Microsoft data center project causes dust concerns in St. Joseph County

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — The massive Microsoft data center project along Cleveland Road in Granger is kicking up a noticeable cloud of dust during construction. According to some residents, it's so thick that it can be seen from blocks away. Now they're demanding answers. I just sort of noticed like an orange, yellowish haze, and I'm just like, well, this is kind of odd, it's not rainy, it's not, you know, there's some clouds, but it's not like, it shouldn't be that color," said an anonymous resident. This Granger resident said it's hard to miss. While he's asking to remain anonymous, he shared his experience with WSBT 22. He said that a large dust cloud now hangs over the new Microsoft data center construction site on the former St. Joe Farm property near Currant and Cleveland Roads. As work intensifies on the massive project, neighbors said so has the dust. My concern is they say they have all these guidelines that they're going to follow, but yet when you know driving by and stuff and seeing them not watering the dirt and stuff like they're supposed to be doing to just see it looks like a dust storm kicking up, you know the concern for me is that wind can change, you can go into the subdivision across 80, 90 (Indiana Toll Road D) right there," said an anonymous resident. WSBT 22 checked out the location, and as you can see. There is a large amount of dust coming from the area. For some, the concerns run deeper than reduced visibility or dirty cars. They fear the dust could have lasting consequences for the community. Dust pollution is destroying the planet, destroying homes for any animals that live out here. I see the future of many kids that live out here being hurt, damage," said Jane Madsen, a Granger resident. WSBT 22 spoke with St. Joseph County Economic Developer Director Bill Schalliol on Monday about the dust at the construction site. He said the county plans to bring in more water to the site to reduce the dust, citing recent weather patterns as an additional challenge. They're trying to tamp down the dust as best as they can. We haven't had rain in a couple of weeks. So, I mean, it is a little bit of a challenge, but we do know that it's an issue, they know it's an issue, we've had lots of conversations about it, so they're going to continue to work on the issues," said Bill Schalliol, St. Joseph County economic development. WSBT22 did reach out to Microsoft about the complaints surrounding the project. A Microsoft spokesperson told WSBT 22 that they are aware of the dust and are working with the contractor to mitigate the issue. Microsoft is committed to being a good neighbor in the communities where we build, own, and operate our data centers. We are aware of the dust concerns at our site and have been working with the General Contractor to mitigate the issue and minimize any construction impacts on neighboring communities.” http://wsbt.com/news/local/microsoft-data-center-project-causes-dust-concerns-in-st-joseph-county-construction-environmental-impact-environment-residents-homes-thick-air-dust-site-st-joe-farm-property-cleveland-road-granger-indiana _________________ Stay up to date by following our social media: WSBT 22 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WSBTNews WSBT 22 on X: https://twitter.com/WSBT WSBT 22 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wsbt/ For more information, visit https://wsbt.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to our newsroom: wsbtnews@wsbt.com WSBT is an IN based station and a CBS Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. Sinclair owns and operates, programs or provides sales services to 163 television stations in 77 markets, after pending transactions. Sinclair's television group reaches approximately 38.7% of US television households and includes FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, Univision and Azteca affiliates.