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Residents press Union County to extend moratorium and tighten data‑center rules
Summary
During a packed public hearing, residents urged the county to extend the moratorium (requests included 120 days to 6 months), raise minimum acreage thresholds, require closed‑loop cooling, strengthen decommissioning bonds, and mandate independent third‑party impact studies before permits proceed.
Dozens of Union County residents used three‑minute public comments to press officials to make the proposed digital‑infrastructure rules significantly stronger or to delay implementation while the county does more study.
Carrie Farmer asked that the county "put the moratorium back in place for 120 days" to allow more time for input and technical review. Multiple residents suggested raising the 500‑acre minimum to 1,000–2,000 acres or otherwise increasing setbacks, with one commenter asking for a 2‑mile residential setback and others urging a one‑mile minimum. Several speakers, including Randy Maysia, asked that the ordinance define covered facilities by power demand ("any facility that consumes more than 1 megawatt of electrical power") and require independent, third‑party impact studies paid for and selected by a neutral process rather than by applicants.
Environmental and water concerns were recurrent themes. Commenters asked the county to mandate closed‑loop cooling or to prohibit use of potable water for cooling, to require wastewater treatment verification, and to include specific consequences if a facility exceeds its stated annual wastewater or water‑use estimates. Several speakers asked the county to require decommissioning bonds sized by independent engineer estimates to ensure cleanup and hazardous‑material disposal do not fall to taxpayers.
County staff accepted written suggestions and said many of the concerns would be considered at a second reading. The county also clarified that state law constrains certain local powers (for example, regulating private utilities), and officials reminded the public that the moratorium status had been extended for a limited period while the county proceeds with revisions.
