Imperial County judge hears arguments over a data center lawsuit filed by the City of Imperial and the Sierra Club

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) - The City of Imperial, along with the Sierra Club sued the County of Imperial, over a proposed hyper-scale AI data center.

They argued the county issued a Notice of Exemption for a grading permit before the planning commission could complete their report, and that the county illegaly approved the project in pieces to avoid a comprehensive environmental review.

The attorneys for the city said that the county never studied the proposed use for the land.

Meanwhile, the county attorney said this dispute comes down to a misinterpretation of county codes.

The judge has 90 days to issue a decision.

"The judge was very well prepared and he asked some excellent questions. And we'll need to wait," said Alene Taber, attorney for the City of Imperial.