De Pere committee endorses data center moratorium, citing water burden
De Pere's Plan Commission has endorsed a one-year moratorium on large-scale data center development, citing concerns about potential water burden. If approved by the City Council, the measure would temporarily halt the consideration of rezoning proposals for data centers exceeding certain size and water usage thresholds. This move aims to allow officials time to understand implications and draft regulatory standards.
De Pere's Plan Commission has endorsed a one-year moratorium on large-scale data center development, making it the latest community in Brown County, Wisconsin, to consider such a measure. The proposed moratorium, which still requires approval from the City Council in November, would prevent city officials from considering rezoning proposals for data centers using more than 300,000 gallons of water daily or occupying over 50,000 square feet, a size deemed "large-scale" by city engineer Eric Rakers.
According to Rakers, this pause is necessary for officials to assess the potential impacts of data centers and develop regulatory standards, addressing ongoing concerns that high water demand could strain the larger utility, exceed supply, and impede other city growth. Rakers calculated that a 300,000-gallon daily water use would increase the city's current daily usage by 18%. Mayor James Boyd called these figures "eye-popping" and praised the proposed moratorium, while also advocating for state-level data center regulation to avoid fragmented municipal policies.
The discussion in De Pere reflects a broader trend in the region, with twelve other Brown County towns and villages already prohibiting data centers. State legislators have also introduced bills to regulate data center development, though a Republican-led bill concerning ratepayer energy costs from data centers failed to pass the state Senate. The debate intensified following developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure's interest in a large artificial intelligence data center in northeastern Wisconsin.
Local governments are grappling with the legal conditions for enacting moratoriums under state law, which requires showing a burden on public infrastructure or a public health risk. Daniel Lindstrom, De Pere's development services director, noted that moratoriums cannot target specific projects. Some communities, like Ashwaubenon, have adopted alternative development pauses to avoid the strict requirements of a legal moratorium, while officials in Wrightstown have questioned the applicability of the moratorium law in their context.