A fight over the future of artificial intelligence infrastructure is taking shape in one of Washington's most productive farming regions.
As Fox 13 Seattle (@Fox13Seattle) reported in a video segment, local leaders in Skagit County are deciding whether the six-month moratorium on new data centers should expire or become a lasting restriction.
Here's what to know
A TikTok post from the station highlighted the county's six-month moratorium and the possibility of an outright ban.
The station spoke to farmer Darrin Morrison, part of a family that has worked the area for more than 100 years.
"In my family, uh, up until about two or three years ago, we didn't even know what the word meant," he said of data centers.
He also noted that the technology supported by data centers is already woven into everyday life.
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"You know, everybody uses AI and uses data in the cloud," he noted to Fox 13 Seattle, before questioning whether objecting makes him hypocritical.
Even so, Morrison said the county does not have much room to lose the basic resources such projects could draw on.
"Last I checked, we can't eat data," one commenter wrote. "Protect Skagit Farmland!!"
More background
In a valley known for exceptionally productive agricultural ground, Morrison described land as a fixed resource rather than one that can easily be replaced.
"Like a lot of things, uh, in this area in Western Washington, land is limited," he told Fox 13 Seattle. "They're not making it anymore."
Land is only part of the dispute. Water may matter even more because farms rely on it for irrigation, and the region already balances other claims linked to hydroelectric power and tribal fishing rights.
Data centers, depending on how they are built and the local climate, can also use large amounts of water for cooling.
Patsy Good, a Skagit County planning commissioner, told the station that "water is obviously the number one concern."
What's being done?
The county's response is a moratorium on new data centers, giving officials time to review potential impacts and decide whether tighter limits are warranted. One option under discussion is replacing the temporary pause with a ban.
Zoning decisions can shape land use for decades. Once prime farmland is converted to industrial use, bringing it back into food production can be difficult or impossible.
Public planning processes are often where community input carries the most weight. Residents can attend hearings, submit comments, and push for development rules that account for water availability, grid impacts, and the long-term value of farmland.
"What if I don't want AI to come up on my phone or my computer?" Good asked Fox 13 Seattle. "I don't. I don't have a say in that, so. But I do have a say in whether or not they make a data center in my community."
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