Data Center Delay

At a recent Orangetown Planning Board meeting, the board voted unanimously to require the completion of an environmental impact statement on the proposed Phase 2 expansion of the DataBank hyperscale data center complex in the town. The requirement has the practical effect of halting the project indefinitely. At the board meeting, the vote on the application triggered a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), in compliance with SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act). This decision takes into account the significant environmental impact that a project of this size would have next to Lake Tappan. This decision comes after months of large-scale public opposition to the project. Before the meeting, local elected officials and organizations including Food & Water Watch, Indivisible Rockland, the Data Center Coalition and Sierra Club joined more than 100 local residents gathered outside Orangetown Town Hall to demand the Planning Board reject DataBank’s application, citing concerns over egregious water consumption, skyrocketing energy costs, painful noise levels, and misuse of public funds. “It is clear that opposition to data centers is a popular issue, and for good reasons. The explosive growth of AI data centers is one of the worst environmental and affordability threats facing New York and the nation,” said Melissa Hoffmann, an organizer with Food & Water Watch. “The people of Orangetown have spoken and the Planning Board has listened. Now, the Planning Board must ensure the scope of the environmental impact statement is comprehensive and doesn’t just check the boxes.”

“We thank the Orangetown Planning Board for their diligent work in reviewing this application and their unanimous support for a full Environmental Impact Study. We are confident that they will ultimately decline this high risk project next to Lake Tappan reservoir as has already been determined by the Rockland County Planning Board,” said Dave Rosen, of the Data Center Crisis Coalition.

“I’m here representing Sierra Club, with over 500 members and supporters in Orangetown,” said Peggy Kurtz of Rockland Sierra Club. “Amoung our concerns is Lake Tappen. It just defies common sense to site a data center – that includes back up fuel tanks and electrical equipment – on a public drinking water reservoir.  The possibility of contamination of Lake Tappan, which serves northern NJ communities, from leaking tanks or from an electrical fire is very real. It is very ironic that at the same time, the Town recently completed a study – with state funding – about source water protection. Our shared water resources are just too precious to risk for this project.”

On July 14th, Governor Hochul signed an Executive Order to create the nation’s first moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, establishing the strongest standards for data center development and creating a blueprint to support localities. The Governor is temporarily pausing State environmental permits for up to one year in order to build a nation-leading regulatory framework that protects ratepayers, the environment, the energy grid and communities across the state.

“New York has always been at the forefront of innovation and change but we’ve also always guaranteed that New Yorkers benefit. As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” Governor Hochul said. “New York will lead the way in creating the strongest standards in the nation for data center development, ensuring that when companies succeed because of New York, New Yorkers succeed too.”

New York State is experiencing unprecedented growth in demand for data center development driven by artificial intelligence and other computing operations. The increase in demand has led to proposals across the state for the construction and operation of data centers that could require massive amounts of energy and water to run and cool thousands of computer servers.

Earlier this year, the Governor directed the Department of Public Service (DPS) to begin the Energize NY proceeding, which will require data centers to either pay more for their energy or supply their own, allowing the state to keep energy more affordable for New Yorkers. As part of that proceeding, the Governor is now also directing DPS to develop a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for data centers to ensure new data centers coming online are being held to consistent standards. During the development of this GEIS, which will take up to a year, a moratorium will be in place and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will not issue any discretionary permits not already deemed complete. The state will use the GEIS to assess the potential environmental impacts of the construction and operation of data centers in the state, including their effect on energy demand, water use and quality, and air quality. Once the State finalizes these standards, the moratorium will be lifted, allowing new data center projects to proceed as long as they follow state, zoning code and other local approvals.