PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Calvert’s Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) squashed the motion for a moratorium on data centers in the county — and the hopes of many county residents who supported it.
The BOCC discussed the process for creating a moratorium and its purpose at the April 7 meeting. Commissioner Mike Hart proposed the moratorium at the March 3 meeting, claiming that the process was moving too quickly and nobody yet knows the long-term impacts of data centers on the environment and the economy. The moratorium plan calls for an independent environmental study, among other measures.
Hart said that the two interested parties — Natelli Holdings and Amazon Web Services (AWS) — should have to submit their plans to the county so the county could perform an independent study on how that exact plan would impact the area.
“I doubt they’re this far down the line where they’re even interested in buying our property, without having a plan,” Hart said. “They should have to submit that to the county.”
Hart emphasized that the county should be able to present the full scope of the impact of the data centers to the public before taking any additional steps or any formal applications.
Commissioner Earl “Buddy” Hance said he believed the residents would be better served and the process would be smoother and more transparent if the interested companies followed the current process for submitting a project in the county, rather than putting a moratorium in place.
In the typical timeline, the companies would still have to go through a lengthy proposal and permitting process that allows for opportunities for public input. Final approval of any data center would come down to the BOCC. Hance also brought up the added complexity of writing and enacting a clear moratorium.
According to a presentation by Director of Planning and Zoning Jason Brinkley, to enact the moratorium, Planning and Zoning staff would have to draft an ordinance under BOCC direction. Then, the ordinance would be subject to work sessions before being finalized. The county would need to hold a public hearing about that ordinance, and then bring it up for a BOCC vote. Only after that could impact studies take place. Then, Planning and Zoning would use the information to create new regulations.
The moratorium would also have to meet certain legal criteria — like having a valid public purpose and having a clearly defined scope — to pass. BOCC President Todd Ireland said instead of the moratorium, the county should work on putting more text amendments in place to protect the county. Commissioner Ireland also brought up the potential for lawsuits from companies.
Prior to the meeting, Calvert residents submitted a petition with more than 1,300 signatures in support of the moratorium, as well as letters and comments.
The BOCC voted against pursuing the moratorium process in a 2-3 vote. Commissioners Hart and Grasso voted yes on pursuing the moratorium; Commissioners Hance, Ireland and Cox voted no. After several hours of discussion, the BOCC later voted to continue looking for other solutions to protect the county’s interests.
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The amount of water it would alter for cooling is ridiculous. Let Elon do this in space where it’s naturally cool.
Please remember this on election day.
Vote out Cox, Ireland, and Hance!!!!!
When the dust on this settles, i expect a forensic audit of the finances of our representatives who have been pushing for these data centers. I’d wager there’s a very good chance there’re some kickbacks involved. Every community I’ve read about that has allowed data centers to be constructed has complained about negative impacts on property values, utility costs, utility availability, noise and light pollution, the smell of deisel, unrealized promises of tax benefits. If our reps believe saddles pitches over the overwhelming number of complaints from citizens strong the country who have experienced living near a data center, some shenanigans are afoot or they are just gullible. I don’t think they are the latter…. so….
The data centers will be built, whether you like it or not. These corporations will buy their vote, just like they do in Congress and everywhere else on the planet. This is just a ruse by politicians to make voters think they did their homework before allowing these data centers to be built. And the kicker is, they’ll get voted back into office after approving them because, let’s be honest, most people don’t know what’s going on or even care to know.
You mean that big body of water located next to where rhe data center will be located? 🤣