Watchdog group threatens to sue data center over Georgia water pollution

The Flint Riverkeeper, a nonprofit environmental group, along with local homeowners, has issued a formal "intent to sue" notice to QTS Data Center in Fayetteville, Georgia. The notice alleges that the data center's construction site has repeatedly discharged contaminated and muddy water into a nearby creek that flows into the Flint River, violating the Clean Water Act.

Gordon Rogers, director of the Flint Riverkeeper office in Dougherty County, stated that the runoff, containing "massive amounts of dirt, massive concentrations of metals in their flocculants," has impacted the waterway for two years. This pollution, stemming from issues like "failing retaining walls" and "active pumping," threatens the Flint River, which supplies drinking water to over 400,000 people in several metro Atlanta counties. Rogers emphasized the ecological damage, noting that excessive sediment buries aquatic life crucial to the river's food web and natural cleaning processes. QTS has not responded to requests for comment from Atlanta News First Investigates.

This action follows a trend of environmental and zoning challenges faced by data centers nationwide, with an investigation revealing lawsuits across 10 states. Rogers suggests such litigation addresses the current lack of comprehensive data center regulation. Fletcher Sams, who oversees the Altamaha Riverkeeper office, added that local governments are ill-equipped to handle the complex decisions surrounding data center developments, which consume water and power equivalent to small cities. Georgia has become a major data center hub, with 34 operating sites and 124 planned, though four state legislative proposals to regulate the industry, including a construction pause, failed last year.

The Flint Riverkeeper has confirmed that QTS has engaged in discussions regarding a potential resolution within the 60-day window provided by the intent-to-sue notice, aiming to avoid federal litigation.