Judge questions Jackson officials about Lake Hico data center discussion

By Alex Rozier | Originally published by Mississippi Today

U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate, who’s overseeing the federal Jackson water lawsuit, wanted answers Monday about reported discussions of a potential data center on a historically significant property in the city.

WLBT reported Friday on emails exchanged between Jackson Mayor John Horhn and a local tech nonprofit that detail the benefits a hyperscale data center at Lake Hico would bring, including up to $15 billion in private investment and up to $20 million a year in revenue for the city.

Wingate said he called a status conference to ensure any discussions of a data center in Jackson consider impacts on the city’s rehabilitating water and sewer systems.

Horhn, though, appearing as a witness Monday, said such questions were “very, very premature.” The mayor explained that a developer who recently leased the Lake Hico property, which is 16th Section land owned by Jackson Public Schools, is taking the next three years to explore what to do with the land. The options being considered include residential and industrial uses, Horhn said.

Just three days before the WLBT report, the Jackson City Council voted to pass Mississippi’s first moratorium on new data centers, which is set to start in August and last for six months.

Given the large amount of tax revenue the industry could bring, Horhn said it “would be foolish” for the city to not at least consider bringing in a data center. But he also emphasized that the city, during the moratorium, is developing new rules to account for the public’s concerns around noise, water footprint and energy consumption.

Horhn added he’s sensitive to the significance of Lake Hico and understands why residents would be concerned over the property’s future. Decades ago, the area served as a recreation hub for the city until integration saw white communities abandon the lake for the Ross Barnett Reservoir, the mayor recalled. More recently, Entergy used the property as a cooling pond for one of its power plants. In 2020, the company announced it was draining the lake because JPS wanted to pursue other development.

Jackson City Attorney Drew Martin said the city would consult with JXN Water — the third-party manager of the local water and sewer systems — on the new regulations it plans to enact for data centers. Martin, echoing Horhn, also reiterated to Wingate that the city has received no proposal or application to build a data center at Lake Hico.

This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article