The Municipality of Kincardine is calling for greater municipal involvement and stronger environmental and financial protections as Ontario develops rules for large-scale data centres.
Council reviewed the province’s proposed Data Centre Playbook during its August 26 meeting and directed staff to submit a series of recommendations before the provincial consultation closes.
The municipality stressed that the recommendations do not indicate whether Kincardine would support a data centre proposed for the community.
"The intent of the discussion was not to establish a municipal position in support of, or in opposition to, data centre development within the Municipality of Kincardine," the municipality said in a release. "Rather, its intention was to provide recommendations to the province that may strengthen the final framework for evaluating and managing this form of development."
Among the recommendations is a requirement for formal municipal support before a data centre receives provincial approval to connect to Ontario’s electrical grid.
"Provincial grid connection approval for a data centre should recognize the municipality’s role in land use planning, infrastructure capacity, servicing and assessing local community impacts," the release said.
Kincardine also wants data-centre proponents to show how they will limit water consumption. Council recommended requiring water-efficient cooling technologies, including closed-loop systems, to reduce reliance on municipal drinking water.
The municipality is also seeking enforceable standards for continuous and low-frequency noise, along with rules governing diesel and natural-gas backup generators. Those rules could include emissions reporting, operating limits and consideration of lower-emission alternatives such as battery storage.
Council said municipalities should not be left responsible for costs associated with roads, water and wastewater infrastructure, emergency services, utility upgrades or additional planning and building services.
"Proponents should demonstrate that municipalities will not be left with unrecovered costs" resulting from a development, the municipality said.
Kincardine is also asking the province to require community-benefit plans containing measurable commitments related to local hiring, training, infrastructure contributions, partnerships and community investment.
Council said the economic value of a development should not be judged solely by the construction activity it generates.
"Economic benefits should be measured through permanent employment, local workforce participation, training and apprenticeships, not solely short-term construction jobs," the release said.
Other recommendations address transparency around facility ownership and operations, electronic-waste disposal, decommissioning plans and emergency preparedness.
Ontario is accepting public feedback on the proposed Data Centre Playbook until September 12. The resulting framework is expected to help govern where data centres may be built and what types of projects may be permitted.
