Residents urge Lancaster City Council to curb AI data centers over noise, air, water and equity concerns

Dozens of Lancaster City residents told the City Council on Aug. 12 that proposed AI data centers at Greenfield Road and Harrisburg Pike could harm air and water quality, raise utility costs and disproportionately burden Black and low-income neighborhoods.

The speakers — who addressed council during the meeting’s public-comment periods — asked for independent environmental reviews, tighter zoning or a new data-center category, enforceable community benefits and transparent public hearings that include residents rather than only corporate representatives.

The concerns centered on three recurring themes: local health and environmental effects, strain on the electric grid and transparency in how the projects were permitted. Resident Jontell Toland said she and others want to know whether “any independent third-party environmental impact studies” exist and “where can the public access it?” She asked the council to commit to town-hall–style public meetings where residents can ask questions without corporate PR teams controlling the format.

Multiple speakers cited diesel backup generators, noise and water use as specific risks. Resident Alexander King cited news reports and community accounts he said showed diesel backup generators can degrade air quality and that air-cooled facilities can still be noisy: “Inside a data center, it can be 95 decibels or higher,” he said, comparing potential…