Residents urge moratorium; Bell County eyes safeguards for data centers
Bell County residents urged commissioners to oppose or pause data center development, citing concerns over water usage, electricity demand, environmental impacts, and tax abatements. While a full moratorium was requested, county leaders are considering a resolution for stronger safeguards and greater county authority from the state. The discussion also covered existing tax incentives benefiting companies like Meta and Rowan Temple LLC.
More than 100 Bell County, Texas residents attended a Commissioners Court workshop, with 47 individuals speaking, to voice strong opposition to future data center developments. Concerns primarily focused on excessive water and electricity consumption, potential environmental damage, and the perceived lack of benefit from tax abatements granted to developers. Many speakers called for an immediate moratorium on new data center projects in the county.
County Judge David Blackburn, a Republican, has drafted a resolution that, while not a moratorium, seeks to establish stronger safeguards for data center developments regarding water use, electric demand, land impacts, and taxpayer-funded infrastructure. The resolution also advocates for state lawmakers to grant counties greater regulatory authority over large-scale projects, acknowledging the current limited zoning and land-use powers held by counties under Texas law. Precinct 1 Commissioner Russell Schneider expressed understanding of residents' frustrations but cautioned that a countywide moratorium might conflict with state statutes, referencing a $100 million lawsuit filed by RCM Hill against Hill County over a similar moratorium.
The discussion also highlighted current data center projects, including a 2021 tax abatement agreement with Polmer LLC (Meta) for an $800 million data center and a 2023 agreement with Rowan Temple LLC for a $700 million project. Residents criticized the city of Temple for a perceived lack of transparency and for granting these incentives, arguing that the projects offer minimal public benefit, particularly in terms of job creation compared to the investment.
Commissioners acknowledged the residents' concerns and the county's limited authority. Judge Blackburn's proposed resolution, which is expected to be considered at the court’s June 15 meeting, also opposes open-loop evaporative cooling systems and other high-volume potable water uses for large data centers, while advocating for independent reviews of project impacts.