Lawrenceburg

The Lawrence County Commission in Tennessee voted 13-5 to table a one-year data center moratorium, facing public backlash over a planned data center in Lawrenceburg. Opponents argued the resolution would protect county land and prevent hyper-scale data centers, while supporters cited legal risks due to the absence of county-wide zoning. A study committee on data center impacts was also part of the proposed resolution.

A 17-year-old boy died after a cliff-jumping accident at a Nashville quarry over the weekend, according to police. The incident occurred at Bellevue Quarry, where officers and firefighters responded to the scene. The teen, identified as Evan Marsch, was with three friends at the time.

Plans for a data center in Lawrenceburg are advancing after passing the city planning commission unanimously, despite a petition with over 7,000 signatures opposing the project. The proposed 4.9 megawatt facility by Lawrenceburg Utilities System will use a closed-loop water system and is now awaiting city council approval, while St. Joseph in Lawrence County seeks to ban data centers entirely.

St. Joseph in Lawrence County is proposing an ordinance to ban data centers due to concerns over water, electricity, and infrastructure strain, while Lawrenceburg's Planning Commission will vote on permits for the Scalepoint TN data processing center. The efforts reflect conflicting approaches to data center development in the county.

Thousands of residents in Lawrence County, Tennessee, have signed a petition demanding an 18-month moratorium on data centers to allow for public review and infrastructure impact assessments. The petition follows a proposed 60,000-square-foot data center near Flatwoods Road and highlights concerns about resource demands and effects on the local Amish community. Lawrence County Executive David Morgan confirmed the county was not involved in prior negotiations with the data center developers.