What year long moratorium on data centers could mean

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) As state lawmakers approve a one year moratorium on data centers in New York, one area attorney looks at what needs to be done to clear the air.

Attorney David Flynn of Phillips Lytle says the key will be the one year duration. "it focuses on large data centers, which are data centers that require more than 20 megawatts of energy for them to operate, and it's looking to meet the requirements of a valid and enforceable moratorium, which is limited duration, a solid quote unquote public purpose, and the narrow focus," says Flynn.

Flynn says there are some concerns, but also misinformation, about environmental impacts from data centers. "One example is the use of water, so there's concerns that data centers may use too much water, and that has environmental impacts, and that there are significant discharges of wastewater from data centers, and that could lead to more pollution of area waterways. I think a lot of those are kind of red herring issues, because the vast majority of new data centers are going to recirculating water systems for cooling purposes, but again, people need to understand that and be educated on that, and I'm hopeful that the time is used to bring people up to speed, so they can make a more informed, perhaps less emotional decision on the issue," notes Flynn.

He adds people need to be educated on the issue. "The data center issues have come on very quickly and have come on with some. Been from multiple different directions, so there's a lot of confusion out there about what a data center is and isn't, how it operates and its impacts, whether it be energy or the environment. So educating people and getting people on the same page and having a better understanding, in my view, is important," says Flynn.

He adds transparency is also critical "People are only confident in a process if they can see into it and see through it, and so I think it's critical that this process that the state goes through, is it not be kind of a dark room and a bunch of people sitting behind a curtain coming out with pronouncements about how we're going to, how we're going to deal with data centers going forward. It needs to be an iterative process, and there needs to be input, and there needs to be education, and I think a portion of that is the public hearing piece. I think we've all been involved in public hearings that can just break down into kind of name throwing and bomb throwing exercises, and in my view, those are never helpful, but if there can be an educational component with different viewpoints. I think it can be a positive experience.."

Tonawanda''s planning board tabled a proposed data center this week.