresolved. Local residents and city leaders continue questioning how the Grand River system operates and whether communities are adequately protected from future flooding disasters.
The settlement represented just one chapter in ongoing tensions between GRDA and the communities it supposedly serves.
The Data Center Power Grab
The cancelled meeting was supposed to address GRDA's controversial plan to sell electricity directly to large data centers, bypassing cities entirely. Currently, GRDA sells power to municipalities, who then distribute it to end users including data centers. The proposed change would eliminate cities from the profit chain, allowing GRDA to capture all revenue from these lucrative contracts.
This creates a troubling dynamic: ratepayers funded the infrastructure through their monthly bills, but GRDA wants to keep the profits for itself. The authority built its data center capacity using customer money, then seeks to cut those same customers out of the financial benefits.
Executive Compensation at a "Nonprofit"
GRDA operates as a quasi-state agency that answers to no one but its own executive board, despite receiving millions in public funds annually. Chief Executive Dan Sullivan earns approximately $500,000 per year, more than Oklahoma's governor, at what is supposedly a nonprofit government entity.
The authority's Vinita offices reflect this spending pattern, featuring expensive construction and furnishing that suggest poor fiscal stewardship of ratepayer funds.
When Questions Become Threats
The journalist attended as a consultant to Miami, Oklahoma, presenting identification and following all protocols for the customer meeting. When GRDA staff member Josh Storm approached to remove him, the situation escalated quickly. Storm demanded employment information and questioned the journalist's right to attend, despite his clear association with a paying customer.
Phone calls were made. Staff began leaving the room. The nervous energy was palpable as officials realized they would have to discuss their data center plans on the record.
The Meeting That Never Was
After 15 to 20 minutes of deliberation, GRDA made their choice. Rather than proceed with transparency, they cancelled the customer meeting entirely. Officials immediately began calling Miami city leaders, attempting to damage relationships and prevent future accountability efforts.
The message was clear: GRDA will shut down rather than face questions about their operations.
But cancelling one meeting only delayed the inevitable. The next day brought a public GRDA meeting that officials could not cancel, setting the stage for an even more explosive confrontation.
Watch the full video to see exactly how GRDA officials reacted when accountability walked into their boardroom.
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