Weaker data center moratorium with AVAIO carve-out advances in Quorum Court
The Pulaski County Quorum Court advanced a weaker data center moratorium that includes a carve-out for AVAIO Digital's planned $6 billion project in Wrightsville, despite legal warnings about both competing proposals. The stronger moratorium, which did not exempt AVAIO, failed to pass. Supporters of the more stringent moratorium plan to reintroduce it.
The Pulaski County Quorum Court in Arkansas has voted to advance a data center moratorium that includes a significant exemption for AVAIO Digital's proposed $6 billion project in Wrightsville. Justice of the Peace Diane Curry introduced the alternative proposal, numbered 26-I-52, which moved forward to a full Quorum Court meeting despite the deputy county attorney's warnings about potential legal risks.
Justice of the Peace Julie Blackwood, sponsor of a more sweeping moratorium (26-I-45A) that aimed to regulate projects like AVAIO Digital, left the meeting due to illness, resulting in its failure to pass with a 6-3 vote. JP Donna Massey and JP Tina Ward, whose district includes proposed data center sites for AVAIO and Google, voiced strong opposition to the weaker proposal, emphasizing constituent protection over legal concerns. Deputy county attorney Dominique Lane stated that both moratorium proposals carried legal risks for the county, including potential lawsuits from companies like AVAIO Digital if their projects were delayed.
AVAIO Digital is reportedly nearing completion of all necessary permits for Phase One of its 150-megawatt facility, lacking only one final approval from the Army Corps of Engineers for wetland crossings, which the company may work around. Supporters of the stronger, rejected moratorium hope to gather more votes to reintroduce it at an upcoming Quorum Court meeting in August, aiming to impose stricter regulations on the AVAIO project before its permits are fully in place.