COFFEE COUNTY, TENN. (WTVF) — Coffee County is one of several Tennessee communities to implement a moratorium on data centers.
County leaders took this proactive step as the fight against the facilities heats up for many areas around country.
I traveled to Coffee County to to hear the concerns over the industry, and why protecting the land is so important. That's where I met Jenny McKee.
She lives on 12 acres of land in the Beechgrove community, which straddles Coffee and Bedford counties. Anything happening in either county, could impact her.
"I like waking up and hearing my birds. I like taking a walk in my garden and seeing what's growing, and I like looking at the night stars without a lot of light pollution,"explained McKee.
For Mckee there's a lot at stake when it comes to not just the value of her land, but getting to call this place home.
"Ever since I graduated high school, I've spent my life here,and I've invested everything I've got into this land," she said.
Just like municipalities across the country, Coffee County is racing to how regulate data centers build and operate before one comes to their area.
This week, the Planning Commission voted to ensure the facilities could not be built on farmland. Instead, data centers will only be permitted in land zoned for the Special Impact Industrial District, M-2. This will go before the County Commission for final approval, while the Planning Commission continues its research stricter zoning regulations than are in place currently.
"The measures we are taking now, in a proactive stance will protect us for years to come," said Coffee County Mayor Dennis Hunt.
The county passed a one year moratorium on data centers in order to draft zoning restrictions. The amendments being discussed range from requirements for water quality testing, to landscape buffers.
"Our height limit in Coffee County is 35 ft.—Not 65 but 35. Two things that does is, it will cut down the sound a little bit and it will definitely cut down the light pollution," said one commission member.
"We are setting a goal that if one does come here, the negative impact on this community, both financial, quality of life, all of those aspects, I feel like have to be addressed in the conditions," said Hunt.
The Planning Commission is also exploring the idea of some type of fund the data center would contribute to for the county to use if it ever left and left behind a mess.
"Our biggest concern was decommissioning and abandonment, so we discussed having some sort of, we weren't sure exactly what's it's going to be called, some sort of surety bond, escrow account, or possibly like a remediation fund," said one member. "Have an impact fee per megawatt for them to put it into a bond, that way if they belly up they've been paying into this fund where we have something where we can decommission the building."
These are ideas and discussions people like Mark Strohm and Jenny McKee appreciate.
"I'm 110% behind it," said Strohm. "I don't think they should be building these massive 100, 200, 300 square foot data centers. The water usage, we have water issues in town. That's a concern."
Hunt said he hopes the Planning Commission has a zoning resolution passed for the County Commission to give its final approval by October.
Adding data centers to the zoning language in the M-2 district will go before the County Commission in July. Again, this ensures a data center can not be built in land zoned Agricultural.
Do you have more information about this story? Do you have a concern that could impact the land use in your town? I want to hear from you! Email me at Megan.Scarano@NewsChannel5.com
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