Midwestern Communities Seek Moratorium on Data Center Construction

Grassroots groups in the Midwest are pressing local officials to halt new data center projects. In Lyon County, Kansas, the Emporia Neighbors United coalition is preparing council presentations in Emporia, Olpe and other towns, organizing a protest outside the White Auditorium and gathering signatures to place a data‑center ordinance on the Nov. 3 ballot.

In Indiana, Hoosier Action – part of the national People’s Action network – and 26 allied organizations have called for a statewide moratorium on data‑center construction. They cite nearly 60 large projects launched in the past two years, including a proposed $2 billion, 1‑million‑square‑foot facility by Sabey Corp. that would require up to a million gallons of groundwater for initial cooling and hundreds of thousands of gallons annually thereafter. Activists argue the rapid build‑out of AI‑related infrastructure threatens local water supplies and community health.

Both efforts aim to give municipalities time to assess environmental and social impacts before approving further data‑center development.