- Cass County leaders are weighing a moratorium on data center regulations amid concerns from neighbors
- Neighbors cite water use and farmland loss as key concerns over any future data center developments
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
CASS COUNTY, Neb. (KMTV) – Residents and local leaders are weighing the economic benefits of large-scale data centers against concerns about water use and the loss of farmland in Cass County.
The Cass County Planning Commission is considering a moratorium on data center regulations as residents push back against the potential development of large-scale facilities in the area. It is hosting a meeting on Monday at 7pm at the Cass County Fairgrounds.
Jayden Speed's family owns a farm in Cass County. He is leading the Cass County Data Center Watch, which is calling on the planning commission to pause the regulations it is currently considering for data centers in the county.
"I live in a little village of about 170 people, and it's really important to me that we protect our natural resources. We protect our farmland," Speed said.
Edison McDonald is working with Speed and the Cass County Data Center Watch.
"So what we've seen is just a explosion of these hyper scale data centers that really are far larger. We're talking couple thousand acre sort of operations," McDonald said.
In recent weeks, moratoriums on data centers have been put in place in other counties across southeastern Nebraska, including Otoe, Gage, and Seward.
The Flatwater Free Press reported in March that Tenaska had optioned 2,000 acres in Cass County to build a large generating station designed to power a large data center built next to it.
The final decision on data center regulations will rest with the Cass County Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Duane Murdoch said the stakes are significant.
"This is a no small decision, you know what I'm saying?" Murdoch said.
Murdoch said he is on the fence. He said data centers would bring temporary jobs during construction, but he is concerned about how much water the facilities use.
"We're talking 20, 30 years down the road, you know what I mean? What's that gonna do to our water levels, you know?" Murdoch said.
Speed said the long-term impact on the region is what drives his concern.
"I think a lot of folks are worried about the loss of farmlands. Um, they're worried about the loss of natural resources," Speed said.
The planning commission can only vote to recommend or not recommend a moratorium to the Board of Commissioners, which will make any final decision.
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