Gary residents press for statewide moratorium and local ordinances as Amazon, Google sites expand in Indiana

Residents, council members and consumer advocates at a Gary City community forum in July 2026 pressed for a data‑center moratorium and new local ordinances after presenters described large AI campuses' energy, water and tax impacts. "No other facility on the grid today uses as much electricity as an AI data center," Ben Inskeep of Citizens Action Coalition told attendees.

Inskeep and Kerwin Olsen outlined the model they say lets data centers avoid bearing the full cost of grid use: a separate generation company ("Genco") can build or own plants that supply data centers while keeping those investments off the regulated utility's rate base; in their view, that structure and confidential power‑purchase arrangements can shift costs to other ratepayers. Inskeep also said data centers receive a state-level 50‑year sales‑tax exemption on electricity and can obtain local property-tax abatements, calling that combination a substantial public subsidy.

Speakers raised local environmental concerns. Inskeep described the Amazon/Anthropic site near New Carlisle as a massive campus that required extensive dewatering during construction; he said organizers have reported pumping "19,000,000,000 gallons" of water during site work and flagged potential off‑site water use by gas‑fired plants serving the data center.

Residents from Hobart and Michigan City described firsthand problems: growth in building counts at sites, well and aquifer impacts, and community frustration when developers use permissive industrial zoning. "They started with 8 buildings, went to 18, went to 22, now they are looking at 32 to 36," Alice Pawlowski said of one project she visited.

CAC said it first called for a statewide moratorium in October 2024 and is helping communities draft local ordinances; several forum speakers offered a model moratorium template and invited council members to community-led tours of existing data-center sites. Local council members discussed options including a study period, coordinated ordinances with the mayor's office, or a moratorium tied to a strong legal strategy to avoid quick defeat at the state level.

Council members encouraged residents to attend the upcoming Gary common council meeting, where resolutions on Greensteel and other local policy items will be introduced; several said they will pursue further study and work with the administration before any ordinance is advanced. "We need to slow down this train, enact the data center moratorium statewide, and fight back in our local communities," Olsen said.