Washington city council cancels data center development, will explore moratorium

The Washington, Indiana city council, led by council member Darin Lunsford, unanimously voted to cancel all dealings with Outrigger Industrial regarding a proposed data center development. The project, planned for the intersection of I-69 and US 50, faced strong community opposition, with residents expressing concerns and seeking information from Mayor David Rhoads for weeks prior to the decision. Lunsford stated that Outrigger Industrial failed to adequately address the council's questions, prompting his motion to cease business. Following the project's cancellation, the council further moved to instruct the city attorney to investigate establishing a temporary moratorium on all future data center developments within the city, a motion which also passed unanimously. The proposed data center would have required significant improvements to the city's water and electricity infrastructure to meet its requested peak demand of 1,000,000 gallons per day.