As data centers expand across Texas, Cherokee County residents discuss the impact

The Cherokee County Texas Democratic Club hosted a public meeting in Jacksonville, Texas, to discuss the expanding presence of data centers across the state and their potential impacts on rural communities. Although no data center projects are currently proposed for Cherokee County, organizer Rita Beving of Public Citizen warned residents to be vigilant, citing projects near Lufkin, Athens, Tyler, and Corpus Christi.

Beving and Club President Jennifer Murphy-Vick emphasized significant concerns, particularly regarding the substantial water and electricity usage of data centers, the noise pollution likened to jet engines that stresses livestock, and the potential loss of agricultural land. Murphy-Vick, an eighth-generation Texan from Cherokee County, highlighted the bipartisan nature of these concerns, though noting that Democrats as a unified party have taken a stance against data centers to protect land and water conservation.

Both speakers urged residents to become educated on the topic, monitor local government meetings (including county commissioner and council meetings, and water authorities for permits), and question candidates and public officials about their plans to implement guardrails or grant more authority to counties to protect rural landowners ahead of the November election.

Beving also noted that most promised data center jobs are temporary construction roles, with operational data centers employing very few local staff. She stressed the importance of properly siting these facilities in industrial areas, encouraging recycled water use, and keeping them away from residential and agricultural zones to prevent losing valuable farmland.