Judge Halts Nevada Data Center Over Environmental Review Failures
The Interior Board of Land Appeals stayed a $3 billion data center project in Nevada after finding the Bureau of Land Management likely violated environmental laws.
The U.S. Department of Interior Board of Land Appeals issued a stay on September 1, halting the development of the $3 billion Townsite Data Center near Boulder City, Nevada. The board found that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) likely violated the National Environmental Policy Act by improperly using a 2023 environmental review for a small solar project to authorize a 167-MW data center.
Administrative Judge David Gunter ruled that the BLM acted arbitrarily or capriciously by claiming the two projects were substantially the same. The court determined that the data center would likely cause permanent and irreparable harm to recreational interests. The project, developed by Townsite Solar 2, LLC, had been approved in June as part of a broader Trump administration effort to accelerate data center permitting on federal lands.
The legal challenge was led by the government of Boulder City and environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club. While the stay does not overturn the project's approval, the developer has agreed to conduct a comprehensive environmental review.
The ruling occurs amid growing regional scrutiny of data center impacts in Southern Nevada. Nye County has banned data centers in the Parump Basin, while Clark County and the city of Henderson are evaluating infrastructure strains. Additionally, Nevada Attorney General candidate Nicole Cannizzaro has proposed state regulations to mandate transparent reporting of water and power consumption and require operators to cover their own infrastructure costs.
