My Approach For Regulating High-Impact Industrial and High-Intensity Digital Infrastructure Development Projects

I'm on record as someone who favors innovation, entrepreneurship, and improving the ways we live together. Almost thirty (30) years ago, I was one of the earliest Arkansas proponents for electronic filings of court papers in our state trial and appellate courts. I mention this to emphasize that I am not and have not previously been opposed to digital technology and the opportunities that come with it.

That does not prevent me from knowing that digital technology, like any other industry that impacts how people live, work, and coexist in the world, must be regulated. And that is why I drafted five items that I hope will be approved and implemented by the Pulaski County Quorum Court to regulate high-impact industrial (HII) and high-intensity digital infrastructure (HIDI) projects - meaning industrial and digital facilities that require electrical power above five (5) megawatts, water usage above 100,000 gallons per day, or a facility exceeding 100,000 square feet - in unincorporated areas of Pulaski County.

(1) Item 26-I-31 is a proposed ordinance that will establish a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) application, review, monitoring, and enforcement process for HII and HIDI projects.

(2) Item 26-I-32 is a proposed resolution of legislative findings that explain why HII and HIDI facilities should be classified as heavy industrial facilities because they have significantly higher impacts than other commercial and industrial facilities on the electrical grid, water and wastewater systems, rural fire suppression and response and emergency medical systems, and on neighboring residential, agricultural, commercial, light industrial, recreational, and other land uses.

(3) Item 26-I-33 is a proposed resolution to designate the Port of Little Rock industrial complex, the nearby unincorporated Sweet Home community, and the neighboring eastern Pulaski County area as a Regional Infrastructure Impact Corridor. Pulaski County should not ignore the impacts of HII and HIDI facilities in the Port of Little Rock and other local municipalities that extend beyond their city limits and how they could affect nearby unincorporated communities.

(4) Item 26-I-34 is a proposed notice of industrial intent and impact (NOII) ordinance that would require a advance notice (at least 90 days) whenever land in unincorporated areas of Pulaski County will be used for a proposed HII or HIDI project. This requirement will enable County planning staff to make a thorough and timely assessment of the potential impacts of these projects on the electrical grid, water usage and wastewater treatment systems, rural fire protection, suppression, and response systems, emergency management services, and neighboring residential, agricultural, commercial, light industrial, recreational, and conservation land areas. It would also require developers of HII and HIDI projects to demonstrate that the costs of their private projects will not be subsidized by other utility ratepayers and Pulaski County taxpayers.

Justice of the Peace Julie Blackwood is the sponsor for those measures that are being studied by the Pulaski County Planning Department. The Planning Department has scheduled a public meeting about these four measures on Thursday, June 25, at 6 PM in the County Administration Building (201 Broadway in Little Rock).

(5) Finally, I have drafted and Justices of the Peace Tina Ward (from the unincorporated Sweet Home community), Julie Blackwood, and Rebekah Davis are sponsoring an emergency ordinance for a twelve (12)-month moratorium on approving or permitting HII and HIDI projects for unincorporated areas in Pulaski County to allow us to create and implement a fair, accountable, inclusive, transparent, and trustworthy framework for regulating these impactful facilities. That proposed moratorium is plainly not a ban. It is a legally permitted pause in approving and permitting these projects so we can regulate them.

During the May 26 meeting of the Quorum Court questions were asked about whether a moratorium would or should apply to the proposed AVAIO Leo AI campus project outside Wrightsville (an area represented by Justice Ward). Article 9 of the emergency moratorium ordinance is titled “Non-Retroactivity.” It details in clear terms that the ordinance will not cover projects that have binding utility interconnection agreements, final County approval, or final utility study acceptance. “Final utility study acceptance” is defined in plain terms. Article 9 also details that preliminary utility studies and dealings do not meet that definition.

Here is an AI-generated (ChatGPT) summary that explains why this matters.

“The provision is meant to be fair while still protecting the County.

It says the ordinance will not stop projects that are already far enough along before the ordinance takes effect. A project is far enough along if it has a binding utility agreement, final County approval, or has completed the utility review process in a meaningful way.

The key idea is this: a developer should not be exempt just because it had early conversations with a utility company. The exemption applies only when the utility has made a real, written determination that the project can be served and has identified what infrastructure, upgrades, costs, conditions, and approvals are needed.

In plain language, “final utility study acceptance” means:

The utility has finished the serious engineering and capacity studies, knows what it would take to serve the project, has told the applicant the conditions for service, and nothing important remains to be studied that could change whether the project can actually be served.

The exclusions are important because they prevent someone from claiming vested rights based on weak or preliminary documents. Things like “we are interested,” “we will study it,” “this looks possible,” or “more review is needed” do not count.

The reasoning is:

This protects projects that have made real, documented progress, but it prevents projects from avoiding the ordinance based on informal discussions, incomplete utility reviews, or nonbinding letters. It draws a clear line between a project that is genuinely ready to move forward and one that is still speculative.”

These five measures are fair, transparent, and effective ways for us to plan and properly regulate high-impact industrial and high-intensity digital infrastructure facilities and their potential land use impacts. We deserve to establish, implement, and enforce them. Developers and supporters of these high impact projects should welcome them. I hope this article helps persuade you to urge the Pulaski County Quorum Court to support them.

My personal Facebook account has been reactivated. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me over the past week to publish my thoughts on other platforms. I will continue doing so primarily by my Substack, and will copy and paste the articles I post to my Facebook page.

Hope boldly. Act bravely.