Wireless and EMF Program

Recommendations for Local Governments Regarding Data Centers

Recommendations for Local Governments Regarding Data Centers

Data centers are rapidly being proposed in communities whose zoning ordinances were never designed to address facilities of this scale and complexity. Before approving new facilities, local governments should conduct a thorough and transparent review of environmental, public health, and community impacts and adopt appropriate zoning safeguards and performance standards. 

Transparency, oversight, and the protection of public health and the environment should be the highest priorities in any data center regulatory framework.

Enact a Moratorium

Local governments should, at a minimum, adopt a moratorium on new data center approvals until comprehensive zoning safeguards, performance standards, monitoring requirements, and enforcement mechanisms are established. Data centers are not typical commercial or even heavy industrial developments. They are a massive new type of infrastructure, requiring extensive supporting utility infrastructure. A temporary pause allows communities to evaluate potential impacts and establish appropriate protections and safeguards. 

Some communities are banning data centers all together. 

Create a Separate Zoning Classification for Data Centers

Traditional zoning frameworks were not designed for data centers. Local governments should regulate data centers as a distinct land use and adopt data center-specific zoning standards, overlay districts, and special-use regulations that address their unique infrastructure, environmental, and community impacts.

Eliminate By-Right Development

Large-scale data centers should not be permitted by right. Instead, projects should undergo discretionary review through conditional-use permits that allow local governments to evaluate site-specific impacts, infrastructure needs and the myriad of environmental concerns before approval.

Setbacks and Siting Restrictions 

Data centers should be located only in areas with adequate infrastructure capacity and appropriate separation from sensitive land uses. Local governments should establish science-based setbacks and buffers from homes, schools, daycares, parks, hospitals, wildlife areas and other environmentally sensitive areas. Siting decisions should consider cumulative impacts from not only the data center campus itself, but also the associated infrastructure needs such as substations and transmission lines.

With noise impacting communities for miles and power quality issues extending over 20 miles, local governments need to take a hard and comprehensive look at the issue. 

Require Developers to Pay Infrastructure Costs

Data center operators should bear the full cost of infrastructure upgrades required to support their facilities, including substations, transmission lines, water infrastructure, road improvements, and grid upgrades. Residents should not be required to subsidize private development through increased utility rates or taxpayer-funded infrastructure expansion.

Protect Utility Customers 

Local governments should work with utilities and regulators to ensure data center growth does not increase electricity costs for households or threaten grid reliability. Data center operators should provide accurate load forecasts, participate in demand-response programs, and contribute to measures that reduce strain on the electrical grid during periods of peak demand.

Require Comprehensive Environmental Assessments

Before approval, applicants should be required to evaluate and publicly disclose all direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the proposed facility  including:

  • Water consumption
  • Wastewater impacts
  • Stormwater management
  • Air emissions from backup generators
  • Greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts
  • Noise, vibration, infrasound and low-frequency sound
  • Electricity demand and transmission infrastructure expansion 
  • Electromagnetic fields (EMF) exposures
  • Harmonic distortion and power quality impacts
  • Visual impacts
  • Public safety and emergency response needs
  • Impacts on utility affordability and reliability
  • Lighting 

Adopt Strong Performance Standards

Communities should establish enforceable standards for:

  • Noise and vibration
  • Low-frequency noise and infrasound
  • Water use efficiency
  • Energy efficiency
  • Air emissions 
  • Lighting and glare
  • Landscaping and visual screening
  • Construction impacts
  • Backup power operations
  • Power quality and harmonic distortion
  • Magnetic and electric field EMF levels 

Require Public Transparency and Ongoing Monitoring

Permits should require ongoing monitoring and public reporting throughout the life of the facility. Data should be independently verified and made publicly available in an easily accessible format so that residents can understand and evaluate operational impacts.

Encourage Innovation and Require Best Available Technologies

Local governments should adopt resolutions and send formal letters urging state and federal agencies, utilities and technology companies to invest in technologies that reduce energy demand, water consumption, noise, air pollution,  EMF exposure, and other community impacts. 

Policymakers should encourage innovation in AI efficiency, distributed computing, advanced cooling systems, and other alternatives. The goal should be not only to mitigate impacts, but to develop technologies that avoid creating them in the first place.

Data Center Resources for Policymakers

Organizations across the country are developing guidance, model ordinances, technical resources, and policy recommendations to help local governments evaluate and manage the complex impacts of data center development.

National League of Cities 

National Caucus of Environmental Legislators

Data Center Policy Options Resources: This includes the latest proposed and enacted laws. 

Environmental Law Institute

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute: They have an article series on the Environmental Impacts of Data Centers including: 

Sierra Club: Their extensive data center website resources and 2026 State Policy Guidance urges lawmakers and regulators to protect residents from higher electricity bills, require transparency about environmental impacts, expand renewable energy use and support community opposition to harmful data center projects with examples of state efforts nationwide. 

Overview of the Health and Environmental Impacts of Data Centers
Data Centers and EMF Health Risk
Science on Transmission Line EMF Health Risk