‘I don’t trust them’: The data center fight mobilizing Imperial County voters
Imperial County residents are organizing across party lines to oppose a proposed nearly 1-million-square-foot data center near the city of Imperial. The project has been stalled after a court found that county officials improperly advanced it without a required state environmental review, while the county and Calexico have adopted moratorium and ban measures amid concerns about energy, water, pollution and quality of life.
Residents across Imperial County have mounted a bipartisan campaign against a proposed data center by Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC near homes and schools outside Imperial, California. The project was advanced after the Imperial County Board of Supervisors merged parcels owned by the developer, prompting heated public meetings, grassroots organizing and efforts to influence local elections. Opponents cite potential impacts on water, electricity demand, air quality, property values and neighborhood conditions.
After public backlash, county supervisors enacted a 45-day moratorium on data centers in June, though a court overturned it, and approved another moratorium in October. Imperial County Superior Court Judge L. Brooks Anderholt ruled in August that officials had illegally allowed the project to proceed without a state environmental review, leaving the development stalled. The county is also considering a special election on banning data centers on unincorporated land, while the Calexico City Council unanimously approved a local ban. Separately, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed California laws imposing additional environmental disclosures and requiring new data centers to fund their own electrical infrastructure.