Residents packed rooms and spilled into the parking lot during Thursday’s Imperial County Board of Supervisors meeting to solicit input on plans to build a large data center without initiating a state environmental review.
Speakers strongly opposed the project, pointing out many health and environmental concerns, and criticized the council for allowing the proposal to continue despite public outcry.
“This project does not exist alone; it affects neighborhoods, families and schools and sets an example of how you treat your constituents,” said Gina Snow, who lives near the proposed site. “If the scope of this project cannot be clearly presented and independently verified, then citizens are being asked to make decisions without the information they need.”
Kristian Salgado urged the board to follow the lead of the Monterey Park City Council, which recently decided to suspend data services and will put the issue to a public vote after the proposed project caused public uproar.
“Across the United States, the public is pushing back against these plans,” Salgado said.
Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, a California limited liability company that started two years ago, is looking to build a 950,000-square-foot facility in the state designed for advanced artificial intelligence operations. The company says it will create jobs and generate $28.75 million in annual property tax revenue.
The county is moving toward finalizing the proposal, and has granted it an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act — a point of contention for many residents. CEQA is an important state law that requires projects to be thoroughly assessed for social and environmental impacts before they begin.
In recent months, residents have launched petitions, spoken at district meetings, rallied in the streets, and launched a community organization, Not in My Backyard Imperial., protesting the data center and seeking a CEQA review.
“What are we doing?” Sergio Pesqueria asked the board on Thursday. “There are lawsuits, there are thousands of people who have signed against this project, there were public comments for more than four hours at the planning commission before, we had to extend an hour tonight because of strong opposition – but here we are moving forward with this project.”
The city of Imperial filed a lawsuit against the county, saying the project should not have received a CEQA exemption. Sebastian Rucci, the CEO of Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, is now suing the city for acting unfairly to destroy the data center.
Rucci previously said the facility will use recycled wastewater and EPA-certified natural gas generators to help minimize any environmental harm. He commissioned several studies that found the project would have minimal impacts on the local community – he reiterated this point on Thursday and told residents they could review these studies on the company’s website.
Another speaker, Jose Garcia, urged the public to support the project because it will create jobs for construction workers. He said that many who work in those jobs are worried because they are struggling to find jobs, and some live in fear of not being able to provide for their children.
“We can’t block just one segment of your electorate,” Garcia told the board. “We have to make it fair for everyone.”
Some residents questioned why the name of the company that plans to use the facility to boost artificial intelligence has been withheld. Rucci previously told The Times that the company is one of the largest artificial hyperscalers, but he would not reveal which one because of ongoing disputes over the project.
Data centers have been around for decades but are rapidly changing and growing due to the global rise of artificial intelligence.
Cornell University researchers last year It is estimated that the growth of AI could add 24 to 44 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere annually by 2030, which is the equivalent of adding 5 to 10 million cars to US roads. Researchers have concluded that it will draw 731 million cubic meters of 1,125 million cubic meters of water per year.
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