EL CENTRO — The City of Imperial has filed a lawsuit against Imperial County and its Board of Supervisors, seeking to block the development of a nearly 1-million-square-foot data center complex that city officials claim was fast-tracked without proper environmental oversight or public transparency.

The legal challenge, filed in the Superior Court of California for the County of Imperial, centers on a “ministerial” grading permit issued by the county for the project. By labeling the permit as ministerial—an administrative act that does not require discretion—the city alleges the county effectively bypassed the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which mandates rigorous environmental studies and public commentary for large-scale developments.

A massive industrial footprint

The pr

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