A modern-day prospector promised rural Imperial thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue – but his plan has set off a firestorm of resistance
What Rucci didn’t expect, however, was the firestorm of resistance his project set off in the community.
Over the past year, more than half a dozen lawsuits have been filed, along with recall efforts for local officials who supported the project. Even a temporary 45-day datacenter moratorium was approved. Echoing similar battles against such development across the US, Imperial county residents told the Guardian they fear increased emissions, harm to the region’s rare desert wildlife, constraints on the power grid and rapidly dwindling water supply, along with noise issues. Rucci denies the project will have such effects.
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