Senator Padilla Urges Imperial County to Reject Controversial Data Center Project Until Environmental Review and Public Input is Provided
SACRAMENTO – Today, State Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) issued the following statement ahead of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors holding a vote on a controversial data center development despite public health concerns as well as lawsuits disputing claims made in the proposed agreement. The forthcoming vote on a proposed lot merger will shape what comes next for the project.
“Residents have voiced real concerns surrounding the impact of this project. Such a development, shrouded in secrecy and controversy, cannot be allowed to continue. The public deserves complete transparency and accountability here.
Data center developers have an opportunity to be good neighbors, becoming projects that support California’s grid and the communities in which they are built, but this plan has no such value to the community. Instead, it intends to employ over 100 diesel generators to power operations right in people’s backyards. It’s unacceptable and cannot be allowed to move forward.
I urge the County to listen to community voices crying out for caution and vote down this problematic proposal.”
In December of last year, Senator Padilla sent a letter to the members of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors to request further information on the rationale for the approval of the first stages of a data center application to be developed in the County. To date, the County has yet to provide a response, despite numerous attempts to engage in a conversation to gain better clarity.
In the County’s official notice of the approval of the project, the County asserted the development was eligible for an exemption from a California Environmental Quality Act environmental review. Given the growing national concerns about the energy and water needs of data centers, this permit approval has raised questions as to what mitigation will be undertaken to avoid negative impacts on the community. “…the potential of data centers should not come at the cost of environmental and public health,” said Senator Padilla in the December letter. “Before any data center projects are approved by the County, a complete picture of the water usage and energy demands must be clarified, and area residents must be given a full picture of how the energy and water costs will affect them.”
There has been significant community concern about the potential impacts that the data center could pose on public health, energy costs, and water use. An investigation into the project revealed it could potentially consume almost double the amount of electricity that the entirety of Imperial County used in 2024 and could also need 750,000 gallons of water per day.
Earlier this year, Senator Padilla introduced a legislative package designed to protect California ratepayers from the potential increased costs and environmental damage caused by data centers, Senate Bills 886 and 887.
SB 886 would require the PUC to establish a special tariff to protect ratepayers from the transmission costs that supply large data centers while meeting the state’s climate goals. The tariff will ensure electrical grid investments for data centers are fully recovered to ensure other ratepayers do not end up footing the bill. A tariff would protect ratepayers from skyrocketing costs without increasing the state’s reliance on fossil fuels.
SB 887 would allow data centers to be eligible for Environmental Leadership Development Project (ELDP) certification if they meet the criteria as well as some additional requirements specific to data centers regarding water use, clean energy, and paying full infrastructure costs. ELDP certification grants the applicants accelerated environmental review. Certified data center applicants can go online faster while also protecting surrounding communities from health and environmental impacts. The bill would also clarify data centers are not ministerial projects exempt from California Environmental Quality Act and does not qualify as an advanced manufacturing facility.
Senator Padilla is the author of SB 57, the only bill governing data centers to become law in California last year. The bill was significantly amended after intense pressure from data center developers to become a study into the price impacts of data center development. In his proposed 26/27 budget, Governor Newsom provided full funding for the study. As a result, Senator Padilla will be asking the leadership of the Public Utilities Commission to expedite the completion of the study to better inform data center policy in the state.
To learn more about SBs 886 and 887 and Senator Padilla’s efforts to protect California ratepayers from increasing energy costs, click here and here.
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Steve Padilla represents the 18th Senate District, which includes the communities of Chula Vista, the Coachella Valley, Imperial Beach, the Imperial Valley, National City, and San Diego. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2022, Senator Padilla was the first person of color ever elected to city office in Chula Vista, the first Latino Mayor, and the first openly LGBT person to serve or be elected to city office. Website of Senator Steve Padilla: https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/