Project dossier · Imperial County, California

Imperial Valley Data Center Blocked by ban

~950,000-1M sq ft AI/ML data center; county supervisors approved it in April 2026 then reversed course, imposing a 45-day moratorium after water-use and air-quality opposition; developer sued over the moratorium.

Key facts

Operator: Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing LLC
Size: 330 MW
Location: Imperial County, California
Stage today: Blocked by ban

Source

What to do next

Next step: Blocked by a local ban or moratorium - the project stopped at the ordinance, not at an application. Watch for the ordinance being challenged in court or allowed to lapse.

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What has happened so far (19 events)

2024-09-23filing
Developer Sebastian Rucci registers Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, LLC and related entities in California to pursue the Imperial County AI/ML data center project. · source
2025-11-03filing
Imperial County Planning & Development Services distributes a formal 'Request for Review and Comments' to stakeholders, opening the official agency review process for the ~950,000-1M sq ft, 330MW data center. · source
2025-11-06environmental
Imperial County treats the project as exempt from CEQA review (citing a 2024 state 'advanced manufacturing' exemption for industrially-zoned land) and files a CEQA exemption for the grading permit, allowing preliminary site work. · source
2025-11-26withdrawal
The City of Imperial withdraws from a recycled-wastewater supply agreement with the developer, undercutting IVCM's plan to avoid using potable/Colorado River water. · source
2025-12-01withdrawal
The City of El Centro also backs out of a proposed recycled-water arrangement for the project. · source
2025-12-04lawsuit
The City of Imperial files a CEQA lawsuit challenging Imperial County's decision to treat the data center (including its battery backup system) as exempt from environmental review. · source
2025-12-04public-comment
State Senator Steve Padilla sends a letter to the Imperial County Board of Supervisors calling for full public environmental review of the project, questioning the CEQA exemption given the facility's scale and water/energy demands. · source
2026-01-09lawsuit
IVCM files a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Imperial and named officials, alleging a coordinated campaign of administrative obstruction and retaliation intended to derail the $10B project. · source
2026-01-21coverage
KPBS reports over 2,000 residents have signed a petition opposing the project over water scarcity and grid-strain concerns, and that a lot-merger vote before the Board of Supervisors remains the final approval step. · source
2026-04-07vote
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors votes 4-1 to approve a lot merger clearing the way for the nearly 1-million-sq-ft data center, during a contentious hearing marked by restricted public access and at least one arrest. · source
2026-04-22utility
IVCM formally applies to the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) for 880 acre-feet of water annually to supply the project. · source
2026-05-01denial
IID denies IVCM's water request, citing Regulation 21's 300-foot restriction near municipal water supplies. · source
2026-06-04hearing
Imperial County supervisors hold a public hearing to consider a moratorium on new data center approvals amid mounting opposition. · source
2026-06-05lawsuit
After reclaimed-wastewater negotiations collapse, IVCM sues the Imperial Irrigation District in Imperial County Superior Court on eight legal claims, seeking roughly 260 million gallons of Colorado River water annually — reversing its earlier pledge to avoid Colorado River water. · source
2026-06-16moratorium
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors unanimously approves an urgency interim ordinance imposing a 45-day moratorium on approvals/permits for new or pending data center facilities in unincorporated areas, and creates a Data Center Advisory Committee. · source
2026-06-20lawsuit
IVCM sues Imperial County in Superior Court challenging the moratorium, arguing the county used a 'manufactured emergency' pretext to reverse its April approval under public pressure. · source
2026-07-14moratorium
The Board of Supervisors unanimously votes to extend the data center moratorium by 10 months and 15 days, blocking new permits until June 2027 while the advisory committee rewrites zoning rules. · source
2026-07-28hearing
Judge Jeffrey Jones hears IVCM's challenge to the county's data center moratorium in Imperial County Superior Court; a ruling is pending. · source
2026-07-29hearing
Judge Anderholt hears arguments in the CEQA case over whether the project requires a full environmental review; a ruling is expected within 90 days. · source

Find the paper trail

Find the paper trail (0 filed · 11 places to look)

State environmental permits

Backup generators, water withdrawal and stormwater are permitted by the state, usually earlier and in more detail than anything filed locally.

California — permits issued by 35 local air districtsThe program page: which permits this state requires, and the office that issues them.
CEQAnet (CEQA filings by lead agency)Searchable public filings — search the operator, the shell LLC on the deed, and the address.

County & town filings

The rezoning application, site plan, traffic and noise studies, staff report and every revision.

Search Imperial County planning filingssearchPlanning departments post application files under many different names. Find the department, then ask the clerk for the application number — that number unlocks everything else.
Search Imperial County property records / GISsearchThe parcel record names the buying LLC and the sale date, which is what ties an anonymous filing to an operator.

Utility & grid records

The electricity request is filed with the grid operator and the utility long before the town hears about it — and states the real load.

CAISO (California) — interconnection queueRequested megawatts, queue position and target in-service date. The MW here is the real number; the one at the town meeting is often phase one.
California Public Utilities Commission — docket searchSpecial contracts, large-load tariffs and rate cases are docketed here. Testimony and exhibits are public, and are usually more candid than the press release.
FERC eLibraryFederal filings: transmission agreements, interconnection service agreements, and co-location disputes.
Search the serving utility for a will-serve lettersearchThe will-serve or load-service letter is the utility's own written commitment. Ask the utility and the PUC for it by name — it is frequently the first document to exist.

Federal databases

Works anywhere, and covers the operator's record at its other sites.

EPA ECHO facility searchEvery federally-reported air, water and waste permit at a facility, plus its inspection and violation history. Search by address or draw a radius around the site.
EPA EnvirofactsThe same underlying records, queryable by county — useful for 'what else is permitted near this site' rather than one facility.
EPA Facility Registry ServiceResolves the shell LLC on a permit to the facility it belongs to. Worth a look when the filing name means nothing locally.

These are places to look, not evidence that anything has been filed. Links were checked on 2026-08-21; search links are queries, not records. What to ask for.

Around here

Imperial County community briefing — Enactedexpires 2027-06-16
California briefing — rates, grid carbon, PUC contacts.

Other tracked projects in California

Goodman Innovation Centre San Jose — San Jose In review
Tulare County Data Center (moratorium) — Tulare County In review

Cite this page: GridWatch AI, “Imperial Valley Data Center”, aigridwatch.com/projects/imperial-valley-ca, retrieved 2026-10-11.

As of August 2026 (2m ago) · changes weekly — re-check before citing

A working set of identified proposals a community can track, not a census — most of the country's activity is not in here yet. Pennsylvania is the exception: its rows are synced from PA DEP's own data-center permit tracker, so the state's coverage is close to complete and carries the permit trail with it. **Each row carries its own provenance.** Rows showing a verification date link to reporting or the governing body's own record and were read on that date; rows marked *unverified* have no source on record — a lead to check, not a fact to cite. **Stage is derived, not asserted.** *Hearing scheduled*, *Awaiting decision*, *Approved* and *Withdrawn* are computed from each row's milestone dates on every rebuild, so a hearing date that has passed stops reading 'scheduled'. Hearings get moved and projects re-file under new names — treat a scheduled date as the earliest to act by, and confirm with the clerk before relying on it. Leads are mined into data/project_candidates.json and promoted here only after a human reads a primary source.

Part of the data center project tracker — open data, CC BY 4.0 (JSON · CSV).