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Gordon County official outlines strict proposed data center ordinance requiring 'net zero' operations
Summary
Chief Building Inspector Derron Brown presented a draft ordinance to the Gordon County Historic Preservation Commission that would impose stringent emissions capture, water-use restrictions, setback requirements and power-impact studies on proposed data centers; a county moratorium remains in effect while planners review the draft.
Derron Brown, Gordon County’s Chief Building Inspector, told the Historic Preservation Commission on June 1 that staff have drafted a stringent ordinance to limit environmental impacts from data centers and other heavy industrial or commercial facilities. Brown characterized the proposal as among the strictest in Georgia and said it would require facilities to operate at “net zero,” capturing 95% of emissions to air, water and ground.
The draft would cap allowable emissions to a maximum of 5% carbon monoxide output and require technologies such as catalytic catchers and air scrubbers to meet the capture standard, Brown said. He also described water-use limits: modern Generation‑6+ data centers use about 40,000 gallons of recycled water in closed‑loop cooling systems, and the ordinance would prohibit drawing from municipal tap or groundwater and ban discharge to county soils or rivers.
Brown said energy demand was a core concern: a single data center building can use around 100 megawatts — which he compared to the power needs of the city of Dalton — and the ordinance would require applicants to provide a service agreement and an impact study with a power provider such as North Georgia Power or TVA before zoning approval. He added that some newer centers have used trucked micro‑nuclear generators, a detail cited during the presentation.
The draft also sets land-use safeguards: a 500‑foot setback from residential areas, a 100‑foot tree buffer with fencing placed behind the buffer, and a noise limit of 55 decibels at the property line. Commissioners noted that a moratorium on data centers and bio‑digesters is currently in effect while the ordinance proceeds through the Planning Commission and the Board of Commissioners.
The commission did not vote on the ordinance at the meeting; Brown presented the draft for information as it moves through the county review process. Next steps identified in the discussion include continued review by the Planning Commission and eventual consideration by the Board of Commissioners.
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