MADISON COUNTY BOC EXTENDS DATA CENTER MORATORIUM

The Madison County Board of Commissioners have voted to implement a moratorium on data centers.

The vote came at their meeting Monday night after hearing from concerned citizens.

Commissioners voted to extend the moratorium on data centers for another 180 days.

The vote in Madison County Monday night comes after counties across Georgia, including Franklin and Hart Counties, implemented moratoriums on data centers in order to do more research.

Also on Monday, U.S. Senator the Reverend Raphael Warnock called for construction on new data centers to stop, and a moratorium be instituted statewide in order to address concerns from citizens about the effects data centers would have on communities, taxpayers, and the environment.

Senator Warnock said there needs to be guarantees around utility bills, pollution, and transparency before these facilities can be built.

He added that he believes big corporations are running roughshod over small communities, building massive facilities with no input from the people who live there.

Meanwhile, on Monday, President Donald Trump spoke out in favor of data centers, saying they will lead to richer, more successful Americans and criticized communities that oppose them, stating those communities will end up poor.

So far in Georgia, a combined total of 55 cities and counties have passed or have active moratoriums or ordinances regarding data centers, with trackers noting roughly 37 counties having updated or planned updates to their ordinances, according to a report by the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

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