「英中对照」加州法官初步裁定330MW数据中心项目须先完成全面环评

Imperial County must set aside key approvals for a planned 330 MW data center and complete a full environmental review before construction can move forward, a California judge has tentatively ruled.加州一名法官初步裁定，因皮里尔县必须撤销一座规划中的330 MW数据中心的关键审批，并在施工推进前完成全面环境审查。

Imperial County Superior Court Judge L. Brooks Anderholt found the County improperly treated the project’s approvals as ministerial and relied on a 2017 environmental review that did not address the development now proposed. If the tentative decision is adopted as the court’s final ruling, the County would need to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before processing permits for the project, according to Alene Taber, who represents the City of Imperial.因皮里尔县高等法院法官 L. Brooks Anderholt 认定，该县不当地将该项目的审批视为事务性审批，并依据2017年的一份环境审查报告，而该报告未涉及当前拟议的开发项目。代表因皮里尔市的 Alene Taber 表示，如果该初步决定被采纳为法院最终裁决，该县在办理该项目许可之前，需根据《加州环境质量法》（CEQA）编制一份环境影响报告（EIR）。

The dispute concerns Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, LLC’s proposal for a roughly 950,000-square-foot data center on about 75 acres southeast of Aten Road and Clark Road. As described in public records, the project would include a 330 MW load, a 330 MW substation, an 862 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), cooling and water treatment facilities, four 500,000-gallon water tanks, a six-acre retention basin, and a 330 MW emergency generation facility with 132 natural gas generators.该争议涉及 Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, LLC 拟在 Aten Road 与 Clark Road 东南侧约75英亩土地上建设一座约950,000平方英尺数据中心。根据公开记录，该项目将包括330 MW负荷、一座330 MW变电站、一套862 MWh电池储能系统（BESS）、冷却与水处理设施、四个500,000加仑水箱、一个六英亩调蓄池，以及一座配备132台天然气发电机的330 MW应急发电设施。

Related:Low-Frequency Noise and Data Centers: What to Know相关：低频噪声与数据中心：须知事项

The project would also require transmission interconnections with the Imperial Irrigation District (IID).该项目还需与 Imperial Irrigation District（IID）进行输电互联。

The court’s proposed remedy requires the County to identify the entire project and conduct the CEQA environmental review before allowing grading, construction, or other physical development to proceed.法院拟议的救济措施要求该县在允许场地平整、施工或其他实体开发推进之前，认定整个项目并开展 CEQA 环境审查。

County’s 2017 Review该县2017年的审查

The dispute centers on Imperial County’s 2017 amendments to its zoning code, which established data centers as permitted uses in certain industrial zones. The County adopted a negative declaration for those amendments, finding that the proposed changes would not have significant environmental effects.争议集中在因皮里尔县2017年对其分区法规的修订，该修订将数据中心确定为某些工业区的许可用途。该县针对这些修订通过了一份否定性声明，认定拟议变更不会产生重大环境影响。

But Judge Anderholt said that the 2017 environmental review did not separately analyze the infrastructure associated with the IVCM project. The tentative decision identifies the BESS, the 330 MW substation, large-scale natural gas generation, high-capacity transmission interconnections, and cooling infrastructure and water treatment facilities as features not addressed in the earlier review.但 Anderholt 法官表示，2017年的环境审查未单独分析与 IVCM 项目相关的基础设施。初步决定将 BESS、330 MW变电站、大规模天然气发电、高容量输电互联以及冷却基础设施和水处理设施列为早前审查未涉及的项目内容。

The County had argued that the 2017 zoning amendment permitted the data center as a matter of right and that the approvals the City challenged were ministerial.该县辩称，2017年的分区修订使数据中心成为当然许可用途，且市方质疑的审批属于事务性审批。

The judge rejected that argument.法官驳回了该论点。

“The grading, lot merger, road vacation, electrical facilities, water systems, and related infrastructure serve one cohesive construction and operation of the data center,” the decision said.裁决称：“场地平整、宗地合并、道路废止、电力设施、供水系统及相关基础设施，共同服务于数据中心这一整体性的建设与运营。”

Related:Delivery Certainty Will Define the Next Phase of Data Center Growth相关：交付确定性将定义数据中心增长的下一阶段

The court found that the grading approval was not purely mechanical because the County could impose conditions addressing drainage, roadways, traffic, soil, and safety requirements. The record also showed other discretionary actions associated with the project, including a lot merger and proposed vacation of Leimgruber Road.法院认定，场地平整审批并非纯机械性事务，因为该县可就排水、道路、交通、土壤和安全要求附加条件。记录还显示了与该项目相关的其他裁量行为，包括一宗宗地合并以及拟议废止 Leimgruber Road。

Scale and Cumulative Impacts规模与累积影响

The project’s scale was central to the City’s argument that the County needed to evaluate the development as an integrated project rather than a collection of separate approvals.该项目的规模是市方以下主张的核心：该县需要将该开发项目作为一个综合项目进行评估，而不是将其作为一系列相互独立的审批。

“The data center project is enormous,” Taber said, pointing to the roughly 950,000-square-foot building, battery energy storage system, 330 MW substation and 132 natural gas generators.“这个数据中心项目规模庞大，”Taber指着这座约950,000平方英尺的建筑、电池储能系统、330 MW变电站和132台天然气发电机说道。

“A serial, piecemeal approval process disguises the total impact of the overall project,” she said. “The impacts cannot be meaningfully assessed and disclosed to the public without considering the cumulative impacts caused by all of the data center components together.”“串行、零散的审批流程掩盖了整个项目的总体影响，”她表示。“如果不综合考虑所有数据中心组成部分共同造成的累积影响，就无法对这些影响进行有意义的评估并向公众披露。”

The court found substantial evidence supporting a fair argument that the project may significantly affect the environment, including impacts involving energy supply and electrical infrastructure, water supply and wastewater, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, hazardous materials and fire safety, traffic and public services, land use, and cumulative and growth-inducing effects.法院认定，有充分证据支持一项合理主张，即该项目可能对环境产生重大影响，涉及能源供应与电力基础设施、供水与废水、空气质量与温室气体排放、危险品与消防安全、交通与公共服务、土地利用，以及累积影响和诱发增长效应。

Related:The AI Data Center Boom Is Here. Can Contractor Safety Keep Pace?相关：AI数据中心热潮已至，承包商安全能否跟上？

Water and Power in Focus聚焦水与电力

The proposed EIR is expected to examine the project’s water demands, the source and availability of that water, wastewater discharge, and energy requirements, Taber said. The project has already faced separate questions about water supply, making water one of the more consequential issues for the environmental review.Taber表示，拟议的EIR预计将审查该项目的用水需求、水源及其可得性、废水排放和能源需求。该项目此前已面临有关供水的单独质疑，这使水成为环境审查中更具重大影响的问题之一。

The court’s decision identifies the project’s water infrastructure, including four 500,000-gallon tanks, water treatment, and a retention basin, as part of the record supporting further review of water, wastewater, and drainage effects.法院的裁定将该项目的水基础设施，包括4个500,000加仑储罐、水处理设施和一个滞留池，认定为案卷记录的一部分，以支持进一步审查水、废水和排水影响。

On the power side, Taber said the environmental analysis could examine strain on the local grid and reliability issues, the extent of reliance on fossil fuels, and potential cost implications for residents.在电力方面，Taber表示，环境分析可能审查当地电网的压力和可靠性问题、对化石燃料的依赖程度，以及对居民的潜在成本影响。

She added that the BESS could bring another set of environmental questions. Taber said the EIR is expected to examine the potential for thermal runaway in the BESS and the associated risks of fire, explosion, and hazardous emissions.她补充说，BESS可能会带来另一组环境问题。Taber表示，EIR预计将审查BESS发生热失控的可能性，以及相关的火灾、爆炸和危险排放风险。

The review also could address air pollution from construction and natural gas generators, as well as noise from cooling fans and towers, HVAC systems, generators, and technical equipment.审查还可能涉及施工和天然气发电机产生的空气污染，以及冷却风扇和冷却塔、HVAC系统、发电机和技术设备产生的噪声。

Taber also expects the environmental review to consider whether the project could contribute to a local urban heat island effect that raises local temperatures.Taber还预计，环境审查将考虑该项目是否会助长当地城市热岛效应，从而推高当地气温。

The court cited the project’s continuous electrical demand, construction activity, and natural-gas generation when finding a basis for further review of air quality and greenhouse gas emissions.法院在认定有依据进一步审查空气质量和温室气体排放时，援引了该项目持续的电力需求、施工活动和天然气发电。

Permitting Strategy and “Whole Project” Review许可策略与“整个项目”审查

The decision could affect how developers structure and present large data center projects, according to Neil Osnato, an infrastructure analyst and CEO of Persistence Analytics.基础设施分析师兼Persistence Analytics首席执行官Neil Osnato表示，该裁定可能会影响开发商构建和呈报大型数据中心项目的方式。

Osnato said the project illustrates why permitting should reflect how the underlying infrastructure operates.Osnato表示，该项目说明了许可为何应反映底层基础设施的运行方式。

The IVCM project combines a 330 MW data center, a 330 MW substation, 862 MWh battery system, and 330 MW of on-site generation. Those facilities are designed around a common load and reliability objective. “The environmental and infrastructure consequences therefore arise from the way those pieces interact, not simply from each component viewed in isolation,” Osnato said.IVCM项目整合了一座330 MW数据中心、一座330 MW变电站、862 MWh电池系统和330 MW现场发电设施。这些设施围绕共同的负载和可靠性目标设计。“因此，环境和基础设施后果源于这些部分相互作用的方式，而不仅仅是孤立看待每个组成部分时所产生的后果，”Osnato说。

“Permitting strategy should follow the physical system,” he added.“许可策略应当遵循物理系统，”他补充道。

Osnato said an environmental review should examine dependencies among utility supply, transmission, battery charging and discharging, on-site generation, fuel supply, water use, emissions, noise, emergency operations, outage behavior, and restoration. The review should also examine which assumptions make each asset necessary, how often systems are expected to operate, what happens when grid power is constrained or lost, and which upstream utility or transmission upgrades are attributable to the project.Osnato表示，环境审查应考察公用事业供应、输电、电池充电与放电、现场发电、燃料供应、用水、排放、噪声、应急运行、停电状况以及恢复之间的依赖关系。审查还应考察哪些假设使每项资产成为必要、系统预计运行的频率、电网电力受限或中断时会发生什么，以及哪些上游公用事业或输电升级可归因于该项目。

“A data center is not a power load plus a battery plus a generator. It is one coupled infrastructure obligation,” Osnato said.“数据中心不是电力负荷加电池加发电机。它是一项相互耦合的基础设施义务，”Osnato说。

City Reaction and Next Steps城市回应与后续步骤

The City of Imperial said its involvement in the case was motivated by the project’s proximity to residents.因皮里尔市表示，其介入该案是因为该项目邻近居民。

“The City is elated with the court’s tentative decision,” City Manager Dennis Morita said in written comments. “As a tentative decision, there is a process to navigate, but the City is hopeful the tentative decision will become final.”“市政府对法院的初步裁决感到非常高兴，”市经理Dennis Morita在书面评论中表示。“作为初步裁决，仍有程序需要完成，但市政府希望该初步裁决能够成为最终裁决。”

Morita said the ruling requires the project to undergo an environmental review that addresses potential impacts on water, energy, air quality, hazardous materials, fire safety, noise, and traffic.Morita表示，该裁决要求项目接受环境审查，处理对水、能源、空气质量、危险材料、消防安全、噪声和交通的潜在影响。

He also cautioned against treating the decision as a new legal standard.他还提醒不要将该裁决视为新的法律标准。

“The tentative decision, as written, does not create novel concepts of environmental protection, but applies existing law to a hyperscale data center project,” Morita said. “A project of that sort comes with much in the way of potential benefits, but must be properly analyzed to determine and mitigate environmental impacts.”“书面初步裁决并未创造环境保护的新概念，而是将现行法律适用于一个超大规模数据中心项目，”Morita说。“这类项目会带来诸多潜在益处，但必须经过适当分析，以确定并缓解环境影响。”

The tentative ruling does not require the County to reject the data center, nor does it decide on mitigation measures or ultimate project approvals. The court said the contemplated relief does not direct the County to approve or deny the project. Instead, it directs the County to conduct the environmental review before moving forward.初步裁决并未要求该县拒绝该数据中心，也未就缓解措施或项目最终批准作出决定。法院表示，所考虑的救济并未指示该县批准或拒绝该项目。相反，它指示该县在继续推进之前进行环境审查。

If adopted as final, the parties would have 20 days after service of notice of entry to meet and confer and submit a proposed writ and judgment, unless the court orders otherwise.如果初步裁决获通过成为最终裁决，除非法院另有命令，各方当事人将在登录通知送达后有20天时间进行会晤协商，并提交拟议令状和判决书。

Taber said the decision could have broader implications for California communities considering large data center developments.Taber表示，该裁决可能对加利福尼亚州考虑大型数据中心开发项目的社区产生更广泛的影响。

“Massive hyperscale data centers cannot bypass CEQA and public review by employing a fast-tracked piecemeal approval process,” Taber said. “They must undergo a comprehensive environmental review that considers alternative locations, buffer zones, and all potential impacts as part of a transparent decision-making process.”“庞大的超大规模数据中心不能通过快速通道式的拆分审批程序来规避CEQA和公众审查，”Taber说。“它们必须接受全面的环境审查，在透明的决策过程中考虑备选场址、缓冲区和所有潜在影响。”