Robert Bostick
Audio By Carbonatix
The Hood County Commissioners’ Court voted against a temporary moratorium on data centers and other industrial developments at a meeting on Tuesday.
Dozens of residents, nearly all in favor of a pause in data center development, packed into the Hood County Courthouse in Granbury on Tuesday in anticipation of the vote. While some commissioners spoke in favor of the moratorium in principle, concerns about potential legal action led to a 3-2 vote against adopting it after hours of public comments and multiple executive session breakouts.
The moratorium would have paused development for at least six months while the county assessed potential environmental impacts and additional regulations. Advocates of the moratorium have pointed to a lack of existing regulations as justification for the measure.
Hood County is already a cryptocurrency hub. Now data centers?
With a population close to 70,000 in the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Hood County is already home to a cryptocurrency mining operation that has drawn the ire of residents due to the noise from the facility’s cooling fans.
At least four data center projects are currently in planning stages in Hood County. Comanche Circle, a planned 2,600-acre data center park by Florida-based Sailfish Developers, was conditionally approved by county commissioners in January. One of the developments, Project Spectrum, is backed by Amazon.
The moratorium would have been the first of its kind at the county level in Texas, although Weatherford banned data centers within city limits last month. It mirrors a nationwide movement to curb the rapid growth in data center development seen over the past few years. Lawmakers have filed legislation calling for moratoria against data centers in Georgia, Virginia, Michigan, New York and Oklahoma.
Environmental concers
Environmental concerns have driven opposition to data center development across the county. The centers’ demand for local water supplies has taken center stage in discussions. It’s an especially poignant issue in a state like Texas, which is currently facing a looming water crisis and severe shortages by 2030, as reported by the Texas Tribune.
Dallas council member Paula Blackmon raised the issue at a Dec. 3 council briefing on the city’s long-range water plan.
“They use a lot of energy and a lot of water, and we need to have that in the conversation,” Blackmon said.
In a release, Rita Beving, an activist with consumer protection organization Public Citizen, said the vote put Hood County resources at risk.
“Failing to pass a moratorium will trigger the construction of several natural gas plants alongside these projects,” Beving said in the release. “The Hood County region may not have the water required to support these developments, and the county commissioners are putting vital resources at risk.”
After hours of public comment from dozens of residents and landowners, many of whom echoed environmental concerns, the commissioners began moving toward a vote on the moratorium. Before the vote, however, Hood County Attorney Matt Wells read a letter posted on X by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, that dismissed the county’s authority to enact a moratorium and threatened legal action.
“This type of action is not permissible under HB 2559,” Bettencourt wrote in the letter addressed to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “I encourage your office to investigate any counties that implement such a moratorium and explore any legal actions.”
Wells further told commissioners that the moratorium would almost certainly be challenged in court. After the letter was read, Commissioner Dave Eagle told residents, “This isn’t a coincidence.”
“This is just a threat letter to us,” Eagle said.
