County Leaders Ask Texas Lawmakers for a Local Voice in Data Center Development

Victoria County Judge Ben Zeller and Tom Green County Commissioner Shawn Nanny urged lawmakers to give counties limited authority to address water, noise and other local impacts.

AUSTIN — Two county officials told Texas lawmakers that rural communities need a meaningful voice in deciding how massive data center projects are developed and what protections should be required before construction begins.

Victoria County Judge Ben Zeller and Tom Green County Precinct 4 Commissioner Shawn Nanny testified June 23 before the Texas House Committee on Natural Resources, urging lawmakers to adopt targeted safeguards for communities facing large-scale data center development.

Their message was not that Texas should reject technology investment or economic growth. Instead, they argued that counties should have limited tools to address the water use, noise, infrastructure demands and other local consequences that can accompany hyperscale data center projects.

The officials appeared at the invitation of committee Chairman Cody Harris, R-Palestine.

Zeller, who also serves as legislative chairman of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas, told committee members that counties regularly support economic development and provide many of the public services that allow new businesses and industries to succeed.

“Texas counties support economic growth,” Zeller said. “Commissioners courts and county judges work every day to build our local economies and provide public safety, emergency management and the wide array of essential public services that have made the Texas Miracle possible.”

But counties currently have little authority to regulate land use or require developers to address the effectsof unusually large industrial projects.

“Our success requires that the economic development and the projects that we welcome today don’t jeopardize the resources future generations of Texans will depend on tomorrow,” Zeller said.

Zeller asked lawmakers to consider narrowly written legislation that would apply to the largest data center developments rather than broadly expanding county regulatory authority.

His recommendations included allowing counties to require reasonable buffer zones and noise mitigation near homes, schools and agricultural operations. He also proposed certified water-impact statements and environmental safety plans for large industrial water users.

Zeller said projects exceeding defined electricity-use thresholds should also be subject to mandatory public hearings, giving nearby residents an opportunity to learn about a development and raise concerns before decisions are finalized.

The goal, Zeller said, is “not choosing between economic growth and preservation of resources but insisting on both.”

“Unless we can commit to both, it’s unlikely we will sustain either one in the long term,” he said.

Nanny brought the debate closer to home by describing the concerns raised in Tom Green County, a drought-prone region where a proposed hyperscale data center has prompted questions about water availability, transparency and the long-term effect on surrounding communities.

Nanny said the debate cannot be reduced to the economic value of a project or the amount of water and electricity it may consume.

“Most anybody would say that water is our most precious and valuable resource, but I disagree,” Nanny said, reading from remarks he previously delivered during a community hearing in his precinct. “Our most valuable resource is the people who live here.”

His testimony reflected a concern expressed by rural officials and landowners across Texas: Communities may be expected to absorb the consequences of industrial development while having little legal authority to influence where projects are located or what safeguards developers must provide.

“Please put some parameters in place on hyperscale data center construction,” Nanny told lawmakers. “Allow local elected officials the authority to properly represent their constituents."

Nanny’s testimony drew applause from members of the audience. Harris also praised his ability to communicate the concerns of the people he represents.

The testimony from Zeller and Nanny adds to growing calls from rural Texas officials for the Legislature to revisit the state’s limited system of county land-use authority.

Unlike cities, Texas counties generally lack zoning power and have few tools to regulate the location or operation of major developments outside municipal boundaries. That leaves many county leaders asking lawmakers for a targeted response as data center companies pursue increasingly large projects in areas with limited water, housing, roads and emergency-service capacity.

Zeller and Nanny told the committee that lawmakers do not have to choose between attracting investment and protecting communities. But they said local officials must be included in the process when the scale of a proposed project could shape a county’s resources and quality of life for generations.