St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann is calling for the leaders of the region’s local governments to discuss how to deal with the proliferation of massive data centers.
“It's something that if it has to be done, we need to make sure there's a process where it ends up in the right place,” Ehlmann said on the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air.
A proposed data center in St. Charles sparked a public uproar, resulting in the project being pulled and the city council placing a moratorium on the facilities for at least a year. Massive data centers are popping up all over the country as a means to power technology such as artificial intelligence programs. But because they use so much energy and water, they’ve sparked widespread environmental concerns.
While acknowledging that his wife wasn’t a huge fan of the data center project since it was proposed fairly close to their house, Ehlmann said there could be a middle ground between having no regulation on data centers and regulating them out of existence.
“Obviously, I'm for local control, and you have to go through the zoning process, and people need to be heard if this is going to impact their neighborhoods,” said Ehlmann, adding that there are state laws and state agencies like the Public Service Commission also involved in these projects. “I hope the next discussion is a little bit more balanced here, and people will listen to each other a little better than they did before.”
Regulating artificial intelligence companies has become one of the most contentious issues in national politics, often putting Republicans on opposing sides. President Donald Trump has aligned himself with tech companies wary of strict guardrails, while lawmakers like U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley have sought a more restrictive approach.
More regional cooperation
Ehlmann said regional cooperation isn’t some far-off pipe dream.
That’s especially the case for a regional law enforcement training facility that the leaders of Jefferson, St. Charles, Franklin and St. Louis counties agreed to earlier this summer.
Ehlmann said the project, fueled with $50 million of state money, could lead to better-trained police officers and a safer region.
“I think it's going to benefit not only the people in the region, but people at least on the eastern part of the state,” Ehlmann said.
The facility, Ehlmann said, could be used for a multitude of law enforcement training purposes, adding if “you got a new idea, this is a facility to train people.”
He said law enforcement officials will sit on a board that oversees the project, something Ehlmann added is a much better oversight setup than political leaders making the decisions.
“Our law enforcement people cooperate a lot better with each other than the politicians do,” Ehlmann said.
While the City of St. Louis isn’t a part of this multi-county agreement, Ehlmann said he’s hoping that changes in the near future, especially since the city’s involvement is often critical for regional initiatives.
“When you're working together as a region, you need to have the City of St. Louis in that operation,” he said. “The quicker we can get St. Louis in, the better.”
Still, the law enforcement training complex didn’t receive a universally warm reception. Some St. Louis County residents contended it shouldn’t be a priority, especially with more pressing needs in the region.
St. Louis County Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, D-Maplewood, opposed the idea earlier this year, citing her concerns about President Donald Trump’s administration and the “removal of checks and balances on justice and law enforcement in this country.”
“I am having a hard time supporting this,” Clancy said during a St. Louis County Council meeting. “For that reason, I think that this might be a little too much.”
Ehlmann, though, pointed out that the Republican leaders of Jefferson and Franklin counties were trying to get federal funds for the law enforcement facility when Democratic President Joe Biden was still in office.
“Nobody from Jefferson or Franklin or St. Charles county said, ‘Hey, you know, I don't think we want to work with Sam Page or anybody in the city because of who's in the president's office,’” said Ehlmann, referring to the fact that Democrats hold the top executive posts in St. Louis and St. Louis County. “I see that's a total non sequitur.”
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
