A federal administrative court temporarily halted construction on the Townsite Data Center near Boulder City on September 1, 2026, ruling that the Bureau of Land Management likely violated federal environmental laws by approving the project without a proper review. According to the Interior Board of Appeals, the agency acted arbitrarily when it classified the 88.5-acre data center project as substantially the same as a previously approved solar facility.
Interior Board of Appeals Order Halts BLM Approval
The Interior Board of Appeals issued an order on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, revoking the authorization for the Townsite Data Center. According to the court, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) likely erred when it approved the construction on public land by relying on an unrelated environmental analysis.
Townsite Solar 2 LLC originally secured federal approval in 2023 to build a solar power generation and battery storage facility on the 88.5-acre parcel. The developer subsequently requested an amended right-of-way grant in 2025 to build a data center instead. Federal land managers approved the change in July 2026 without conducting a new environmental analysis, determining that the data center project shared similar anticipated impacts with the solar plant.
The administrative judge found persuasive evidence that the BLM acted arbitrarily or capriciously under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Consequently, the temporary stay prevents the data center project from moving forward while the board considers ongoing legal challenges.
Legal Challenges From Boulder City and Conservation Groups
The administrative ruling follows appeals filed in July 2026 by the Center for Biological Diversity and Boulder City. According to court filings, the Center for Biological Diversity demonstrated that permanent and irreparable harm would likely occur if construction continued before the resolution of the appeal, outweighing the temporary financial harm to the developer.
Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity, stated that the organization was thrilled the data center had been stopped. He added that the victory proves communities possess the power to push back against massive tech infrastructure projects on public lands.
Boulder City also filed a separate appeal and petitioned for a temporary pause on the project. The Interior Board of Appeals consolidated the appeals filed by Boulder City and the Center for Biological Diversity, expediting the legal review. The panel ordered the BLM to respond to the claims by September 21, 2026.
Implications for Public Lands in Nevada
The Townsite Data Center represents the first data center approved on BLM land in the United States. Because approximately 80% of land in Nevada is managed by the federal government, the outcome of this legal challenge carries major implications for future industrial and technological development across the state and the broader American West.
In July 2026, the Boulder City Council voted unanimously to appeal the initial BLM approval for the project on the city-adjacent, federally owned acreage. The federal administrative court declared Boulder City’s specific petition for a temporary pause moot because the panel already granted the broader stay requested by the Center for Biological Diversity.
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