Jefferson County has approved new regulations for data centers while temporarily stopping their construction in the unincorporated areas of the county.
The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a data center ordinance and establish a 12-month moratorium. Supervisors Joe Ledger, Lee Dimmitt and Susie Drish also waived the ordinance’s second and third readings so it could take effect without additional meetings.
The moratorium may be extended and will give the county time to study the environmental and infrastructure effects of data center development.
Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding recommended the one-year period after many residents requested a 24-month moratorium. Moulding said the shorter pause would be more likely to withstand a legal challenge because Iowa counties cannot use a moratorium as a permanent ban on otherwise lawful development.
The ordinance applies to data centers drawing 5 megawatts of continuous electricity in unincorporated Jefferson County. It does not govern projects located inside Fairfield or the county’s other incorporated communities.
Moulding told the Southeast Iowa Union that electricity was selected as the regulatory threshold because power consumption is easier to measure and enforce than water use. The ordinance adopted Tuesday does not directly regulate water consumption, although water was among the leading concerns raised by residents.
Nearly everyone who spoke during a 45-minute public hearing Monday night either opposed data center development or supported a longer moratorium. Concerns included demands on aquifers and the electrical grid, noise, environmental effects and whether the facilities would provide enough local benefit.
Republican State Representative Jeff Shipley and Democratic House District 88 candidate Tom O’Donnell both spoke in support of a moratorium.
The county’s next step will be to appoint a person or committee to study the potential environmental effects of data centers. That appointment could be made within the next several weeks.