It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on not understanding it - Upton Sinclair

In this article, I will describe some factors that might contribute to a data center being more or less responsible in its development practices. However, what ‘responsible’ means will vary depending on location, environment, and community concerns. For example, what is considered responsible in a state like Michigan, where there is a greater availability of water, may be irresponsible in a state like Arizona, where drought conditions are common. This is why community members should be involved at every level of development, from planning to construction to monitoring.

The Kairos Fellowship and MediaJustice provide a useful framework for tactics in resisting data center development, which l use as starting points for how one might envision a responsible data center in a community. In addition to their variables, I include democratic control and local job creation. By the former, I mean that communities need to be involved in all stages of development through organizations such as Community Advisory Boards (CAB), which “are composed of community members who share an identity, geography, history, language, culture, or other characteristic or experience and convene to contribute community voice to an initiative, program, policy, or project.” Only members of the community are experts in their area and have a vested interest in protecting their environment from outside encroachment and weighing any positives that may come from data center development.

Environmental Impacts

When data centers come to town, there are numerous impacts to the environment, including, but not limited to, water, air, noise, and light pollution. Data centers use water to cool their chips, which produce heat when operating. Some of this water may come from the same sources as drinking water, or companies may use “closed-loop” water cooling or recycled water. These impacts are especially important for areas such as Arizona, which “experienced drought conditions in 99 percent of the state in 2021.” Another way data centers affect the water cycle is by replacing green areas with pavement and buildings, increasing runoff. Even in areas such as the Great Lakes, where there may be ample water sources, the case of a resident of Georgia shows that during construction, well water can be polluted and made undrinkable. Community members need to have legal recourse at all stages of development and have a “kill switch” to protect their areas when developers are harming members of the community without regard.

The increase in power generation from power plants increases air pollution in those communities where power is generated, as well as at the location of data centers themselves through their use of backup diesel power generators. These generators pollute the air by releasing “particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and carbon dioxide (CO₂)” which can increase the rates of diseases such as asthma. A responsible development strategy would use renewable energy sources and scale back operations instead of increasing pollution. There should be open-source information for the community to monitor air pollution and the number and use of generators, especially after xAI allegedly installed additional generators in its Colossus facility.

Running thousands of chips produces noise in and of itself and requires HVAC systems with fans constantly running to cool them. This harms not only the communities in the area but also the employees subjected to the constant sound. Strategies to limit noise pollution include more efficient cooling systems, which reduce the need for fans, and soundproofing insulation that limits sound escaping outside the data centers. Communities could pass nuisance laws regulating how much noise data centers can produce and locating data centers away from residential areas to limit their disruption to quality of life.

Light pollution affects not only humans’ circadian rhythms but also wildlife, particularly nocturnal species. Using strategies such as using blue light, dimming switches, and motion detection can limit the impacts on people and nature.

Zoning Reform

Zoning reform may sound boring, but it is an important part of responsible development because zoning is controlled by the local government, so corporations that want to build hyperscale data centers need local approval to develop in a particular area. To do so, they may need to expand the industrial zoning or technology parks, which may be close to residential areas, sensitive environments such as protected waterways, or on currently communal land such as a local park or public golf course. Communities should strengthen their current laws to enforce third-party environmental reviews, consider property prices for residents located near data centers, and allow for public comment periods so citizens can make their voices heard and have time to organize CABs. Does CAB need to be explained? I don’t know what it means.[1]  Okay does it mean Community Advisory Boards? Additional zoning suggestions may be found in the Urban Land Institute’s publication on page 21.

Tax Policy Reform

As Good Jobs First notes, over 30 states have passed laws allowing for tax exemptions for data centers, which restrict local governments from taxing companies when buying equipment or power. This can limit the community's ability to fund schools, fire stations, and other necessary government programs vital to an area’s prosperity. In local communities that live under state tax exemptions, there is a need for community associations like CABs to monitor tax exemptions and collect missing revenue for the public interest. Communities can codify that developers pay a certain percentage of their overall costs to public services, such as Denver’s 1% public art ordinance. Besides a developer’s tax, there are many other taxes communities can levy on data centers, including: property taxes, sales and use taxes, corporate and entity-level income taxes, transfer taxes, and trade and customs taxes and tariffs.

Transparency Measures

The use of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) has shrouded the industry in a “veil of secrecy” as to how much water and energy are actually being used at data centers. Apart from the use of resources, NDAs can also hide which companies are backing developers in construction and will eventually use the data centers. Communities can pass bans on the use of NDAs and mandate open-source information from data centers for public viewing.

Renewable Energy Requirements

Companies like Google have pledged to become carbon-neutral; however, the explosion of data center development has put these plans at risk. This is because data centers require a constant supply of energy. Something that renewables, such as wind and solar, are notorious for lacking the ability to produce. This has led some companies to turn to nuclear power, which faces time delays to construction and hazardous byproducts that last for centuries. Data centers face demands from companies to increase shareholder profits over people’s health. One solution to this could be creating B Corporations, which have mandates to balance profits with the health of communities they operate in, and couldn’t be sued for turning off the power when short on renewable energy. Governments can create regulations enforcing percentages of energy to come from renewables and require backup generators to have up-to-date emissions standards, as in Virginia’s proposed HB 2578.

Utility Fairness

When Americans are facing rising energy costs across the country, data center developers and operators are often exempt from the costs of expansion of utility infrastructure, which are passed on to the general public. Requiring data center companies to pay their fair share by designating them a special “customer class” and forcing them to pay for not only the increase in energy consumption but also the infrastructure necessary to consume increased energy production.

Democratic Control

Aside from CABs, communities can mandate that data center developers and operators sign “community benefit agreements,” which necessitate companies contribute to the local economy and limit their impacts on the environment. With many companies forcing local government officials to sign NDAs, it is important for community members to rally their citizens to hold both their elected officials and unelected[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]  companies accountable.

Local Job Creation

Data centers create few jobs in general, especially when considering the quantity of water and energy they consume. In areas that have been affected by the relocation of manufacturing overseas, data centers have the potential to provide short-term benefits in construction and long-term technology jobs for the local community. Communities can mandate that local job hiring and training programs be essential for all data center developments, ensuring benefits to the local workers. They can also beef up labor laws to allow workers to join unions and collectively bargain for both the construction and tech sectors. 

Conclusion

At the end of the day, what is responsible for a community is based on an individual’s emotional and logical choice. Are a handful of high-paying jobs worth risking everyone’s clean air, water, and pocketbook? Citizens who may benefit from construction jobs may be willing to forego the environmental impacts, politicians may welcome an increased tax base, and local businesses may benefit from increased spending in their shops. However, low-income citizens may not be able to afford increased utility rates, homeowners with well water may not be able to drink, shower, or brush their teeth, and landowners may see their properties depreciate. This makes a “rational” cost-benefit analysis nearly impossible, as one person’s benefit is another person’s loss. In addition to our current issues, we should all take a page from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy’s Seven Generations Principle, which states that “the decisions we make today should create a sustainable world for the seven generations that follow.”

Note: This article was written before reading the following publication which has some excellent resources and recommendations for responsible data center development and was produced by AI Now, Kate Brennan and Alli Finn “North Star Data Center Policy Toolkit: State and Local Policy Interventions to Stop Rampant AI Data Center Expansion” Dec 3, 2025, https://ainowinstitute.org/publications/data-center-policy-guide

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