This article was first published by Inside Climate News and is shared here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
At the start of 2023, Travis Matts, a resident of Augusta Charter Township, noticed several articles regarding issues caused by data centers in various towns across the country. Though he found the consequences on water quality, air pollution, and utility costs alarming, he initially regarded it as a distant concern.
That changed abruptly in May.
Matts learned through his volunteer litter cleanup group about a proposed data center on an 822-acre plot mostly located within Augusta Township, a small farming area southeast of Ann Arbor. The township leadership was in full support of the development.
In response, Matts and like-minded residents quickly established a new community group to oppose the project, starting a petition drive for a ballot initiative to challenge the rezoning for the data center. The issue rapidly engulfed local politics, resulting in heated divisions among the approximately 8,000 residents, including allegations of harassment and threats.
“It’s disheartening that we have to struggle so hard to protect our backyards from such facilities, but if we don’t, who will?” he questioned. “We’re taking matters into our own hands.”
By August, the group, Protect Augusta Charter Township (PACT), had amassed sufficient signatures for a referendum, with Matts expressing confidence that the community would vote against the development.
The grassroots efforts reflect a rising tide of local opposition to data center developments across Michigan and the U.S., potentially hindering these projects. The opposition transcends political affiliations, highlighted by recent discussions in neighboring Saline Township, where a similar data center initiative was rejected in September.
Within Augusta Township, nearly 1,000 residents who signed the petition stand in opposition to the township Board of Trustees, which supported the rezoning unanimously in July, along with the developer, New York-based Thor Equities.
While Thor Equities specializes in building data centers, it has yet to announce specific clients for this project. However, a planning report suggests that companies like Google and Microsoft utilize the type of facility proposed here, typically designed to support infrastructure for artificial intelligence and extensive computing needs.
Details about the center’s design remain sparse, though plans indicate at least five significant buildings on currently agricultural and wetland areas. According to local reports, the center could require 1 million gallons of water each day and would be equipped with substantial generators.
The Board of Trustees and proponents highlight potential advantages like increased tax revenues for a financially strapped township and improvements to water and sewer systems.
“This project could be monumental for us,” remarked Augusta Township Clerk Kim Gonczy. Although the exact tax revenue is uncertain, she suggested it could amount to “millions of dollars.”
“It could significantly change the fortunes of our township,” she added.
Opponents of the project have raised concerns about its economic viability. They fear potential increases in noise and light pollution, the erosion of Augusta’s rural character, rising utility costs, and the risk of brownouts. Matts emphasized that the objective of PACT is to maintain the “sense of place,” highlighting his family’s century-long roots in Augusta.
“With the proposed data center, they’re essentially saying, ‘We acknowledge those concerns, but business interests take precedence,’” Matts said. “Preserving the landscape and community identity clearly aren’t priorities for them.”
Residents needed to gather 561 signatures to qualify the issue for the ballot, but they submitted 957 within a roughly two-week effort in August. Township officials are tasked with verifying the signatures and drafting ballot language for a special election that may occur as early as May 2026. Matts believes that PACT engaged with 1,200 to 1,400 residents, with a strong majority supporting the petition.
As awareness of the financial and environmental consequences of data centers grows, public concern has intensified. In numerous communities, their considerable electricity and water use has been linked to mounting residential utility bills.
In Michigan and elsewhere, data centers have already necessitated the construction or prolonging of fossil fuel plants and pose a threat to green energy transitions. Concurrently, the centers introduce problems related to light, noise, water, and air pollution.
Local efforts like these in Michigan serve as crucial protection for residents, according to Tim Minotas, legislative coordinator for the Sierra Club of Michigan.
“Our communities must step up to safeguard their interests when state and federal protections are absent,” Minotas stated.
“That’s harassment”
A previously detailed incident in an article confirmed by four residents indicated that in August, a township official allegedly called police on members of PACT gathering signatures for their ballot initiative near the township hall.
The responding officer reportedly found no wrongdoing but requested that the campaigners relocate further back from the road. PACT questioned the municipality’s motives.
“Involving law enforcement, that’s harassment,” remarked resident Deborah Fuqua-Frey during a public comment session following the incident.
Gonczy did not address inquiries from Inside Climate News about the event. In a late-August statement to Planet Detroit, she claimed the campaigners were positioned too close to a dangerous intersection.
Residents noted receiving anonymous, handwritten notes that they interpreted as threats. Footage showed township supervisor Todd Waller, who would not permit residents to speak on the data center during public comment periods at board meetings. Some attendees challenged the ethics behind Waller’s restrictions, suggesting a broader trend of officials attempting to suppress dissent regarding the project. Waller did not respond to requests for comment.
The local tumult follows a legislative struggle where progressive lawmakers attempted to incorporate consumer and environmental safeguards into incentives granted to data centers. Such provisions were excluded from passed bills, which might have mitigated some of the current local challenges, remarked Denise Keele, director of the Michigan Climate Action Network.
“NIMBY-ism is one thing, where people merely oppose developmental pressures in their area, but with data centers, the anxieties are warranted,” Keele commented. “They consume considerable energy and will likely escalate our electricity costs.”
Merits and drawbacks
Township officials have responded to PACT’s concerns with skepticism. Addressing worries about light pollution, Gonczy asserted that lighting on the property would be oriented downwards, minimizing its impact on surrounding areas. She also mentioned that officials had visited a data center in Toledo, measuring noise levels that reportedly did not breach township regulations.
Furthermore, Gonczy noted that the development would be sited in the township’s southwest corner, distanced from most residences. She stated she had seen no evidence suggesting it would diminish grid reliability or escalate utility expenses.
“I am not familiar with that reasoning or its origins,” Gonczy remarked.
Nevertheless, opponents view the potential economic gain as insufficient to outweigh the negatives, expressing skepticism that light issues could be effectively managed.
“It will not be dark at night anymore given the vast expanse of lighting,” expressed one resident who chose to remain anonymous due to concerns of retaliation. “This place will lose its nighttime tranquility as it will be bathed in a constant glow.”
Opponents have also questioned the reliability of the sound measurements, asserting they do not account for the ongoing noise from mechanical operations. Data centers often utilize diesel generators for routine maintenance, contributing additional air and noise emission concerns.
More significantly, Matts contended, is the risk of losing the area’s rural essence. He criticized state leaders for disregarding these concerns, which he believes the Board of Trustees has overlooked too: “Residents have lived here for generations; we understand change and development. However, this scale—1,000 industrial acres—is preposterous for a community like ours,” Matts stated.