Wisconsin DNR to review statewide data center impacts under lawsuit settlement - BizTimes
A settlement in a lawsuit over Vantage Data Centers’ Port Washington project requires the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to conduct a statewide review of the environmental and economic impacts of data center development. Vantage will pay the full cost of the analysis, which must be completed by January 2028, while permits for the Port Washington facility remain valid.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources must complete a statewide strategic analysis of data center development by January 2028 under a settlement resolving a lawsuit brought by Midwest Environmental Advocates on behalf of the Sierra Club. The lawsuit challenged the DNR’s decision not to require a more extensive environmental impact statement for Vantage Data Centers’ planned $15 billion, 2.5-million-square-foot facility in Port Washington.
The review will examine projected AI data center construction and related energy infrastructure, including effects on water, energy use, emissions, land, noise, wildlife, wetlands, agriculture and local communities. Vantage, whose facility is intended for use by Oracle and OpenAI, agreed to fund the analysis but said the DNR will retain control of the process. The settlement does not invalidate the project’s existing construction and operating permits or prevent standard environmental reviews of individual data centers.