Regulating AI Data Centers

Hardin County is already on the list. Under a 2025 state law expanding Kentucky's data center tax breaks, any county with more than 100,000 residents — including Hardin County — qualifies for the largest incentive tier available, meaning we're an eligible target for exactly the kind of large-scale data center project that's now sparking fights over water, noise, farmland, and electric rates in more than a dozen Kentucky counties.

There's no proposal on the table here today, and that's exactly the point. I've studied the Kentucky Resources Council's model data center ordinance and the fights playing out in places like Cave City, where a developer filed plans before the city had rules in place and is now suing to be judged under the old, weaker standards.

Hardin County shouldn't have to learn that lesson the hard way.

We can welcome the right kind of growth without giving away the store. I will:

• Push Fiscal Court to adopt an immediate moratorium, followed by a meaningful data center zoning ordinance — before any company files an application — covering setbacks from homes and farms, enforceable noise limits, and design standards, modeled on the Kentucky Resources Council's statewide template.

• Require that any future data center draw its cooling water from public water systems, not private wells, with the utility certifying up front that existing customers' water quality, service, and rates won't suffer.

• Protect Hardin County ratepayers by insisting the developer, not existing electric customers. pays for any grid or infrastructure upgrades a data center requires.

• Insist on decommissioning bonds so taxpayers are never left holding the bill for site cleanup if a data center shuts down.

• Keep the process public — no closed-door negotiations or non-disclosure agreements that keep residents in the dark about a project in their own backyard.