Commissioners in Bryan County, Okla., have stopped new data center development in the county for a year while they study how to regulate it, KXII reported Tuesday.
The moratorium took effect Sept. 30 and runs 365 days unless commissioners vote to change or end it sooner, according to the station.
District 2 Commissioner Justin Boone told KXII the countywide pause grew out of concern over a possible data center within a mile of a school southeast of Caddo. Residents of District 3 began contacting commissioners about it, he said.
"We want to gather more information. We don't want to go into this thing blind," Boone said.
Borrowed language
Rather than write a resolution from scratch, Boone said, the county "copied basically a resolution off Tulsa County that had been through their DA's process and then through Choctaw counties." The Bryan County resolution states that the county has no regulations written specifically for data centers, KXII reported.
Boone said commissioners are worried about what such a project could mean for natural resources and utilities. "It will put a strain on both without a doubt," he said, referring to water and electricity.
