St. Louis Board Upholds Armory Data Center Permit Despite Noise Concerns from Expert Testimony
The St. Louis Board of Adjustment upheld a permit for a data center at the Armory after extensive public testimony. A St. Louis University sound expert, Dr. Casey Fowler Finn, warned about the unique challenges of low-frequency noise from data centers, which travels far and is difficult to mitigate. Residents opposing the project can now appeal the decision in the Missouri Circuit Court.
The St. Louis Board of Adjustment voted to uphold a permit for a $3 billion data center project at the Armory, following eight hours of public testimony and three hours of deliberation. This decision means that St. Louis residents wishing to challenge the permit must now appeal to the Missouri Circuit Court.
Dr. Casey Fowler Finn, a St. Louis University researcher with 25 years of experience in sound, expressed concerns that city leaders are overlooking scientific data regarding the unique nature of data center noise. Dr. Fowler Finn explained that data centers produce low-frequency noise that travels much further and cannot be easily dampened by typical sound barriers or enclosures, unlike higher frequency sounds. She noted that current plans to acoustically treat structures for the data center may not be effective, requiring significant material (e.g., 14 feet for a 20 Hz sine wave) to meaningfully absorb such frequencies.
While proponents of the data center project emphasized job creation and tax revenue, Dr. Fowler Finn's focus was solely on the sound impact. She suggested water cooling as a mitigation method, which could cut frequency by 50% but presents a trade-off with increased mechanical sound. The low-frequency noise, she warned, could travel 3000 feet or more, far surpassing the dissipation range of typical traffic noise, and can even bend around and pass through solid objects.