Texas County Rescinds Data Center Moratorium After $100M Lawsuit
Hill County, Texas, has rescinded its data center moratorium after a developer, RCM Hill, LLC, filed a $100 million lawsuit against the county. The Hill County Commissioners voted to end the temporary pause and adopted a new checklist of requirements for data center developers. County Judge Shane Brassell still views the moratorium as a success for bringing undesirable projects to light and buying time for new regulations.
Hill County, Texas, a rural North Texas county, has rescinded its recently enacted data center moratorium following a $100 million lawsuit filed by developer RCM Hill, LLC. The Hill County Commissioners voted unanimously to end the temporary pause and instead adopted a new checklist of requirements for data center developers.
County Judge Shane Brassell, while acknowledging the moratorium didn't stop all projects, still deemed it a success for deterring "less desirable" projects and providing time to develop the new checklist. RCM Hill, LLC's lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, argued that the county exceeded its lawful powers with the moratorium, which it claimed threatened its ability to meet state electricity regulators' interconnection standards for its planned 800-acre, $80 million data center project. The company's future litigation plans regarding the new checklist are currently unclear.
The situation in Hill County reflects broader challenges across Texas, where many planned data centers are in unincorporated areas, and counties typically lack the zoning authority of cities to block development. The new checklist, according to Brassell, is on firmer legal ground, deriving its authority from various state statutes.