As Data Centers Boom in Central Texas, Wyoming Meta Data Center Contamination Sparks Local Concerns

The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities has indefinitely suspended the acceptance of industrial wastewater from data center operations. This decision follows the contamination of the city's municipal sewage infrastructure by a rare bacterium, Cupriavidus gilardii, traced to Project Cosmo, Meta's $800 million data center campus in south Cheyenne.

Goat Systems LLC, a contractor for Meta, was cited for noncompliance with local industrial pretreatment policies after the bacteria, discovered in February, compromised Cheyenne's water reclamation facilities and leaked into the municipal recycling loop, affecting local irrigation systems. City officials have assured residents that the public drinking water supply was unaffected. Meta stated it ceased discharging industrial wastewater and began hauling it offsite once the issue was identified.

The incident has intensified nationwide concerns regarding the environmental footprint of the rapidly expanding AI and data infrastructure sector. In Texas, environmental advocate Erin Brockovich has criticized non-disclosure agreements between local governments and tech developers, arguing they bypass public environmental assessments. Communities have also reported issues such as increased water and electricity consumption, utility bill spikes, noise pollution, and light pollution.

The article also cites an instance in Hill County, Texas, where an attempted one-year moratorium on data center construction, prompted by resident pushback, was abandoned after tech developers filed a $100 million lawsuit against the county.