Residents urge delay and tougher safeguards at Miami County data center hearing

Dozens of Miami County residents used a public hearing on May 13 to press the Plan Commission for more time and tougher rules on proposed data center development.

Tori Pindell urged a 3–6 month delay and said the draft should require higher financial assurance: "Increase financial insurance from 100% to 150%," she said. Multiple speakers asked that environmental impact studies apply to smaller facilities and not only to projects over 100,000 square feet. Filip Bielanski recommended a one-year moratorium so officials can study impacts and meet with neighboring counties.

Speakers raised a range of technical and health concerns: water withdrawals and contamination, noise and low-frequency harmonics, decibel measurement issues, the presence of PFAS in fire suppression systems, and the risk that farmland and wells could be harmed. One resident, John Rodgers, said a Hammond data center he visited used refrigerant cooling instead of water, a detail several attendees cited as an alternative to heavy water use.

The hearing included requests for clearer procedures and better screening of generators and cooling equipment. Several residents suggested borrowing language from Fulton County's data center ordinance and asked the commission to raise required setbacks; suggestions ranged from 500 feet up to 2,500 feet or more depending on the speaker.