The Waco Bridge Addresses Local Data Center Questions and Policy
The Waco Bridge hosted a "Data Center Impacts" event to address community concerns regarding data center development in Texas, particularly around Waco and McLennan County. Discussions focused on local control, zoning restrictions for counties, and the significant water and energy demands of these facilities. The article emphasizes the ongoing challenge of managing rapid data center expansion and the call for legislative action to empower local authorities.
Last month, The Waco Bridge organized a "Data Center Impacts" event at McLennan Community College's Cameron Hall, drawing 180 attendees concerned about the industry's rapid growth. An expert panel addressed numerous community questions regarding water and energy consumption, and crucial options for local control over data center developments. The event highlighted the challenge of data center projects, often appearing abruptly in unincorporated areas where counties lack zoning authority, unlike cities.
The publication tackled several unanswered questions from the event, noting that while cities can zone and impose water utility rules, counties primarily rely on incentives like tax abatements, which have become politically contentious. Permitting for power typically falls to state and federal agencies such as the Texas Commission on Environment Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas. However, water usage regulation is managed by municipalities and local water authorities, like the City of Waco, the Brazos River Authority, and the Southern Trinity Groundwater Conservation District in McLennan County.
The article underscored the prevalent sentiment among residents regarding a perceived lack of local control over the "enormous" data center projects, particularly with almost half of Texas's 248 planned data centers slated for unincorporated areas. The ongoing call for greater local authority is now a formal priority for the Texas Legislature, with both the House and Senate listing data center issues for the upcoming legislative cycle in January. Governor Greg Abbott has also recommended measures to manage these projects more effectively.