Lowndes County residents bring proposed data center concerns to commission
LOWNDES COUNTY, Ala. (WAKA) – Residents showed up to the Lowndes County Commission meeting Monday night to share their concerns about a proposed data center.
Residents packed into the county courthouse, with most opposing what is called the Project Red Clay data center. At the meeting, people held up signs that said “No Data Center in Lowndes County.”
Lowndes County resident Adrian Johnson says his property directly borders the land that the proposed center would be built on.
“It’s gonna be in my backyard, it’s literally gonna be across my fence,” says Johnson.
Johnson says he first heard about the project back in January. He talked with county leaders, and even met with the developer. But after doing his own research, Johnson says he’s worried about the impacts the data center would have on their rural area overall.
“We’re concerned about excessive water usage,” says Johnson. “You know this is a rural county where all the water systems here are small rural water systems that all tie into the same aquifer. So if we start draining that aquifer, it impacts all the rural water systems and all the residents in the county.”
Residents fear the project could will affect their agriculture, contaminate their water, make energy and water costs increase, and generate noise and air pollution.
Other residents say the commission is not being transparent.
“I think we all be a lot less testy if there was more transparency in this process, and if we had an actual vote in what moves in beside us,” says resident John Urquhart.
Lowndes County Commissioner Robert Harris, who represents district 1, says the proposal is out of the commission’s hands, because the county doesn’t have planning and zoning laws.
Harris says the commission hasn’t had any direct contact with the company itself, but has had talks with the developer.
“I think the biggest issue still is misinformation and disinformation, and they’re being misled by people and getting more of their feelings involved in it than what the actual law allows us to do,” says Harris. “I think what needs to happen is they check out what the law allows us to do, instead of what they feel like we can do.”
The proposed data center will reportedly take up 800 acres and draw up to 100-thousand gallons of water per day. It would also use 1,500 megawatts of electricity. That is equivalent to 900,000 homes…
