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Southaven residents urge task force to pause data-center approvals over noise, health and water concerns
Summary
A Southaven resident and public-health advocates told the Mississippi AI Regulation Task Force that XAI's power-plant turbines and data-center operations are harming nearby communities — citing noise, unpermitted turbines, large water draws and a health-cost estimate of $30–$44 million tied to planned turbines.
Shannon Samsa, executive director of the Safe and Sound Coalition and a Southaven resident, told the task force she is not "necessarily opposed to artificial intelligence or even to data centers, so I decided to make a list of what I am opposed to." She said local residents have endured nonstop turbine noise since last August, alleged that 59 turbines are operating while permits were issued for only 41, and cited a health-impact estimate that the pollution from the 41 planned permanent turbines could impose "$30 to $44,000,000 in annual health costs" on surrounding communities.
Samsa described other community harms she said followed the project: delayed or missing gray-water recycling systems, a cited one-time draw of "7,770,000 gallons in just 12 days," and what she characterized as limited public notice before approvals and a 30-year fee-in-lieu tax arrangement. "If taxpayers are going to subsidize private companies data centers, then those companies should meet the highest standards for transparency," she said. She urged the task force to recommend stronger permitting, enforceable timelines for mitigation measures such as wastewater recycling, and expanded public-health and environmental representation in future deliberations.
The testimony prompted questions from task force members about permit status, the role of state regulators, and whether temporary operation approvals are becoming effectively permanent. The task force heard from environmental and public-health advocates that independent noise and air-quality monitoring, clear timelines for promised mitigation infrastructure, and public access to permit and incentive documents are needed to assess community risk and enforcement options.
