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Farm Bureau urges safeguards for farmland, water and decommissioning as data centers expand
Summary
The Illinois Farm Bureau told lawmakers it supports responsible data-center development but urged protections for farmland, water reporting reviewed by the Illinois State Water Survey, restrictions on battery-storage siting and financial assurances for decommissioning.
Bill Bodine, director of business and regulatory affairs for the Illinois Farm Bureau, told the committee that farmers accept economic development but worry about farmland loss, water use, and future abandonment of large data center buildings.
Bodine said members want water-withdrawal plans and reporting for data centers to be reviewed by the Illinois State Water Survey, and urged agricultural-impact mitigation agreements and decommissioning financial protections for large projects. "We would like to see those water withdrawal plans and reports reviewed by the Illinois State Water Survey to ensure that we know what the impacts could be," he said.
The Farm Bureau also warned that policies encouraging large-scale renewable development to power data centers could put productive tillable land at risk and asked that priority be given to non-tillable sites, rooftops and already-impacted land before using prime farmland for new solar or battery facilities.
