Gary Mayor Orders One-Year Data Center Moratorium

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton has enacted a one-year moratorium on new data center development within the city, a move that comes months after local residents expressed significant concerns regarding the potential impacts of such facilities. The executive order, announced by Mayor Melton, aims to provide the city with time to thoroughly understand the long-term consequences of the rapidly evolving data center industry before any projects commence.

The moratorium will halt the approval of new data center projects while Gary officials study their effects on the electric grid, water resources, existing infrastructure, economic development, and residents' quality of life. The scope of the order extends beyond the city limits to include any data center that would connect to or increase demand on city-owned or operated utilities.

This decision echoes calls from community groups like Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, whose member Carolyn McCrady urged city officials to adopt a similar moratorium during a Common Council forum earlier this year, citing a lack of transparency. Mayor Melton specifically linked the moratorium to concerns about electricity demand and grid reliability, particularly after a recent derecho event caused widespread power outages across Northwest Indiana, with Gary experiencing the highest number of outages. He also noted that NIPSCO's parent company, NiSource, has secured multi-gigawatt contracts to power data centers for Amazon and Google, raising questions about NIPSCO's grid capacity.

Gary joins other Indiana municipalities, including Indianapolis and Elkhart, in implementing pauses or restrictions on data center development this year. Despite the moratorium, Mayor Melton expressed optimism about the potential of artificial intelligence, emphasizing the need to address serious questions about safety, accountability, infrastructure, energy consumption, and broader community impact.