Tompkins legislators want more from Hochul than current moratorium
Nine members of the Tompkins County Legislature are urging Governor Kathy Hochul to sign a one-year data center moratorium bill, despite her recent executive order on the issue. They contend the bill has fewer exceptions than the executive order and have threatened to become "single-issue votes" in the upcoming election if it's not signed. The action is fueled by concerns over a proposed TeraWulf data center and its potential impacts.
Nine members of the Tompkins County Legislature have sent a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, pressing her to sign the Responsible Data Center Development Act, a bill proposing a one-year moratorium on data center development. These legislators have indicated they will cast "single-issue votes" in the upcoming November election if the governor does not approve the legislation.
This call for action comes despite Governor Hochul's recent executive order, which implemented a pause on state permitting for data centers and initiated a review of their environmental impacts. However, the Tompkins County legislators and other critics argue that the executive order contains broader exceptions, making it less effective than the proposed bill.
The letter specifically references a controversial 150-megawatt data center project being pursued by TeraWulf on the shores of Cayuga Lake in Lansing, which has already generated significant local opposition. The legislators highlighted concerns about potential legal disputes, the costs associated with public records requests, increased energy demand, and the possible environmental degradation of Cayuga Lake as key reasons for their urgent request to Governor Hochul.