Town of Lansing Hears TeraWulf Plans, With No Public Comment

The Town of Lansing Planning Board convened to discuss TeraWulf's proposed Cayuga Data Campus, a 438-acre project planned for the old Milliken Station power plant site, with operations expected to begin in 2026. TeraWulf representative Scott Kobylarz presented initial site plans, but the board expressed concerns regarding the project's potential impact, including drawing up to one million gallons of water daily from Cayuga Lake for dust management and power washing (though data center cooling water would come from Bolton Point, which also sources from Cayuga Lake). Board members also queried projected noise, increased traffic from 500 construction workers, and environmental impacts like clear-cutting and blasting bedrock. Meanwhile, the "No Data Center FLX" organization staged a protest outside the Lansing Town Hall, urging a halt to the development and advocating for public comment, which the board is currently not accepting for this stage of review. One protester was asked to leave the meeting for bringing a sign and a dog. The organization criticized TeraWulf's presentation as "unprepared" and accused them of a "sneaky and dishonest work-around" regarding water usage. A proposed three-year moratorium on data center approvals by the New York State Legislature is currently under committee review. The planning board concluded it lacked sufficient information from TeraWulf to make a formal recommendation and deferred a decision, awaiting a more complete application and detailed responses to their questions. An escrow account funded by TeraWulf covers consultant costs and planning board time for the project.