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Lee County to consider moratorium on data centers and fracking after hours of public comment
Summary
Following presentations from environmental and economic experts and more than two hours of public comment urging a pause, the Lee County Board of Commissioners directed staff to prepare options for a moratorium on data center development and related fracking, to be discussed at an April 6 work session.
Brooks Rainey, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, told the Lee County Board of Commissioners on March 16 that rapid data center growth driven by artificial-intelligence demand has outpaced local regulatory frameworks and that a temporary moratorium would give county leaders time to study impacts and update the county’s Unified Development Ordinance.
"A moratorium would give county leaders time to study the impacts of data centers on Lee County and to implement protections to mitigate the negative impacts," Rainey said, listing concerns including grid capacity, water use, noise, and emissions. He described procedural requirements for a defensible moratorium and…
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