Pahrump voices its opposition to data centers at Nye County forum.

In an effort to gauge the local community’s feelings toward potential hyperscale data center development in the Pahrump Valley, Nye County hosted a Data Center Forum this past weekend. Several hundred people flocked to the event and it was evident that for the vast majority of those attending, proposals for large-scale data centers are not welcome - no matter the reassurances or benefits that developers may have to offer.

The Nye County Data Center Forum took place Saturday, July 25 inside the Nye County Commissioners’ Chambers, with commissioners Ian Bayne and Bruce Jabbour organizing the gathering. There were so many residents inundating the venue that the room was over capacity as the start time of 10 a.m. approached, prompting officials to ask those without a seat to wait outside. Despite the day’s high temperatures, many did just that, sticking around the Calvada Eye until being called inside in groups of one or two at a time. For all of those wishing to speak, each was given two minutes and then asked to leave the building in order to make room for those waiting outside.

“I had no idea this many would show up,” Jabbour remarked as the event got underway, eliciting a rumble of wry laughter from the gathering.

One of the first speakers of the morning was local developer Russ Meads, who is working on the highly-controversial data center project known as Manse Technology Campus. As one of the few who have voiced their support for this particular project, Meads said he has been receiving a lot of public backlash but he felt there were some misunderstandings among the community.

“I’ve lived here over 30 years in the valley, my family lives here. We want to continue to live here generationally, so obviously, I want nothing that is going to harm our community,” Meads stated.

However, he did not address specific concerns or points during the forum, instead referring to another data center discussion that residents will have the chance to attend next week. “On August 3, we’ll be able to share some actual engineering and some facts and have some back and forth. I hope everybody – both sides – takes the opportunity,” Meads said.

As for the remainder of the turnout, the overwhelming majority spoke out against data centers and aired their concerns about water use in an area with limited resources, potential contamination of the valley’s sole-source aquifer, noise pollution, environmental impacts, strain on local infrastructure and more, with only a couple of people speaking in favor of these developments.

Diane Sauter kicked it off, telling the crowd, “My husband and I bought property here and we were about to start building, until we found out about the data centers… I’m totally against this.”

Greg Hafen II, who is a Nevada assemblyman, said he was not speaking in that capacity but rather, on behalf of Pahrump Utilities Company, which his family owns and operates. Hafen explained that he had submitted a letter of opposition to a zone change needed to support the Manse Technology Campus when it went before the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission last month.

“My biggest concern is obviously the water,” Hafen asserted. “This proposal - if you look at data centers across the nation - has the potential to contaminate our water table and use a lot of water – even though they [Manse Technology Campus] have said they won’t do that… There were no safeguards put in place. There is nothing in writing that requires them to protect our aquifer. And as the general manager of a utility, I am obligated to protect my customers.”

As to the use of closed-loop systems that are supposed to reduce water consumption at these facilities, Jean Alexander Booth, a Marine Corps veteran with experience in power plants, expressed reservations.

“That’s the same system they use in aircraft, to cool down their engines. And they corrode, they need to be flushed, they need to be replaced. Where does that water go? All of that is going right back into our water. We can’t afford this,” she emphasized.

Martin Zam, who said he has spent 46 years designing, building and operating data centers, told the crowd that do not make good neighbors.

“Although data centers are necessary - and really, inevitable - they do not belong where you have a large concentration of people or a large concentration of wildlife that needs to be tended to,” Zam stated. “And the drone [of the noise] and the drain on quality of life living next to a data center, it can’t be justified. I worked in and around them for so many years and I cannot think of a single example where the neighborhood has benefitted from having a data center local to it.”

Another speaker urged the county not to “open Pandora’s Box” while yet another recommended any action wait until an updated water study on Pahrump’s Basin No. 162 is ready next year. Lorraine Gilbert asserted that accidents are not planned and the consequences from a data center could be irreversible. Stephani Hashimura noted that five states have already placed moratoriums on data centers and several others are considering the same. Several people asked if the developer would be held responsible if some accident did occur and suggested security bonds to assure this. Others spoke on the potential health issues that are being reported as connected to data center development and some also highlighted the Nye County Water District’s stance in favor of a prohibition on these facilities.

On the other side of the coin, Frank Boneseal said he was not for or against data centers but he was worried about the possibility of financial impacts from a ban, which could lead to lawsuits. Instead, he suggested putting in place strong regulations for such facilities. Aaron Aguilar agreed in part, noting that he is not opposed to data centers but he did believe there should be regulations in place first.

As for Melody Keith, she asserted that she wants to keep an open mind but her most pressing concern is a lack of information on the long-term impacts of the large data centers that have been seeing a pushback as they attempt to enter communities across the country.

“If the rest of the country doesn’t want data centers, why should we have it? We need to know more about it,” she declared, adding, “We’re not a dump site.”

The developer of Manse Technology Campus, Sean Dalesandro, and several representatives of that project were in attendance Saturday to see for themselves what residents had to say, not just about their project but about data centers as a whole.

The team behind Manse Technology Campus will also be hosting its own public forum on its proposal, which is set for 6 p.m. on Monday, August 3 at the Pahrump Nugget Events Center.

Residents have already started to organize a second data center protest to take place that same night, on Highway 160 fronting the Nugget.

The following day, during its regular meeting, the Nye County Commission will hold a public hearing on a bill put forward by Bayne that aims to ban data centers from any town in the county that does not have its own elected town board.

That meeting will start at 10 a.m. at the commissioners’ chambers, 2100 E. Walt Williams Drive in Pahrump and 101 Radar Road in Tonopah. Residents can also participate via teleconference by following the instructions on the August 4 agenda, which should be posted Thursday on the county’s website.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com