New plan would maintain local control over data centers
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
State Sen. Heidi Campbell is preparing legislation to guarantee local governments keep the control to approve or reject new data centers.
Why it matters: The push for local control comes as new data center proposals are popping up all over Tennessee, including a controversial plan for one next to the Nashville Zoo.
The big picture: Local governments are rapidly proposing moratoriums on new data centers while also creating their own regulations. It's gone from a back-bench concern to the most pressing land use issue in the state.
What she's saying: Campbell, a Nashville Democrat, wants to ensure local municipalities keep control over data centers. She tells Axios she's especially concerned about the impact on Tennessee waterways and energy usage.
- She calls her legislation the Power to the People Act. She is also considering a provision that would require the Tennessee Valley Authority to report energy usage statistics by data centers.
- "From water, to traffic, to sound, to the electrical grid, the impact of data centers is all local," she says.
The intrigue: Campbell's plan is similar to the Jackson Law, the landmark Tennessee law that gives local governments the power to approve new landfills and expansion of existing landfills.
Between the lines: It's not just an issue in liberal Nashville, which recently imposed a moratorium combined with strict new regulations. More conservative parts of the state are taking the issue on as well.
- Knox County started a one-year moratorium in June.
- Smaller local governments, such as McMinnville and Coffee County also have moratoriums while they pursue long-term regulations, according to the Tennessee Lookout.
Friction point: On one hand, Campbell views the issue as likely to get bipartisan support, since new data centers have been an issue in liberal and conservative parts of the state.
- On the other, she says, she's worried about a possible Republican push to do the opposite and strip local governments of the ability to regulate new data centers.
"How many times have we seen the state do that?" Campbell says, referring to state laws that preempt local government powers. "They're definitely going to try to do that."
- "My goal is to fortify and create protections around municipalities being able to regulate and refuse data centers."