Saline Data Center Wastewater Permit Sparks Resident Pushback
Residents of Saline Township are opposing a wastewater discharge permit for an OpenAI and Oracle data center campus under construction near the Saline River. They want independent, real-time monitoring and broader consideration of cumulative watershed impacts before Michigan regulators decide on the permit.
Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy held a virtual town hall attended by at least 65 people as the public-comment period neared its end for a wastewater discharge permit tied to the planned data center campus known as The Barn in Saline Township. The facility, developed by Related Digital for OpenAI and Oracle, would discharge treated sanitary wastewater into the Saline River at an average rate of 15,750 gallons per day.
Residents questioned the permit’s reliance on developer self-reporting, third-party monitoring at the discharge point and periodic inspections, noting that no equipment would continuously monitor conditions in the river. Speakers including Mary Stuczynski and environmental consultant Nicki Rockentine called for real-time public monitoring and analysis of cumulative watershed impacts, while also raising concerns about traffic, utility costs and the project’s climate effects. EGLE was accepting comments through Oct. 23 on permit MI0060445.