Locals from Glen Rose attended a Tuesday night meeting organized by Protect The Paluxy Valley regarding a proposed data center near Dinosaur Valley State Park and along the Paluxy River Basin.
Black Mountain, a Fort Worth-based developer, is expected to build the proposed data center. The project would border the state park on 450 acres and cost more than $10 billion.
Environmental researcher Thad Scott said, “A small percentage of development can have a potentially substantial impact on what’s in the river,” raising questions about the potential effects the data center could have on Dinosaur Valley.
The debate comes as counties across the state attempt to curtail data center construction. Multiple counties are calling on state lawmakers to either create more regulations around the developments to protect local resources or empower the county officials to do so themselves.
“Groundwater is one of our most valuable resources,” said Kathy Turner Jones, general manager of the Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, in an interview with KERA News. “The decisions we make today will influence not only our own access, but our ability for future generations to live, work, farm, and prosper in our communities,” she said, stressing the long-term consequences of those decisions.
State Rep. Helen Kerwin (R–Glen Rose) also attended the meeting and voiced her concerns for the broader implications of data center construction in Texas, underscoring the statewide stakes of the issue.
“The question before us tonight is not whether Texas should grow. The question is whether Texas will grow responsibly,” said Kerwin. “If we cannot protect our beloved Dinosaur Valley State Park, which I consider the crown jewel of the Texas state park system, every state park in Texas is vulnerable.”
Kerwin has asked the governor for an “immediate pause” on data center construction in rural Texas in order to “get the foundational policies right from the beginning.”
Some Texans are urging Gov. Greg Abbott to hold a special legislative session to regulate data centers. In the meantime, the Texas House Committee on Natural Resources is slated to hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 23, regarding data center development.
