State lawmakers are sending a $3 million message to the University of Delaware that they need to rekindle their relationship with a proposed data center.
The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) put $3 million of UD's operating budget into a contingency fund held by the controller general’s office as they closed out the proposed budget Friday.
The university has been evaluating the effect the project that’s slated to occupy part of their STAR campus will have on the surrounding community, but JFC co-chair Sen. Harris McDowell (D-Wilmington North) says representatives from the two entities haven’t been meeting lately.
The data center project has been a flash point for environmentalists concerned about a power plant attached to the center running on natural gas.
Without a genuine dialogue from its prospective landlord, McDowell says he worries the Data Centers LLC who oversee the project will walk.
“I don’t want to wake up one morning and say, ‘The best shot we had for economic development just walked because their investors got sick and tired of us,’” said McDowell. “The investors behind it are going to say, ‘To hell with Delaware. We’re not investing a billion dollars in Delaware because they don’t know what the heck they’re doing.”
McDowell adds he’s certain the two sides will patch their relationship before the legislature recesses June 30th, but they won’t release the money until they do.
“When people get bogged down in the mud, sometimes you need to get a mule to pull them out."
In a statement, the university acknowledges it’s hired independent consultants to assess the facility’s ecological footprint in Newark, as well as transportation and public safety issues. “The university wants to ensure that development on the STAR Campus will be "consistent with high-quality development and a first class science and technology campus.”
The statement didn’t address the fiscal implications imposed by the state parking $3 million indefinitely and requests for further comment weren’t immediately returned. A school spokesperson told Delaware Public Media earlier this week that the internal working group analyzing the TDC plan is expected to publish its findings in mid-June.
Opponents of the data center and the power plant included in the project filed suit in Superior Court this week to overrule the City of Newark’s zoning approval for the Data Centers LLC earlier. The group also this week pointed to questions raised in a consultant's report prepared for the City of Newark as an indication of the project's flaws. That consultant's report will be publicly presented to Newark City Council Monday.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has not approved air quality permits, but is preparing a draft permit that will be subject to public notice in coming months.
During speaking tours around the state last year Gov. Jack Markell (D) defended the project, telling audiences they’ve got to stop saying no to economic development. The company says it’ll generate 290 full time jobs in addition to an estimated 5,000 construction jobs sourced from union workers.
