New York Data Center Project Faces Lawsuit, Moratorium Over Environmental Justice Concerns
An article discusses the environmental justice implications of data center siting, focusing on a Stream Data Centers project at the STAMP site in Alabama, New York. The project faces opposition from environmental activists and the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, who have filed a lawsuit challenging the original zoning agreement. Governor Kathy Hochul has also placed a one-year moratorium on new data center approvals, halting the project.
The article discusses the significant environmental impact of AI data centers, particularly their high water and energy consumption, and their contribution to carbon emissions. It highlights concerns that these facilities are often sited near Black and low-income communities, raising environmental justice issues. Preliminary research from the World Resources Institute indicates that data center siting patterns could exacerbate existing environmental and economic challenges.
A specific example is the proposed Stream Data Centers project at the Science, Technology, and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) in the town of Alabama, Genesee County, New York. The STAMP site, a 1,250-acre industrial park created in 2012, has seen little construction, with economic developers, including the Industrial Development Agency, now attempting to attract data center builders to utilize a 600-megawatt substation.
The project has faced considerable opposition from environmental activists, local organizations, and members of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, who protested in May 2023. The Tonawanda Seneca Nation's territory is directly adjacent to the STAMP site, with members relying on the "Big Woods" area for hunting, fishing, and recreation, and they assert they were not consulted on the plans. In July, the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the original 2012 zoning contract that created the STAMP site, arguing it harms the natural environment and disproportionately impacts the Nation.
Further complicating the project, Governor Kathy Hochul placed a one-year moratorium on new data center approvals in July, effectively halting the Stream Data Centers project. Stephen Daly, founder of Citizen Environmental Law, described the controversy as "absolutely ongoing," noting that the implications of the decade-old zoning structure are now being fully realized in connection with this data center proposal.