(La Porte County, IN) - A local official is standing firm on his promise to protect residents from the impact of data centers exploring locations in La Porte County.

While La Porte County Commissioner Joe Haney says he’s against data centers interested in locating near homes or private wells, he would consider supporting a data center in the Kingsbury Industrial Park, provided appropriate restrictions are in place.

"Data centers use electricity, which is going to be a strain on the entire county, as well as the potential for water usage, which wouldn't just affect the water tables inside of the park, but could potentially affect water tables in the surrounding communities that are outside of that park", said Haney. 

To date, Haney indicates no data centers have sought permission from county government to build out in the county.   Currently an effort is under way to create a data center ordinance that would impose restrictions on such facilities.

"There's so many different things that we would have to ensure would be right before I'd even consider putting one in Kingsbury Industrial Park", Haney said.