Pulaski County Overrides Veto on Data Center Ordinance
The Pulaski County Quorum Court overrode County Judge Barry Hyde's veto, enacting regulations for data centers in the county's unincorporated areas. The rules establish conditional-use permitting and require electrical-load, water, wastewater, land-use, environmental and decommissioning plans, directly affecting AVAIO Digital's proposed data center near Wrightsville.
The Pulaski County Quorum Court voted to override County Judge Barry Hyde's veto of an ordinance regulating high-intensity digital infrastructure in unincorporated areas. The measure classifies data centers as heavy industrial uses and creates conditional-use permitting, inspection, monitoring, enforcement, noise, safety, setback and decommissioning requirements. Hyde opposed the ordinance, warning it could expose the county to litigation and financial and administrative risks.
The rules are closely tied to AVAIO Digital's proposed data center near Wrightsville. The project has expanded from an initially proposed 150-megawatt, $6 billion facility on 760 acres to a potential 1-gigawatt development spanning roughly 1,000 acres, with estimated investment of up to $21 billion. Developers must provide utility and infrastructure analyses, although the ordinance does not impose specific caps on water or power consumption. The regulations and the AVAIO project have become major issues in county politics amid concerns about growth, oversight and utility capacity.