Newsom data center laws could reshape Rucci project
Two California laws signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom will impose new environmental review, electricity-cost, water-use and clean-energy requirements affecting Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC’s proposed nearly one-million-square-foot data center near Imperial. The project is also facing a lawsuit over access to Colorado River water, while Imperial County’s data center moratorium has been repealed following a court order.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bills 886 and 887, changing the regulatory framework for large data centers and potentially affecting Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC’s proposed artificial intelligence facility near the City of Imperial. SB 887 limits the use of categorical CEQA exemptions and establishes a demanding environmental-leadership pathway, while SB 886 is intended to prevent large electricity users from shifting infrastructure costs to existing utility customers. Its direct application to the project remains uncertain because the Imperial Irrigation District is a publicly owned utility outside the California Public Utilities Commission’s investor-owned utility framework.
The proposed facility has drawn scrutiny because its electricity demand could approach twice Imperial County’s 2024 consumption and its cooling system could use about 750,000 gallons of water daily. Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC sued the Imperial Irrigation District in June seeking access to about 260 million gallons of Colorado River water annually after efforts to secure recycled wastewater from Imperial and El Centro reportedly failed.
Imperial County repealed its data center moratorium on Oct. 6 after the Imperial County Superior Court ordered the county to set aside the ordinances establishing and extending it. The project remains subject to zoning and other requirements, while a county advisory committee studies future data center land-use policies. The new state laws do not block the project, but they could require additional environmental review and impose more stringent energy, water and community-benefit conditions on future approvals.