Liberty’s data center plans spur concerned citizens’ meeting
Over 100 concerned citizens in Americus, Georgia, attended a meeting to discuss plans by Liberty Data Centers to build a facility in the Frank Meyers Industrial Park. Speakers raised alarms about potential environmental impacts, including excessive water usage, air pollution, and noise, as well as the significant electricity demands and questionable tax benefits. Organizers are advocating for a moratorium on data center permits and collecting signatures for a petition to allow the community to craft protective ordinances.
A concerned citizens' meeting in Americus, Georgia, drew over 100 attendees to discuss the proposed data center development by Liberty Data Centers in the Frank Meyers Industrial Park. The land for the project was conveyed to the Sumter County Development Authority, which works with the Payroll Development Authority to recruit businesses to Sumter County.
James Malphrus, an organizer with the Albany-based SOWEGA Aquifer Alliance, spoke about his group's concerns, which include skepticism about job growth and the significant water consumption of data centers, referencing the Meta data center in Newton County that uses 500,000 gallons daily. He warned of potential lowering water tables and encouraged a moratorium to allow for the creation of protective ordinances. Malphrus also raised doubts about the promised tax revenue benefits due to potential abatements and referenced a study on air pollution from data centers in Virginia, along with concerns about extended exposure to low-level noise.
Former infrastructure engineer Kevin Dowling, with 10 years of data center experience, expressed concerns about the rushed pace of the Americus project and the city's readiness for the enormous power, water quality, and generator exhaust issues associated with data centers. He stated he would welcome a data center but believes Americus is not adequately prepared.
Kirk Lyman-Barner, an environmental science and biology major and local businessman, who recently addressed the City Council, also spoke at the meeting. He stated his opinion that "Sumter County is not ready" and highlighted the current zoning code's lack of specific ordinances for industrial plants like data centers, which could allow the project to proceed without proper environmental and resource safeguards, such as ensuring efficient water usage. Lyman-Barner is actively collecting signatures for a petition seeking a moratorium on data center permitting, which he says will provide the community time to craft a comprehensive ordinance. Organizers directed attendees to a website where the moratorium petition is available.