CORYELL COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Coryell County Commissioners voted to table a decision on adopting a resolution to ban data center across the county.
According to county documents this decision comes with concerns over environmental impact and utility usage for residents in the county.
The ban extends to the power of the county, calling on state leaders to re-examine the regulations and safeguards on data center developments.
Watch the story here:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Coryell county commissioners hit pause on plans for a ban on data centers — but the push isn't over.
“It's not a law, it's not a statute, uh, it's really at times not even a policy. It is a call to action,” Commissioner Scott Waddle said.
As communities across Central Texas figure out how to deal with the explosion of data centers...
Coryell County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to hold off on a proposed ban on data centers in our community.
“When we start using the words regulation and the government needs to come in and tell me what. And it even goes extended like burn bans. I fundamentally don't like the burn. Because now we are imposing our will on citizens that own the property," County Judge
The court says this will allow more in-depth conversations on the wording of the ban...and determine how much oversight the county should have over these types of projects.
“The minimal abilities we have as a, you know, county agency, so our one avenue is to drive this back to the Texas house and senate and give them our perspective on what these data sets. Especially rural counties, uh, rural counties that are challenged with infrastructure, water, and power,” Commissioner Scott Weddle said.
During the meeting, the court said any resolution would not be a 100 percent ban on data centers.
Instead, it would pause any proposed data center at the county level until further research is done by the state of Texas.
It's a move one of our neighbors, Christine Littlefield, is applauding.
“Our commissioners, they're, they're from here. They're small-town people. They know and so I’m glad that they're taking the initiative to investigate further,” Littlefield said. “Perhaps in a larger community, they might do better, but I think they show up at the small communities and then things aren't quite as promised.”
As data center continue to develop across Central Texas, commissioners also talked about taking a leadership role in the region to push for increased transparency.
Central Texas has multiple data center development efforts including in Temple, Killeen, Waco and Hillsboro.
Coryell County would be the first in the Central Texas region to pass a ban against data centers. Johnson Couty and Wise County, located near North Texas have passed similar legislation.
