The Data Center Divide
A policy snapshot ahead of the 2026 midterms. Mapping data center incentives, restrictions, and bans through legislation, regulations, and executive actions across all 50 states and 1,462 local jurisdictions.
Craighead County
Anti-Data Center Policies
Craighead County’s enacted ordinance requires noise studies, notices, sound limits, and annual testing for data centers and expansions, though a state law may limit county-specific noise rules.
current law · Unincorporated areasRequires data centers in unincorporated Craighead County to notify nearby residents, conduct noise studies, use noise controls, and stay within set noise limits.Craighead County Proposed Data Center External Noise Ordinance (2023)
What this means
The ordinance would add substantial noise-related steps before construction and operation, including resident notice, acoustic studies, and a reviewed noise-attenuation plan. Data centers would also need to meet sound limits and undergo annual testing, and could not begin operating if they failed; these requirements apply to expansions too. The rules address noise rather than banning data centers outright, and the sources note that a new state law was set to restrict county data-center-specific noise ordinances after August 1, 2023.
People behind it
- Marvin Day
Craighead County Judge who said he wanted to get the noise ordinance on the books before the state law took effect.
- Craighead County Quorum Court
The county legislative body that considered and enacted the data-center noise ordinance.
Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements8
Before building or operating, owners and operators must notify residents and homeowners’ associations within a half-mile of the property, notify the County Judge, and file proof of resident notification with the County Clerk within 30 days. Notice requirements
Before construction, the owner must obtain a third-party acoustic engineer’s baseline sound study, including measurements at eight points on the property line, and file the report with the County Judge and County Clerk within 30 days of completion. Baseline sound study
Before construction, the owner must consult a third-party architectural or design firm on a noise-attenuation plan and file the plan with the County Judge and County Clerk within 30 days of completion. Mechanical equipment must be shown on the plan and screened on all sides. Noise attenuation plan
Additions, changes, and expansions must meet the ordinance’s noise-attenuation requirements and be submitted to the County Judge and filed with the County Clerk. Expansion requirements
After construction, a third-party acoustic engineer must test noise with mechanical equipment running at full capacity, including HVAC units and generators. The operator must submit the report within 30 days, and the center cannot begin operating until the study is completed and submitted and results show compliance. Pre-operation noise study
Operators must conduct annual noise studies and provide results to the County Judge and County Clerk within 30 days after the anniversary of the first sound-study report. Annual noise studies
Noise at the receiving property line must not reach 65 dBA from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. or 55 dBA from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. Noise limits
Violations can result in a $1,000 fine per offense, doubled for repeat offenses, and a $500-per-day penalty for a continuing violation; an injunction may also be sought to stop the violation, and noncompliant centers may be barred from commencing or continuing operations. Penalties and injunctions
Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions2
A data center’s noise plan need not adopt every recommendation from the acoustic study; it may use other attenuation measures if the architectural or design firm considers them adequate to meet the ordinance’s noise limits.
The ordinance sets operating noise ceilings: below 65 dBA from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and below 55 dBA from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., measured at the receiving property line by a third-party acoustic engineer.
Sources
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