COLUMBUS, Ohio (RFD News) — Ohio Farm Bureau is praising the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision not to move forward with a general permit for data centers in the state. OHFB Director of State Policy Evan Callicoat says the proposal would have allowed a general permit for data center companies rather than reviewing projects individually.
“It was allowing essentially a general permit for each data center company instead of a project-by-project, site-based. That was very concerning to us. We think we’ve had great success in protecting Ohio’s water quality over the last decade through the H2Ohio program. We wanted to make sure we were not making any decisions that would harm water quality. We were very glad to see the EPA not move forward with that general permit and kind of, as you said, retain that existing regulatory structure on a state-by-state basis.”
Callicoat is urging rural residents to speak up, saying many of the decisions are made at the local level.
“A lot of these decisions are at the local level. They’re not necessarily at the state or national level. We want to remind our members of that,” he said. “Their voice is most powerful. They’re in their local communities. I think anyone in rural America should make sure that whatever their opinion is on data centers, they should be going to those local town meetings and making their voice heard.”
Many remain skeptical of artificial intelligence and the data centers that power it. The latest Ag Economy Barometer found that 52 percent of respondents said there is no benefit to using artificial intelligence or data-driven tools.
