ROANE COUNTY, Tenn. (WOKI / WVLT) — Roane County commissioners voted Monday to ask the regional planning commission to pursue a two-year moratorium on new data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations and battery storage facilities, citing concerns about infrastructure demands, public safety and quality of life.
The resolution originally proposed a 180-day pause, but Commissioner Lance Duff introduced a motion to extend the requested moratorium to two years. Commissioners agreed to the change, and the vote drew applause from some audience members attending the meeting.
County leaders said the rapid growth of large-scale technology and energy facilities has raised concerns about their potential impact on local communities. Among the issues highlighted in the resolution are the significant amounts of electricity and water required to operate data centers, the high-frequency noise produced by cooling systems and potential challenges for first responders during emergency situations.
Commissioner Brad Goss said emergency response concerns played a major role in his support for the measure.
“Mr. Chairman, I’d like to say, I am not an advocate on these things. Just like it’s been spoke, it’s a health issue,” Goss said. “There’s one factor we’ve also left out of these. From my fire experience, when these buildings or these utility places catch fire, you can do your research. I have. They are a monster to deal with during emergency events. We have enough issues in this county dealing with trying to provide fire protection. We don’t need another burden such as these big facilities.”
The resolution directs the regional planning commission to develop recommendations for implementing a moratorium that would halt the processing, review and approval of zoning requests, permits and site plans associated with the construction or operation of data centers, battery storage facilities and cryptocurrency mining facilities.
The planning commission will now consider the county’s request and determine what steps would be necessary to establish a formal moratorium. Any future action would affect how new applications for the targeted facilities are reviewed within Roane County.
County officials said the pause would provide time to further study the impacts such developments could have on local infrastructure, emergency services and residents before allowing additional projects to move forward.
