James Bialota

On concerns about hyperscale data centers

There are numerous concerns I have heard of from concerned citizens;  1. huge tax incentives.  2. Water safety/usage  3. Electrical utility rate increases.  4 Sound/emissions. 5 Unknown effects James Bialota for Congress Supports the People and will follow the citizens wishes on this subject and it appears clear, the Citizens are not in favor of these projects getting any tax payer funding.   The state has passed 2 bills in South Dakota, The law applies to data centers with a peak electrical demand of 10 megawatts or greater. It will require data center companies to ensure their water use does not overburden local resources and to pay for the electrical infrastructure costs attributable to them. It also prohibits the state from overriding local ordinances limiting, prohibiting or otherwise regulating data centers.Another bill signed into law allows the state Public Utilities Commission to assess data center companies the costs of regulatory reviews related to their projects.

How they’d address those concerns

1. I do not support tax bonuses or subsidies for business.  I would not vote to support any such tax payer spending. 2 & 3. I would Enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act, which protects water for safety.  I support companies paying their own way on Utilities like water and electric.  I would not support rate increases for all to support a single business. 4.  I support Property Rights, and although property owners have a right to build a data center, they do not have a right to violate their neighbors property rights.   This includes the right to enjoy their own land without excessive noise and emissions.   I would seek all enforcement and design plans to ensure sound and emissions are kept on their own property.   This can be done buy planting trees, installing sound barriers and whatever is needed for emissions to be blocked from neighbors exposure.   I would also support local ordinances protecting the community in such ways. 5. Many people are worried about potential long term effects of living in proximity to such data centers.   There is a concern as research is limited on such affects.  Property set backs at the local level can help mitigate.  Many states have tried to pass a moratorium to delay builds until research is completed.   South Dakota considered two moratorium vehicles, SB 232 and HB 1301. Both failed to advance, with SB 232 tabled in Senate State Affairs and HB 1301 deferred in House State Affairs. My opponent was endorsed by Casey Crabtree who supported both the Data Centers tax exemptions and the CO2 pipeline with immanent Domaine for private gain. Sen. Casey Crabtree of Madison introduced two pieces of legislation that could affect data-center sales taxes. Senate Bill 234 would specifically exempt from sales tax “enterprise information technology equipment or computer software to be used in a qualified data center.” Senate Bill 235 would make data centers eligible for reinvestment payments — essentially sales-tax rebates — administered by the South Dakota Board of Economic Development.