Residents urge Rutherford County to consider moratorium on AI data centers, citing water, noise and air concerns

Two residents urged the Rutherford County Board of Commissioners on June 11 to adopt a temporary moratorium or ban on construction of large AI data centers in unincorporated parts of the county.

Bridal Dowdy, a District 13 resident, asked the commission to "impose a county wide 12 month moratorium or ban on the construction of any AI data centers," saying the facilities consume large amounts of electricity and water, create continuous noise, and can reduce property values. Dowdy cited national examples and argued that rural areas are often the sites for such facilities.

Kathy Watts, a District 16 resident, described several planned or proposed AI data centers in Tennessee and echoed concerns about air emissions, unpermitted methane turbines at a large Memphis facility, and the absence of local zoning tools to prevent facilities from siting near homes or sensitive uses such as the Nashville Zoo. Watts asked the commission to adopt a 12 to 18 month moratorium to allow the county to develop zoning and safeguards.

Planning Director Doug DeMasi told commissioners the county does not currently identify "data center" as a specific use in the zoning ordinance, so a large facility would typically require rezoning or a planned development application and thus be subject to the existing public hearing and site-plan review process. DeMasi said staff had done some preliminary zoning research and had talked with utilities about concerns but had not received formal proposals for data centers in the unincorporated county.

Commissioners asked staff to clarify the county's process and to report back on what regulatory tools exist; no formal moratorium or regulation was adopted at the June 11 meeting.