BRECC Action Challenge Application Information Session

NACo CEO Matt Chase: "The fundamentals remain the same: demand a seat at the table, study the supply chain, understand the financing capital stacks, ask hard questions and fight for a deal that leaves your community better off — not used and abused."

Data centers often cluster in a few places, need treated water and use the most when demand is already high in hot weather. This growing demand is driving data center development nationwide, accelerating local proposals and the importance for county officials to understand impacts to energy, land and water resources. 

County officials in states like West Virginia and Texas are limited in their ability to regulate data centers while still held accountable by their residents.

Data center development across the country has put a new focus on county policies, how they regulate land use and more for local residents and how they could shape the path for economic growth built around artificial intelligence and information technology.

On Sep. 30, the leaders of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (S. 5653), a comprehensive, bipartisan permitting reform package that would make major changes to several federal environmental protection statutes.

Philanthropic organizations offer a specialized approach to managing proceeds from community benefit agreements struck between counties and energy companies.