County Considers Opposing AI Data Centers

The Fayette County Commissioners Court considered a resolution opposing data centers in Fayette County, at their meeting last Thursday. They didn’t vote on it, but after much discussion, they agreed to take it up again at a future meeting.

Pct. 2 Commissioner Clint Sternadel proposed the resolution. The Commissioners Court has no legal authority to ban data centers here. However, the resolution would let developers and state lawmakers know that local leaders don’t want them here.

“Will it ever happen here?” Sternadel asked. “It’s already a-go with our neighbors in Washington County. If you follow the news or media in that area, there’s a massive public outcry against such a development. Our neighbors in Rockdale, Williamson, Caldwell and Leon counties and some others in our vicinity have already been approached at the county level.”

Data canters house banks of computer systems that are used to process information, especially for the exploding global demand in artificial intelligence. These banks of computers generate a lot of heat, and data centers often use water for cooling. Sternadel said his biggest concern involves the amount of electricity and groundwater that data centers consume.

“We know they have a very high electrical demand that’s constant, pretty much 24/7,” Sternadel said. “It’s not a fluctuating demand. We know that there is a very high volume of water usage associated with these facilities, primarily for the cooling processes. Here, locally, and in many other rural areas of Texas, water is the new oil, whether it’s from weather pattern changes, overuse or any number of other reasons.

“The bottom line is wells are consistently getting deeper, and, for the quality of drinking water, that increasing cost to drill them and operate are borne by our local landowners,” he added. “Once these data centers are in place, they don’t go away.”

Sternadel said he didn’t want Fayette County to be a “testing ground” for data centers.

Rodney Read, a citizen from Ledbetter, signed up to speak on this topic at the meeting.

“I’m against it for everything he said, there’s a lot of unknowns,” Read said. “I’ve been reading a lot of the things that he’s been reading. They say that they’re going to recycle the water so they won’t use as much water. But we don’t know that. They don’t know that until they get the first one built and get results back. And with the drought and lack of water, I was at a Farm Bureau thing 30 years ago at KC Hall, and one of the speakers said there will be a day that water is more important than oil. And I think we’re at that point right now and I just would like to be against it.”

Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann said he opposes data centers in Fayette County.

“I feel this project with the AI, it’s just with all the other green energy crap, they’re trying to shut down our growth,” Brossmann said. “You get so much federal subsidies for all these projects, for the windmills, for the battery storage, for the solar panels and for this stuff.

“I’ve always been against it ever since I’ve been on this court,” Brossmann said. “And I always say the same: I don’t think they need any of our local tax money. They have plenty of stuff they’re getting free, from the government, they’re trying to prop these up everywhere throughout the country, throughout the state. So I’m completely against it. I’m glad that Clint put this on here.”

Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff said the oil industry also uses massive amounts of groundwater in Fayette County.

“There’s a lot of wells being fracked around here,” Berckenhoff said. “Plus, they’re putting the water that’s being fracked, with chemicals, back into the ground. They’re just storing it in the ground. So there’s a lot more other things to advocate for than just this. I do agree with the resolution. But when you talk about water rights, we need to talk about fracking, what they’re doing to your neighbor’s well.”

Brossmann suggested that the Commissioners Court could invite Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District Manager David Van Dresser to a future meeting to discuss ground water usage by industrial users like data centers.

Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom said technological improvements may reduce the need for water in data centers.

“At the University of Texas, there’s a professor who’s actually taking water out of it and coming up with a deal to use refrigerant, more or less like in your house with air conditioning,” McBroom said. “That could take (water) out of it.

“I’m big on property rights,” McBroom added. “If there’s an issue, I think we need to focus on the issue. If the issue is water, then how much water? If the issue is electricity, how much electricity?”

Sternadel said the resolution he proposed asks the State Legislature to give counties some oversight over data centers.

“So that we can ask, ‘What are you going to do with your wastewater?’” Sternadel said. “Can we get some restrictions on that usage based on the particulars of Fayette County?”

Sternadel said the resolution he proposed was based on the one the Commissioners Court passed in 2024 opposing wind farm developments in Fayette County.

The resolution almost came up for a vote. Sternadel moved to adopt the resolution, and Brossmann seconded his motion. But then McBroom raised a concern that the resolution does not define what a data center is.

“It’s very vague,” Mc-Broom said. “I think there’s agreement about the very large, 300-acre (data centers). But what is a data center? Is Colorado Valley Telephone a data center? They have a bank of computers. There’s no differentiation in that.”

County Judge Dan Mueller suggested that Sternadel work with Assistant County Attorney Blake Watson to refine the resolution under consideration and then bring it back to the court at a later meeting.

“Thank you for bringing this up,” McBroom said to Sternadel. “I was at the feed store the other day and somebody was talking about it. Water, I think, is going to be one of the biggest issues. But at the same time, I wonder if it’s just data center water or water in general. We really need to start honing in on it and say, ‘Hey, these industries are using a lot of water,’ and combine it all together.”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to any of that language being added,” Sternadel said.

Sternadel withdrew his motion. The Court took no action on the agenda item but agreed to take it up again at a future meeting.

President Donald Trump has been a big supporter of data center construction in the United States. He wants the U.S. to lead the world in artificial intelligence technology, and that will require a huge investment in data centers across the nation.

After Thursday’s meeting, the Record asked the Commissioners Court whether the President’s policies on data centers conflict with rural places like Fayette County.

“I don’t think anybody here is opposed to data centers,” said County Judge Dan Mueller. “But we’re opposed to data centers in Fayette County.”

“The thing is this – whether its gravel pits, fracking or whatever, just give us some authority,” Sternadel said.

Brossmann said developers should build data centers in the cities, not rural areas.

“Our land is already chopped up,” Brossmann said. “We don’t need to lose anymore of what we have.”

The Record reached out to the White House last week to ask how the administration is balancing data center growth with the concerns of rural leaders.

“Rural America came out in force for President Trump on Election Day, and the President will always do what’s best for our farmers,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai. “The Trump administration is aware of Americans’ concerns surrounding data center investments in their communities, and is working closely with tech companies to proactively address them with forthcoming policy announcements. America’s prosperity relies on our continued dominance in both agriculture and the cutting edge technologies of the future, and the Trump administration is committed to supporting both.”