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Residents urge Tyrone council to tighten rules as data center debate continues
Summary
Multiple residents urged Tyrone leaders to impose preconstruction safeguards or new ordinances for a proposed data center—citing water use, noise, diesel-generator testing, and potential health impacts—and asked the council and town attorney to draft protections before construction.
Public commenters pressed the Tyrone City Council on Aug. 9 to adopt stricter protections for a proposed data center they called "Project Rita," raising concerns about water consumption, continuous noise and public-health effects. Toni Leslie, a registered nurse who lives on Mann Road, warned the council that "the closed loop cooling system is a fallacy" and said data centers can pollute local water supplies and harm residents and livestock.
Other residents shared local observations and studies they said link data centers to community harms. Ellie Varela asked council members to "please care" and urged officials to tour nearby neighborhoods and homes next to existing data centers. Carmen Ross cited recent studies and said some research shows data centers generate constant noise in the 40–59 decibel range and that chronic exposure is associated with sleep disturbance and higher stress hormones. Several commenters also asked the council to require developers to provide documentation showing utilities can serve the facility and to restrict generator testing hours to limit noise and diesel odor.
