Burlison calls for balanced approach to data center concerns

Southwest Missouri Congressman Eric Burlison is pushing back against growing opposition to data centers, arguing communities should separate legitimate concerns from broader fears about artificial intelligence and personal data.

He told Newstalk KZRG that he essentially views a data center as a building filled with computer servers.

“We’ve had data centers in the Ozarks for as long as I can remember, for decades,” Burlison said. “Most of them, nobody even knows where they are.”

He says concerns about how personal information is collected and used should be addressed through privacy laws.

Burlison said questions about the resources consumed by large data centers are legitimate but should be handled in much the same way communities evaluate other major industrial developments.

“If you have an aluminum smelter come into your community, you should have that conversation,” Burlison said. “If you have a golf course that’s coming in and going to be using … water, you should have that conversation in your community.”

The comments come as Joplin prepares for the possibility of a large data center development.

City officials recently strengthened development standards for large data centers, including a requirement that they use closed-loop cooling systems or technology that is at least as water efficient.

Electricity costs are also receiving increased scrutiny.

Liberty Utilities has filed a proposed “large load” tariff with Missouri regulators that would establish special rates and long-term requirements for extremely large electricity users, including potential data centers.

Burlison said communities should examine infrastructure and zoning concerns individually rather than treating data centers themselves as inherently harmful.

“I just try to divorce myself from the hysteria and the hype and the fear about AI,” Burlison added.