{"id":112443,"date":"2026-01-06T06:39:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T06:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/112443\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T06:39:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T06:39:26","slug":"el-paso-county-commissioner-calls-for-guidelines-on-data-center-growth-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/112443\/","title":{"rendered":"El Paso County commissioner calls for guidelines on data center growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

EL PASO, Texas – (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 An influx of massive data centers is transforming parts of the borderland, prompting El Paso County Commissioner Jackie Arroyo Butler to call for a slowdown and the establishment of ground rules before more projects move in. <\/p>\n

One of those projects currently being built is an over $1 billion center being built by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, off US 54 and Stan Roberts Sr. Avenue in Northeast El Paso.<\/p>\n

\"Area<\/p>\n

Area where Meta data center will be built.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Meta to build $1.5 billion AI data center in El Paso, creating 2,000 jobs<\/a><\/p>\n

Butler emphasized the need for clearer expectations for future developments. <\/p>\n

“My intention is to do as much data gathering and information sharing as possible and have those conversations, listen to the community,” Butler said. <\/p>\n

Butler is proposing a best practices guide to help residents understand the long-term impacts before new projects are approved.<\/p>\n

Mark Baugh reports on the El Paso County Commissioner who wants to establish rules for data centers coming to El Paso County<\/p>\n

“I think the goal for a best practices guide is to, to see what’s happening nationally,” Butler added.<\/p>\n

Currently, two data centers are under construction in El Paso County, including one being developed in a green field located at 9879 North Loop Drive, near Socorro, according to a report by Data Center Dynamics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While El Paso County does not control land use or utilities, Butler believes the guide could empower residents with better information and a stronger voice. <\/p>\n

Residents have expressed mixed feelings, with some concerned about environmental impacts and others welcoming job opportunities. <\/p>\n

The proposed guidelines would apply only to future projects, and commissioners will discuss the item at their next meeting on Monday.<\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED: Project Jupiter ignites debate: Economic tech boom or ecological bane for Borderland?<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up<\/a> to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas – (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 An influx of massive data centers is transforming parts of the borderland,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":{"0":"post-112443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-el-paso","8":"tag-el-paso","9":"tag-el-paso-headlines","10":"tag-el-paso-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112443\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}