Arkansas Advocate: Pulaski County passes data center regulations
Pulaski County's quorum court approved new data center regulations concerning noise, water, and power use. County Judge Barry Hyde has seven days to decide whether to veto the rules, which aim to prevent data centers from impairing public infrastructure. The regulations, opposed by some residents, also require various studies and a decommissioning plan from prospective projects like AVAIO Digital.
Pulaski County, Arkansas, has approved new regulations for data centers, pending a decision from County Judge Barry Hyde, who has seven days to sign or veto the measure. The Pulaski County Quorum Court, with a majority Democratic panel, voted 11-4 in favor of the rules, which were drafted by Wendell Griffen, a former circuit and appeals court judge, and sponsored by Justice of the Peace Julie Blackwood. The regulations will become law even without Hyde's signature if he does not act within the timeframe.
These new regulations are comprehensive, addressing concerns such as noise, water usage, and power consumption. They mandate that prospective data center projects submit various analyses, including electrical load, water and wastewater plans, land-use suitability studies, and a decommissioning plan. Developers must also demonstrate that their projects will not "materially impair" existing utilities and public infrastructure. While the rules set requirements for impact assessment, they do not impose specific limits on water or power consumption.
The push for regulation in Pulaski County has intensified since May, fueled by growing public opposition to data centers, particularly the AVAIO Digital data center project located in an unincorporated area of the county. The debate pits pro-data center interests, like the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, against local residents concerned about the impact of these "power-hungry computing hubs." Previously, a temporary moratorium in the county was mistakenly announced as passed due to a vote miscount, highlighting the contentious nature of the issue. Little Rock had already passed its own data center requirements earlier in the summer.
Justice Blackwood confirmed that the AVAIO Digital project, one of six planned data centers in Arkansas, would be subject to the new county regulations. The broader controversy surrounding data centers in the state and nationally has even led to elected officials losing their positions. The industry's growth is largely driven by the increasing demands of artificial intelligence models from tech giants such as Google, OpenAI, and Meta.