Le Sueur County took a step to pump the brakes on data centers being built in the county. At the Board of Commissioners meeting on May 26, the county unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on data center construction.
The moratorium covers unincorporated areas of Le Sueur County. Cities within the county can still make their own decisions.
“If a city wants to have a data center, we don’t have any control over that at all,” Commissioner David Preisler said. “If they want to, they’re not affected by this ordinance. They’ve got their own planning and zoning.”
Data centers have been springing up across the country. They are controversial in the amount of water and electricity they use. The environmental impacts of these large centers are still being studied and debated.
“Data Center” in the interim ordinance’s language is described as a facility “whose primary purpose is the commercial storage, management, or processing of digital data for external clients or tenants.” The definition does not include technology spaces located within and used solely by a business...
Le Sueur County passes moratorium on data centers
By:
Mike Mallow, montgomerymnnews.com