State lawmakers pass one-year moratorium on data center permitting

New York state lawmakers have passed a one-year moratorium on data center permitting, a move that is expected to be signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul. The pause is intended to allow for the consideration of "reasonable regulations" concerning utilities, energy efficiency goals, community benefits, and labor standards, in an effort to protect the state's water and energy sources.

This legislative action comes amid significant local opposition to data center developments across the state, including a specific proposal by NYDIG to expand its operations at the former Alcoa East plant in Massena, St. Lawrence County. The project, which involves the construction of three facilities totaling 1.5 million square feet and would require 635 megawatts of power, faced "sharp criticism" from over 80 residents at a Town of Massena Planning Board meeting on May 21, where the crowd was largely hostile toward the proposal.

In response to these local concerns, St. Lawrence County legislators passed a resolution on June 1, granting the county and its municipalities local authority over the siting of data center projects. While a county-wide moratorium was deemed illegal, individual towns and villages, such as Massena, are now empowered to establish their own regulations. Massena had previously lifted a multi-year moratorium on containerized data centers after adopting some zoning restrictions, though these are now considered insufficient to regulate multi-million dollar expansion projects like the one proposed by NCCS/NYDIG. The county Planning Board had approved the NCCS project with stipulations, including a suggestion for Massena to adopt specific data center regulations.