BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

CANTON – Canton Town Councilors Randy Brown and Greg Kiah have been appointed to a new committee tasked with researching data centers and examining how the town may address their potential development.

The appointment comes on the heels of a July 8 decision by the town to enact a moratorium on data center development within the town lines. The Town of Potsdam has been considering a similar moratorium. It has not yet been approved though.

The appointments were made during the Canton Town Board’s August meeting, following early meetings and a hearing focused on data centers that drew significant attendance, with many people raising concerns about the potential impacts. 

Data center discussions have been at the forefront of many St. Lawrence County municipalities. Some developers have been eyeing Massena for a variety of reasons, including potential access to lower cost power. While some people have spoken in favor of bringing in data centers here, largely they're facing opposition from the general public.

That said, some public officials have touted their benefits and said that decisions regarding their fate should be made by the communities themselves. They say the area could stand to gain from agreements with developers.

In Canton, Town Supervisor Jim Smith said the town needs to begin gathering information and examining how other municipalities across New York are responding to the issue.

“We had two meetings with regard to data centers,” Smith said. “We had a lot of people at both of them. So I think we need to start the process.”

Smith proposed beginning the background work, including reviewing what’s happening in other towns.

Smith pointed out that there have been many meetings concerning data centers in St. Lawrence County and that officials are willing to provide information to the town. He also pointed to the work being done by municipalities across the state.

“There’s lots of stuff out there from other towns,” Smith said. “It’s talked about all across the state.”

Smith said the committee’s initial responsibility would be to gather information and research how other communities have approached data centers. That work could eventually lead to the development of local regulations.

“I wouldn't be surprised if it leads to something like we did with solar, where we end up with a solar law,” he said.

Kiah and Brown will take the lead on researching and weighing the benefits and disadvantages to data center development in Canton.

Meanwhile there are calls for a moratorium in Massena as well, but the town there has not acted on those requests.

St. Lawrence County legislators also discussed  data center moratoriums, but said ultimately such actions would need to be taken by local municipalities. 

New York State feels differently though. A blanket moratorium on data centers was passed by the state Assembly and Senate, but was not signed by Governor Kathy Hochul. However, Hochul has implemented a moratorium on data centers via an executive order, which is separate and distinct from the one passed by the state legislature.

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