St. Joseph County Council candidate calls for data center moratorium
St. Joseph County Council candidate Jamie O’Brien has called for a county-wide data center moratorium due to concerns about Microsoft's Granger data center and Amazon's New Carlisle data center campus. O'Brien cited public skepticism regarding utility and water usage, noise, and construction impacts on residential areas. Four of the nine current council members reportedly support adopting the moratorium.
St. Joseph County Council candidate Jamie O’Brien has publicly called for a county-wide data center moratorium in Indiana, citing widespread skepticism among the public and elected officials regarding ongoing and planned projects.
O'Brien's request specifically targets Microsoft's data center in Granger, which is slated to begin construction in late 2026 or early 2027, and Amazon's data center campus in New Carlisle, which broke ground two years ago. Concerns raised include potential impacts on utility and water usage, noise pollution, construction traffic, and general disruption to residential neighborhoods.
Despite assurances from the companies—Microsoft stating utility agreements protect other ratepayers and Amazon noting its New Carlisle facility will use water for less than 2% of the year with the Granger center operating on a closed-loop system—O'Brien remains firm. He claims that four of the nine current council members support the adoption of a moratorium and plans to present a formal proposal in the coming weeks.