The City of Little Rock has passed an ordinance to regulate data centers.
At an almost five-hour meeting late into Tuesday night, members voted unanimously to pass regulations. Now, any data centers in the Little Rock area will be subject to noise, landscaping and utility requirements. The vote comes as Google plans to build a data center near the Port of Little Rock.
Data centers are controversial. Nationwide, they have faced public pushback for their environmental impact, energy costs and noise levels. Much of the meeting was dedicated to public comment, which was largely negative and anti-data center.
City directors said, because of state law, they could not ban the centers outright as some members of the public want.
“If there's a concern, please reach out to your state legislator," Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said before the vote. “The law won't allow you to ban it.”
In a conversation with City Attorney Tom Carpenter, Ward 1 City Director Virgil Miller said the same thing.
“I just want to be clear,” Miller said. “When people say: ‘Director Miller, vote against data centers in Little Rock,’ I just want to tell them it's against state law. I can't do it.”
During the meeting, municipal employees reassured the public that water and electricity would operate normally after the center is built.
Ventrell Thompson from Entergy Arkansas said customers will not see an increase in their energy bills.
“One of the biggest misconceptions that I've heard about the data centers is that they are being built on the backs of regular everyday Arkansans," he said, adding that anyone saying that is “just not informed.”
“Not only are they going to pay their fair share, they are also going to be adding additional benefits for the customers who are already right here.”
The ordinance bans using ground water or drinking water for cooling.
Tad Bohannon, CEO of Central Arkansas Water, said it will be easy to use a nearby water plant for the facility. He said central Arkansas has "plenty of water available.”
Lorell Brown, Public Affairs Manager at Google, opened her presentation by speaking positively on data centers.
“People streaming this media online, that happened because of a data center.”
She says the company will be thorough and respectful if they move forward with construction.
“If you are going to lead the industry, you aren't just going to stop at what the ordinances require you to do. You aren't just going to stop at what the regulations require you to do. Some people do that. It's not Google.”
She said the process could take 12 to 18 months to break ground on the center. It is estimated to cost up to $1 billion and be over 250,000 square feet.
