St. Charles County Mulls Six-Month Data Center Moratorium
St. Charles County officials are proposing a six-month moratorium on new large-scale data center approvals to study potential impacts on local water supplies, the power grid, and noise levels. The move follows a stricter ban on data centers enacted by the City of St. Charles. This proposal aims to develop clear guidelines for future data center projects.
St. Charles County officials, including County Executive Steve Ehlmann and Councilmembers Mike Elam and Patti York, are proposing a six-month countywide moratorium on new large-scale data center approvals. The temporary pause is intended to allow various county departments, including public-health, information-systems, and community-development, to conduct a joint study on the potential impacts of these facilities on local water supplies, the power grid, and neighborhood noise.
The proposed ordinance defines "Large-Scale Data Centers" as facilities with over five megawatts of electrical demand, more than 100,000 square feet, or a multi-building campus. During the moratorium, county and municipal departments would be blocked from issuing permits for new data centers or expanding existing ones' electrical demand or physical footprint without explicit County Council approval. The council would also have the option to extend the moratorium if the study is not completed within the initial six months.
This move by St. Charles County comes after the City of St. Charles's city council voted in May to effectively ban data centers within its limits, following a contentious project and a previous one-year moratorium. Residents in both the city and county have expressed concerns about data centers' water usage, increased electricity costs, and low-frequency noise. While developers argue for the economic benefits of high-paying jobs and an increased tax base, local governments nationwide, including Charlotte and Florida's Pasco County, are also enacting similar pauses to study the impacts of data center development.