Siloam Springs puts six-month hold on data centers over utility capacity questions

Siloam Springs puts six-month hold on data centers over utility capacity questionsThe Siloam Springs Board of Directors approved the first reading of a temporary data-center moratorium, giving the city time to review water use, utility infrastructure and other impacts. The action comes as the city is still working on wastewater infrastructure and prepares for a November ballot item concerning wastewater plant and collection-system projects.

The board approved Ordinance 26-25 on its first reading, as amended, by a 4-1 vote; two further readings remain.

The six-month moratorium is intended to allow review of development and utility standards for large-scale data centers.

An added finding says existing standards may not adequately address data centers' combined water use, electrical demand, utility-infrastructure, noise and backup-generation impacts.

The review will include utility revenues, infrastructure investment, employment and other economic-development benefits or costs.

A Utility Commission member urged the board to account for pressure on existing water, power and unfinished wastewater infrastructure.

Siloam Springs has taken its first formal step toward a six-month pause on data-center development, placing water use and utility-system capacity at the centre of its review of whether such facilities should be accommodated under current city rules. The Board of Directors approved the first reading of Ordinance 26-25, establishing a temporary moratorium on data centres, by a 4-1 vote on 6 October. The ordinance will require two additional readings. Board members said the pause is not permanent and is intended to preserve the current position while the city studies whether its ordinances are adequate for the characteristics of large-scale data centres. The board amended the measure to state explicitly that existing development and utility standards were not designed to evaluate the combination of land use, electrical demand, water use, utility infrastructure, noise, backup generation and other operational characteristics associated with large-scale data centres. The finding says compliance with current standards may therefore fail to address all impacts of such development. The city will also consider utility revenues, infrastructure investment, employment and other economic-development benefits or costs during the review. A board member said the state is also considering the issue, while the city has time to gather public input and determine whether special-use conditions or other changes are needed. Bernadette Keck, a member of the Siloam Springs Utility Commission, told the board that potential effects on water and power infrastructure required serious consideration. She noted that the city is currently working on wastewater infrastructure and said the system work is not complete. Keck asked the board to involve the Utility Commission in research during the moratorium. The discussion comes as the city has posted information on an upcoming 3 November ballot item concerning wastewater plant and collection-system projects. The administrator said the city website includes information and frequently asked questions on that measure. Board members also stressed that the moratorium should not preclude an assessment of potential opportunities. One director said the review should consider both concerns and the possibility that large users could affect future utility options, including community-scale solar concepts. The ordinance's amended scope reflects that direction by requiring consideration of both infrastructure costs and potential economic benefits before the city decides whether its rules should change.