Onondaga County is preparing to hire a consultant to help conduct a data center study. Meanwhile, Governor Kathy Hochul has yet to sign a one-year moratorium on data centers approved by the legislature more than three weeks ago.
Several towns including Lysander, Dewitt, Salina and Manlius have already paused data center development to better understand the environmental and other impacts. County Planning Director Troy Waffner told legislators at a recent committee meeting that’s where this study comes into play.
“Municipalities are on the front line of this. No matter what each of us thinks sitting at this table, we don't make those decisions," he said. "We are a home rule state. So it's going to be up to a local government to determine what they want to do with data centers What we want to do is be able to give them the tools they need, the information they need, the analysis they need, so they can make the best decisions they can make going forward.”
“Municipalities are fighting the good fight, but ill-prepared from a planning and zoning standpoint to control what's happening”
said legislator Brian May. He represents Lysander, the potential site of a massive data center.
"More importantly, to ensure that the intent of what was happening actually occurs. And by that I mean connecting these things to the grid and then making sure that these things are compatible with the local community.”
The state and the county can only approve or prohibit data centers based on power and wastewater needs. The $500,000 study intends to gather that information, and examine noise, aesthetic, air quality and other environmental considerations. Waffner says the study will also look at possible locations if a town chooses to allow a data center.
“Some of these are former industrial sites, some of these are brownfield sites that could be cleaned up to a degree to allow data centers. We're not advocating for that," he said. "This is a very agnostic study that's really just looking at compiling the information, but that is part of it is kind of looking at site suitability.”
The study is expected to be completed by year’s end. The state may conduct its own study, but Waffner says it’ll take far longer and won’t provide the local details the county needs.
