In Nevada, Democratic Governor challenger Attorney General Aaron Ford is not taking positions on a proposal that taxpayers subsidize a water-consuming data center approved on federal land outside Boulder City. [i]
On Monday, 27, Ford stopped short of endorsing fellow Democrat US Rep. Dina Titus’ request last week that Lombardo halt tax abatements to data centers on federal land until the Legislature can weigh in.
“Given the budgetary shortfalls facing our state and local governments in Nevada, this raises questions about why the State tax abatements should be incentivizing the development of data centers on public lands,” Titus wrote to Lombardo.
Ford has previously declined to say whether he still supports data center tax breaks he helped pass as a sponsor of legislation in 2015.
“It’s irresponsible for anyone to make immediate decisions when I haven’t looked at all of the details and facts,” he said in June after winning the Democratic primary election. His campaign did not respond when asked why voters shouldn’t be aware of Ford’s position before they cast their ballots.
“We certainly need to reevaluate the abatements,” Ford said Monday, adding he commends Titus “for standing up and speaking out on this issue and calling Lombardo out for kowtowing to these companies.” But he wouldn’t say if tax breaks should be extended to projects on federal land.
“I will continue to look at this,” Ford said, adding he’s going on tour throughout the state next week and intends to “iterate on my plan.”
Meanwhile, Nevada Governor Jo Lombardo, a strong and vocal backer of the water-consuming data center industry in Nevada, did not respond to The Current’s inquiries and has not responded to Titus, her spokesman Dick Cooper said Monday.Â
The Boulder City Council voted unanimously earlier this month to appeal BLM approval of the data center, originally proposed on city-owned land.
On Monday, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter filed an administrative appeal of the federal government’s approval of the Townsite Data Center.
“It’s an outrage that the Trump administration is giving away our public lands to hedge funds for data centers,” Patrick Donnelly, the Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a news release. “Public lands are for wildlife and clean Water, for recreation and spiritual renewal. They’re not meant for big tech companies to spew air pollution and suck down Water for AI and the surveillance state.”
The lawsuit alleges the BLM sidestepped regulatory approval rules.
“The data center would be built on desert tortoise habitat in Eldorado Valley, southeast of Las Vegas,” says the news release. “Water for the project would be sourced from within the parched Colorado River Basin. It is within the city limits of the small town of Boulder City, which is also filing an appeal.”
[i] Gentry, Dana. “Ford, Lombardo avoid taking sides on state tax breaks for data centers on federal land.” July 28, 2026, Nevada Current.
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