Hill County Rescinds its Data Center Moratorium Following Lawsuit
Hill County, Texas, has rescinded its one-year data center moratorium following a lawsuit from an unnamed data center company whose multi-million dollar project was halted. Commissioners voted unanimously to lift the moratorium, citing legal liabilities. They also approved a new development review checklist requiring transparency from developers on environmental impacts.
Hill County, Texas, has lifted its moratorium on data center construction, a decision made after an unnamed data center company filed a lawsuit against the county. The lawsuit claimed the moratorium illegally halted a multi-million dollar project that the company had been developing for over a year. County officials were reportedly aware of the moratorium's illegality, according to the legal filing.
During a recent meeting, the Hill County Commissioners unanimously voted to rescind the moratorium. The commissioners stated that the moratorium had failed to achieve its intended goals and instead had created substantial legal liabilities for the county and its taxpayers.
Concurrently, the commissioners approved a new data center development review checklist. This checklist aims to ensure developers are transparent about the potential impacts of their projects, including projections for water usage, power demand, construction traffic, noise, and air emissions. Developers will also be required to publicly announce projects through signage and media alerts.