KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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A Kansas state senator is calling for “all municipal and county governing bodies” in Johnson and Miami counties in Kansas to pass resolutions in support of a moratorium on data centers.
Sen. Doug Shane (R - Louisburg) said he has heard from his constituents who are concerned about the impacts data center facilities will have on their communities.
“My constituents are making it clear that they want a moratorium on all new data center projects until a more coherent strategy can be developed regarding these facilities,” Shane said in a May 14 news release.
The call comes a day after the Leavenworth County Commission voted 3-2 to enact a 90-day data center moratorium as debate continues on a 1,000-acre project north of Interstate 70 near Tonganoxie.
Earlier this month, developers behind a proposed data center project in Gardner informed city leaders it was backing out of the project after the city said it would not grant incentives for the project.
On Tuesday, KSHB 41 News reporter Isabella Ledonne was at the Edgerton Planning Commission meeting, where commissioners tabled a data center proposal from DAMAC.
Commissioners said they wanted more information about noise levels and the developer’s future expansion plans as the reason for the delay.
In his news release Thursday, Shane said the planning commission had “wisely tabled consideration.”
Shane said there are valid reasons for data centers to exist in the United States, “but this should be done strategically, deliberately and in the right locations.”
Should local jurisdictions heed his call for the moratorium, he hopes they will use the time to determine under what conditions and requirements the data centers must operate within.
“If governing bodies in Miami and Johnson counties chose to move forward with these projects, I will work with other legislators to call a special session for the purpose of introducing legislation addressing the very real concerns of my constituents and the people of Kansas,” Shane said.
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