McDowell County Commissioners Approve Six-Month Moratorium on Data Centers

Residents raise concerns about water use, power demands, noise and health impacts as county begins work on possible development rules.

The McDowell County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on data center development Monday, giving county officials time to study the rapidly growing industry and develop potential regulations before any projects can move forward.

The vote followed a special Aug. 31 meeting and public hearing in which residents repeatedly raised concerns about water consumption, demands on the electric grid, noise, air pollution, health effects and the relatively small number of permanent jobs associated with large data centers.

County officials stressed that no data center project has been approved or denied in McDowell County and that the moratorium is intended as a temporary pause while the county studies the issue.

“There’s no approval of data centers tonight,” County Manager Ashley Wooten told those attending the meeting. “There’s not a denial of data centers other than through a temporary pause in their development.”

Wooten described data centers as facilities that house computer servers used to store, manage and process information for technology companies, banks, cloud providers, artificial intelligence systems and other users. They range from small on-site server rooms to massive “hyperscale” facilities operated by companies such as Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft.

Wooten said county staff initially recommended commissioners consider a moratorium of up to 12 months, a period he described as increasingly common for communities studying data center regulations.

Commissioners instead chose six months.

Commissioner David Walker, who made the motion, said the county should be able to conduct the necessary research and develop proposed regulations without waiting a full year.

Walker said commissioners heard residents’ concerns about water, the power grid, emissions, generators and potential health effects.

“I think we can do it sooner than that,” Walker said. He asked county staff and the planning board to develop regulations addressing those concerns and return a proposal to commissioners within six months.

Residents speaking during the hearing overwhelmingly supported the moratorium, with several calling for the county to ultimately reject large-scale data center development.

Water was the most frequent concern.

Several speakers pointed to recent drought conditions and questioned whether McDowell County should allow an industrial facility that could require significant amounts of water for cooling.

Janice Witson said the county's water resources are important not only to residents and agriculture but also to tourism, particularly as Western North Carolina continues recovering from Hurricane Helene.

“Our water is not a commodity,” Witson said. “It is a lifeline and the lifeblood of our homes, our agriculture and our future.”

Melissa Biddix, who said she was born and raised in McDowell County, urged commissioners to determine how much water a potential facility would require, what cooling technology would be used, how it could affect electric rates and what tax revenue and permanent jobs a development would provide.

Other residents questioned potential noise from cooling equipment and backup generators, air pollution from diesel or natural gas generators and whether additional electrical infrastructure would be required.

Terry Sahara told commissioners that backup generators can be used not only during outages but also during testing and maintenance. She also urged officials to examine the potential effects large data centers could have on water supplies and the electric grid.

Several speakers also questioned whether the economic benefits would justify the infrastructure demands.

Stephen Knight, a co-owner of Bigfoot Books and Brews in downtown Marion who said he was speaking only for himself and not in his capacity as a member of the McDowell County Tourism Development Authority, supported the moratorium and urged commissioners to protect the county's natural character.

“McDowell is a beautiful place,” Knight said, adding that those natural assets help support the tourism economy.

David Thornton offered a more cautious position, telling commissioners he had not decided whether data centers were good or bad for the county but believed the moratorium was appropriate.

“That’s what we’re counting on you folks to find out,” Thornton said. “If it’s good, I hope it’s approved.”

Under the process outlined by Wooten, county staff and the planning board are expected to study data center developments and regulations used elsewhere in North Carolina, including rules addressing water and electricity use, noise and other impacts.

The planning board could then develop a proposed ordinance based on direction from commissioners. Additional public comment would be taken before commissioners considered adopting permanent regulations.

Commissioners also received legal guidance that the county cannot simply prohibit an otherwise lawful land use.

When one commissioner asked whether McDowell County could ban data centers outright, Wooten said the county attorney and other legal advisers have said the county cannot prohibit a legal activity through its development ordinance.

The county can, however, establish development standards governing where and under what conditions data centers may operate.

After the public hearing closed, commissioners voted unanimously for the six-month moratorium.

Commissioners said they shared many of the questions residents raised and promised to investigate the issue before making longer-term decisions.

“We appreciate you guys coming in and expressing your concerns,” the board chairman said. “These are questions we have. These are questions that we need to find out the answers to.”

Watch the meeting here.