Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) - While a proposed data center for the former Tonawanda Coke plant site has been tabled by the developer with the Town of Tonawanda Planning Board, some residents feel a discussion over a proposed three-year moratorium should still be had during Monday's Town Board meeting.
Tonawanda Town Supervisor John Flynn feels, at this point, there's nothing new to talk about from what's already been discussed.
Flynn says there's two items hanging over the town's heads when it comes to data centers.
"One is the state moratorium that was passed in Albany before they left town a few weeks ago that the governor has not signed yet. We're kind of waiting on seeing where that goes. Secondly, the actual data center that was proposed in the Town of Tonawanda is now off the Planning Board agenda," said Flynn in an interview with WBEN. "The developer, a few weeks ago, wrote an email to the Planning Board requesting it'd be taken off the agenda because there was a backlog with the state about reviewing electricity of these data centers statewide. So the reality is this proposed data center project is not on anyone's agenda in the Town of Tonawanda, and on top of that, the state moratorium very well may be signed into law by the governor."
Flynn feels if New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signs the bill into law, any local discussions regarding the data centers will be moot.
With lawmakers in Albany having already passed the bill for a one-year moratorium, as well as the City of North Tonawanda having recently extended its moratorium on further developments on crypto mining, now modified to also include data centers, Flynn knows now more than ever that data centers are being looked at very carefully under a microscope.
"It tells me there are obvious concerns about these data centers," Flynn said. "I have some of these same concerns regarding the electricity use of these data centers, regarding some of the environmental issues of these data centers, and regarding the viability of these data centers. The last thing that I want in the Town of Tonawanda is to have any kind of data center built, and then two years from now, go belly up and abandon and leave town with a huge warehouse in the middle of our town. Those are three of my concerns: Electricity, environmental, and viability of these data centers. And those are the same concerns that are all across the state."
Flynn adds a one-year moratorium signed by the governor would allow for officials at a higher level the opportunity to also look further into data centers and their overall impact on the state.
While Flynn acknowledges there's really no timeline for discussions surrounding data centers or the future of the Tonawanda Coke plant site, he says that can change in short order.
"As long as the developer doesn't resubmit their application to the Planning Board, there's nothing on the table for anyone to consider the Town of Tonawanda, at this point. If the governor doesn't sign this bill within the next few months, then I'll have to obviously do a little intel and find out what's going on in Albany there, and then that may necessitate the need for us to look at this further," Flynn said. "But right now, I don't have any indication right now that the governor's not going to sign this bill. I'm not saying she's going to, but I don't have any indication that she's not going to. So we're just going to kind of take a wait-and-see look here at what happens in Albany, but there's really no pressure on us here, because the developer has pulled back their application."
