Commissioners discuss data‑center moratorium as county sewer capacity tightens

During the May 12 roundtable, commissioners discussed proposing a resolution to impose a moratorium while the county studies data‑center siting and impacts, tying the request to concerns about limited county wastewater capacity and transmission infrastructure.

One commissioner requested a moratorium resolution before the next meeting to study data‑center development and potential county impacts, noting the county’s many transmission lines and a desire to avoid becoming an unintended landing site. Commissioners and staff then engaged in an extended technical discussion about county wastewater capacity: the plant’s original rating (about 3 million gallons per day), a recent rerating that added roughly 300,000 gpd, and the current unallocated county capacity reported in the meeting as about 150,000 gpd. Participants translated that figure to roughly 600 homes’ worth of residential capacity countywide and noted Marling Farms alone is slated for about 125,000 gpd. Commissioners debated allocation strategy (e.g., spreading capacity among years vs. awarding large allocations to single developers) and warned of market effects if allocations are restricted.

Speakers described limited technical alternatives for increasing discharge (e.g., no deep‑well injection available given local geology). One commissioner characterized allocation decisions as among the most consequential in county history and urged a fact‑based study to inform any moratorium or allocation policy. The commission did not adopt a moratorium at the May 12 meeting but directed staff to prepare resolution language for future consideration.