Moratorium on All Permits 

(ALBANY, N.Y.) – New York State Senator Jeremy J. Zellner announced his co-sponsorship of Senate Bill S9144A, that would establish a temporary moratorium on permits for new large-scale data centers while New York State studies their impacts on energy demand, infrastructure, the environment, and utility rates.

The legislation, which is currently before the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, would impose a minimum three-year moratorium on permit issuance for new data centers while the Department of Environmental Conservation and Public Service Commission evaluate the impacts of these facilities and recommend safeguards to protect communities and ratepayers.

Senator Zellner's decision to join the legislation comes as a proposed AI data center at the former Tonawanda Coke site continues to generate questions from residents and stakeholders across Western New York. The proposal has raised concerns about energy consumption, environmental impacts, infrastructure demands, and the potential effect on utility costs at a time when families are already facing rising energy bills.

Senator Jeremy Zellner said, As both the State Senator representing this community and a father raising two young children less than ten minutes from the proposed site, this issue is personal to me. I've spent weeks listening to residents, advocates, labor representatives, and project supporters, and one thing is clear: there are still more questions than answers. Before New York approves projects of this scale, we need to understand what they mean for our energy grid, our infrastructure, our environment, and the ratepayers who will ultimately bear the consequences of those decisions.

The former Tonawanda Coke site remains deeply significant to many residents who spent years fighting for environmental accountability and cleaner air. Senator Zellner said communities deserve confidence that the lessons learned from the site's history are not forgotten as future development proposals are considered.

This legislation is not about stopping economic development, labor opportunities, or innovation, Senator Zellner added. It's about making sure New York gets this right. A temporary pause gives us the opportunity to establish the facts, put the proper safeguards in place, and ensure communities have a meaningful voice before decisions are made.

Chris Murawski, Executive Director of the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, said, Clean Air members have been greatly alarmed and personally impacted by industrial data center projects in Erie and Niagara counties for about a decade now, starting with the surge in cryptocurrency mining facilities. We applaud action in Albany to put a temporary moratorium in place statewide on new data center developments to allow for the passage of sensible regulations, and we thank Senator Zellner for co-sponsoring S9144A.

Under S9144A, state agencies would be required to examine the environmental impacts of new data centers, assess their effects on energy demand and utility rates, and recommend actions to ensure costs are not shifted onto residential, commercial, and industrial ratepayers.

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