Onondaga County launches data center study, cites infrastructure concerns

Onondaga County is spending $500,000 to study data centers before the next wave of proposals reaches local boards and planning staffs. County Executive Ryan McMahon announced the task force on June 15, calling it the first county-led comprehensive data center study in New York State.

The county said the work will be handled by an outside firm and guided by a cross-departmental task force that includes representatives from economic development, planning, water and environmental protection, public health and other agencies. County officials said that structure is meant to push the issue beyond a simple jobs-versus-growth debate and give municipalities a shared framework before they face siting decisions.

McMahon said the study should take about five to six months and be finished by the end of 2026. The county said it wants a neutral review that does not argue for or against data centers, but instead lays out best practices, technology standards, reclaimed-water uses and design standards that local governments can use when proposals arrive.

The review is expected to dig into the parts of data center development that affect everyday life in Onondaga County: public health, water supply, wastewater capacity, energy and utility requirements, land use, noise, environmental effects and other operational issues. That matters in a county where the conversation about growth is already being shaped by Micron Technology’s planned semiconductor project in Clay, which has raised alarms about whether local infrastructure can keep up.

Onondaga County Water Authority officials have said Micron could drive water demand to roughly double the county’s current use. OCWA executive Jeff Brown has said the related water infrastructure work could cost more than $550 million. The authority currently pulls about 17 million to 18 million gallons of water a day, and summer use could climb to 35 million gallons a day. The study now underway is likely to feed directly into how county and town leaders think about those pressures.

The broader political backdrop is getting tighter as well. New York State Senator Kristen Gonzalez introduced S.10642, the Responsible Data Center Development Act, on June 2. The bill would place a one-year moratorium on new permits for large data centers over 20 megawatts and require additional environmental and rate-impact review. Earlier legislation, S9144, was described as a sweeping moratorium proposal.

For Onondaga County, the study is more than a planning exercise. It is the first real test of how local government intends to weigh a fast-growing industry against power demand, water supply, tax-break pressure and land-use decisions as the Micron era reshapes Central New York.