Missouri Data Center Regulation Efforts Stall as Local Opposition Grows
Missouri lawmakers failed to regulate exploding data center growth, leaving communities to fight the massive facilities through local moratoriums and heated elections.
JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI — Missouri lawmakers failed to pass legislation regulating the rapid expansion of hyperscale data centers during the legislative session that ended May 15, leaving communities across the state to address the massive industrial facilities through local measures and contentious elections.
State Rep. Mike Costlow, a Republican from Dardenne Prairie, saw his data center regulation bill fail to receive a vote along with other similar proposals. “Legislation traditionally lags very far behind technology, and that can create some problems,” Costlow said.
The regulatory void has sparked heated local battles throughout Missouri and neighboring states as communities confront the industrial facilities sprouting across rural America.
Local Communities Take Action
St. Charles, a St. Louis suburb, became one of the first cities in the country to enact a local moratorium on data center construction. The move reflects growing local resistance to the facilities.
In Festus, south of St. Louis, voters in the April election rejected a slate of four city council members who supported a local data center. The controversy reached a boiling point when hundreds of residents mobbed a city council meeting, forcing council members to be escorted out by police.
Petitions seeking recall elections for the mayor and other council members who backed the project were certified last week. Similarly, the city of Independence, a Kansas City suburb, voted out two council members who approved tax breaks for a data center company.
Nationwide Growth and Opposition
Missouri’s struggles mirror those in other states attempting to regulate the booming industry. Maine would have been the first to pass a statewide moratorium on data centers, but the governor vetoed the proposal. Georgia tried to implement a moratorium, but the bill stalled in the session that ended in April.
Alli Finn, director of community partnerships at AI Now, a policy research firm in New York City, said state and local regulation is needed to moderate explosive growth. According to a Stanford University report, the United States hosts 5,427 data centers, more than 10 times any other country, with hundreds more in development.
This rapid growth is driven by cloud computing, streaming services and artificial intelligence use. The Midwest is one of the hottest growth areas, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.
Missouri’s Data Center Landscape
Missouri has at least 91 active data centers of various sizes, according to Data Center Map. At least 14 data centers are in various stages of development across the state, according to Missouri News Network reporting.
Local government meetings around the country have been attended by throngs of residents strongly opposed to data center development in their communities. The facilities have become flashpoints for debates over land use, environmental impact, and economic development priorities.
As the technology sector continues its rapid expansion, Missouri communities find themselves on the front lines of a national debate over how to balance economic development with local concerns about these massive industrial operations.
