Tonganoxie Group Seeks 18-Month Data Center Moratorium After County's 90-Day Pause
A Tonganoxie group is petitioning the City Council for an 18-month moratorium on data center development, following a 90-day pause approved by Leavenworth County. Residents are concerned about the rapid pace of development for the proposed 1,000-acre Project Bluestem, which they believe exploits local resources and impacts vulnerable populations.
A grassroots organization, the Tongie Data Center Watch Dog Group, plans to ask the Tonganoxie City Council for an 18-month moratorium on data center development. This comes after Leavenworth County commissioners approved a 90-day pause on new data center projects earlier in the week, following concerns from residents.
The group, citing the slogan "No AI Data Center," argues that a 90-day moratorium is insufficient to address the rapid development of projects like "Project Bluestem," a proposed hyperscale data center by developer Cloverleaf. This facility would span nearly 1,000 acres south of Tonganoxie, near an elementary school, middle school, and nursing home. Organizer Rebecca Davis expressed concerns about the perceived exploitation of the small town's resources and the speed of the development process.
The Tongie Data Center Watch Dog Group, comprising approximately 30 members and 1,000 Facebook followers, has collected signatures for a petition and is scheduled to present it to the city council. Meanwhile, Kansas State Sen. Doug Shane, a Republican from Louisburg, has called for moratoriums in Johnson and Miami counties and suggests exploring a state-level data center task force. Shane questions whether the rapid expansion adequately addresses concerns about water, power, location, and community impacts. He also noted his vote against Senate Bill 98, which provides a 20-year tax abatement for data center equipment, believing it was an unnecessary incentive.