Sen. Altschuler urges restoring local protections in revised data‑center zoning bill
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Summary
Senator Deborah Altschuler told the Municipal and County Government Committee SB 439 was weakened by a senate amendment that removed utility confirmation, noise protections, design standards and shrank local oversight, and urged restoring the bill’s original limits to keep municipalities informed and shield ratepayers.
Senator Deborah Altschuler urged lawmakers to restore provisions stripped from Senate Bill 439, saying the senate amendment reduced a substantive regulatory framework to ‘‘a shell’’ that would allow large data‑center operations to evade meaningful local oversight.
Altschuler, the bill’s prime sponsor, told the committee SB 439 was drafted to give New Hampshire municipalities tools to manage a fast‑growing industry that can demand substantial electricity, water and round‑the‑clock mechanical noise. She said the original bill limited data‑center exemptions to facilities occupying no more than 10% of gross floor area; the amendment raised that threshold to 25% and removed requirements that developers prove adequate electrical capacity, commission acoustical studies and meet siting and design standards.
Why it matters: data centers can draw heavy electricity and water and operate 24/7, creating local impacts that proponents said are best addressed before a project is built. Altschuler cited U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory projections showing rapid growth in data‑center energy use and pointed to cases in other states where communities fought projects over noise, grid strain and displacement.
Supporters of stronger rules argued that utility confirmation requirements and noise studies protect ratepayers and residents and give towns leverage to negotiate infrastructure contributions. Opponents — notably the New Hampshire Municipal Association — said municipal zoning powers already allow communities to deny or regulate uses and warned the amended language could effectively permit data centers by right in many commercial and industrial districts.
Telecommunications industry representatives also urged a narrower definition to avoid capturing small ISP head‑ends and hubs that are essential for broadband deployment and do not consume the energy or water associated with large data centers.
The committee closed the public hearing after extended questioning and recorded remote testimony showing both support and opposition.
The committee did not take a vote during the hearing; senators and members pressed for technical fixes and for possible restoration of the original utility and noise provisions as amendments, or for a study to refine definitions and thresholds.
