Data Centers, Part Three
Friends and Constituents,
I hope you are all well. It’s been another big week in Indiana politics:
-The GOP selected a far-right Jim Banks acolyte, Max Engling, as their Secretary of State candidate, finally realizing that corrupt Diego Morales was a liability.
-The Rules Committee of the Indy City Council voted to send the wheel tax increase, Proposal 192, to the full council with a “do pass” recommendation.
- Governor Braun’s hand-picked regulatory commission approved a massive electricity rate increase for AES; Braun now pretends he has no power over this.
Each of these is worth an email and video of its own, but today our focus is once again on Data Centers. That’s right, it’s another DATA CENTER DEEP DIVE.
To catch everyone up:
The City-County Council unanimously voted for my data center moratorium resolution, which called upon the Metropolitan Development Commission (MDC - basically the political appointees who get to make all planning decisions in Indianapolis) to institute a full moratorium on any new data center projects until such time as we get new regulations in place.
Meanwhile, the MDC hearing examiner has continued to approve new variances and rezone requests for data centers, flagrantly ignoring the will of both the Council and the citizenry.
The Hogsett administration first proposed a series of new regulations that were panned by environmental and consumer advocacy groups. They delayed a public hearing on the regulations so they could adopt some of the consumer feedback into a revised version.
Now, the revised data center zoning plan has been released, and it is going to be presented and discussed at a public hearing in the middle of the day on July 1st.
Stop what you’re doing and check your calendar. Can you wear red and show up at a rally downtown Indianapolis at 12:00 pm on Wednesday, July 1st? Can you stay for the MDC hearing that starts at 1:00 pm? Whether you can go yourself or not, can you share the invitation with three other people?Now that you’ve checked your calendar, watch this week’s video and keep reading.
I want to give credit to the Hogsett administration for making a few changes, and for highlighting what has changed between the two versions thanks to a redlined document.
The main changes between the original version and the new one move in the right direction, but still offer horrific giveaways to data center developers:
The main buildings of data centers are now required to be at least 400 feet away from a protected district like residential or churches, up from the original draft’s suggested 200 feet.
I am offering an amendment that changes this number to 2,640 feet (half a mile)
Data centers are now required to maintain a sound level of 55 decibels at or beyond the property line. The original draft’s decibel limit was 65 decibels at the property line alone.
I am offering an amendment that changes this number to 50 decibels during the daytime and 45 decibels at night.
The requirement for a noise study and mitigation plan received additional teeth and specificity in the new revised proposal.
I am offering an amendment that changes this plan to be incorporated in a broader “Cumulative Impact Assessment” rather than separating out the individual portions of the ways data centers can impact the surrounding community.
The newly revised proposal adds an annual reporting commitment component to the data center zoning proposal.
I am offering an amendment that would add specifics to the findings of these reports that should result in denials of approval for a rezone. I am also offering an enforcement mechanism that would offer hefty fines for failing to meet reporting requirements or failing to meet commitments for noise or other pollution.
My full proposed list of amendments which was sent to all 24 of my peers is below my signature, for your perusal and feedback. But I also wanted to spend some time today talking about why it’s so important that we hold data center developers accountable. Data Center deep dive part one talked about the “how” data centers get sited, funded, and approved. Part two cast doubt on data center developers and the politicians they buy, given the lies, speculation, misdirections, and secrecy the industry engages in.
But today, I want to talk about what happens if this is not just a speculative bubble. If this most massive private sector infrastructure building scheme of all time actually comes to fruition, it’s important to talk about why this is being done, and what could possibly justify the massive investment.
The AI buildout is for surveillance and war, not tools to help individuals be more productive.
Palantir, the terrifyingly named AI-based surveillance company founded by Epstein pal and hard-right political activist Peter Thiel, has been heavily invested in AI and already uses big data and AI tools for horrifying purposes. AI-based war technology is being used to select targets for missiles and drones; these tools may have been responsible for the murder of over 150 children on the first day of fighting in Iran.
Flock Security is involved in a domestic version of the same type of tools. Its massive web of AI-assisted, automatically-captured camera data is allowing government surveillance that would put George Orwell’s Ingsoc Party to shame.
The AI buildout is about giving more of our data to big corporations, to help them take our money.
Big companies are routinely and increasingly using the data collected from wearables, from social media, from apps, and from private databases to create profiles of each of us as individuals.
This leads to targeted ads that feed addiction by preying on our insecurities and weaknesses; targeted pricing that charges some people more money for the same products from the same manufacturer and distributor; and to modifications of social media and websites in order to make them more addicting.
The AI buildout is owned by, and designed to benefit, unaccountable private entities that are increasingly controlling our democracy.
Big Tech is massively increasing its involvement in politics. Simply gigantic sums of money are going into supporting politicians who allow these technologies to continue and the data center boom to proceed unabated. Tech CEOs sat at Trump’s inauguration in more honorable and prestigious places than Cabinet members did. Elon Musk was given free reign to “fight fraud” within the US government - and though he largely failed, he did drastically reduce the number of Black women working for the government.
AI data center companies want to fire us all.
Part Two of our Data Center Deep Dive discussed the insane amount of money that would be required to be invested in order to build as much data center infrastructure as Big Tech says they need.
The only halfway reasonable way Big Tech could raise that much money would be to lay off large percentages of their workforces and encourage other firms to do the same, reinvesting the cost savings into new AI tools.
In short, the AI data center boom - even if it were to be successful - would result in the rich growing richer, the powerful growing more powerful, the government growing more oppressive, and warfare growing more deadly. AI tools can be useful - but the consumer tools available today represent regulatory capture, loss-leading tactics that kill off competitors, and create entrenched monopolies that can then up the prices - using AI tools to gouge us as much as possible.
This dystopian future is not inevitable. Working people can and must take control of our government and the economy, so that higher productivity and new tools are in the hands of all of us and form the basis of shared prosperity and freedom, rather than a nightmare of technofascism.
In love and solidarity,
Jesse
Data center amendments:
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE
SECTION 1. PURPOSE AND INTENT
Amend the statement of purpose to add:
The purpose of these regulations is to ensure that data center development within Marion County protects public health, groundwater resources, neighborhood air quality, utility affordability, emergency response capacity, and environmental sustainability while promoting transparency and meaningful public participation.
SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS
Add the following definitions:
“Closed-Loop Cooling System”
A cooling system in which cooling fluids remain sealed within a recirculating piping network and are not discharged through evaporative cooling towers or once-through systems except during emergency operations approved by the applicable utility provider.
“Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)”
A commercial-scale electrical energy storage system utilizing rechargeable battery technologies for emergency backup power or grid support.
“Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA)”
A developer-funded, independent third-party study evaluating the combined localized environmental and public health impacts of existing industrial pollution sources and the projected impacts of a proposed data center development.
“Tier 4 Emergency Generator”
An emergency backup generator meeting the United States Environmental Protection Agency Tier 4 Final emissions standards.
“Knozone Day”
Any day designated by the City of Indianapolis or the Indiana Department of Environmental Management as an Air Quality Action Day or ozone action advisory day.
SECTION 2. Amendments to DMD proposal:
3. Protected District separation. Minimum separation of 2,640 feet between the primary building of the data center facility and the property line of a Protected District (pertaining to industrial development).
4. Sound levels. Maximum sound levels associated with any component of a data center may not exceed 50 decibels (dB) during daylight hours or 45 decibels (dB) from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am, measured at the property line.
Enforcement: violations of this sound level restriction shall be subject to a $5000 per day fine.
SECTION 4. COOLING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Add a new subsection titled “Cooling and Water Conservation Standards.”
A. Closed-Loop Cooling Requirement
All data center developments exceeding 10,000 square feet in gross floor area shall utilize closed-loop or zero-evaporative cooling systems as a condition of approval for any improvement location permit, special exception, rezoning approval, or site plan approval.
B. Prohibited Cooling Systems
The following cooling systems are prohibited:
Once-through cooling systems;
Evaporative cooling towers; and
Any cooling technology resulting in routine evaporative loss of potable groundwater or municipal water supplies.
Temporary emergency operation of evaporative systems may be authorized only during documented regional utility emergencies.
C. PFAS and Cooling Chemical Disclosure
Applicants shall submit a certified inventory of all chemicals utilized within any cooling architecture, including but not limited to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), glycols, refrigerants, and corrosion inhibitors.
D. Chemical Isolation Standards
All cooling fluids and chemical agents shall be contained within isolated, double-walled closed systems engineered to prevent groundwater contamination and environmental discharge.
E. Wastewater Pre-Treatment
Any facility discharging cooling-related wastewater exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit or exceeding applicable utility thresholds for total dissolved solids (TDS) shall construct and maintain on-site wastewater pre-treatment facilities prior to discharge into the municipal wastewater system.
SECTION 5. BACKUP POWER AND AIR QUALITY STANDARDS
Add a new subsection titled “Emergency Power Systems.”
A. Tier 4 Generator Requirement
All emergency backup generators associated with a data center development shall meet United States Environmental Protection Agency Tier 4 Final emissions standards.
B. Generator Testing Restrictions
Routine maintenance testing of diesel generators shall:
Occur only between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday;
Be prohibited on Knozone Days;
Not exceed two calendar days per month;
Utilize the minimum operational duration necessary for compliance and maintenance purposes; and
Avoid testing during school hours if within 1000 feet of a school.
C. Battery Energy Storage Incentives
Any data center development providing at least seventy-five percent (75%) of emergency backup capacity through Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) shall be eligible for one of the following incentives, as approved by the Metropolitan Development Commission:
Up to a fifteen percent (15%) increase in permitted lot coverage;
Up to a fifteen percent (15%) increase in Floor Area Ratio (FAR); or
Up to a ten-foot increase in maximum building height.
D. Energy Sustainability Plan
Applicants shall submit an Energy Sustainability Plan including:
Projected peak electrical demand;
Planned coordination with electric utilities;
Energy efficiency measures;
Proposed distributed energy resources; and
Planned renewable energy procurement strategies.
E. Renewable Energy Requirement
All data center developments shall work with the public utility to maximize renewable energy utilization. For data centers unable to meet demand through renewable sources, these developments shall offset no less than forty percent (40%) of projected peak megawatt demand through:
On-site renewable generation; or
Verified newly constructed regional virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs)
SECTION 6. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW REQUIREMENTS
Add a new subsection titled “Environmental and Public Health Protections.”
A. Cumulative Impact Assessment Requirement
Approval of any structural permit, improvement location permit, rezoning, or special exception for a data center development shall require submission of a developer-funded, independent third-party Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA).
The CIA shall evaluate:
Existing localized industrial pollution burdens;
Projected air emissions;
Water usage and wastewater impacts;
Groundwater contamination risks;
Noise impacts;
Traffic-related emissions; and
Public health implications for surrounding neighborhoods.
B. Denial Thresholds
The Metropolitan Development Commission may deny any application if the CIA demonstrates:
The proposed development would increase localized ambient pollution levels by more than five percent (5%) above the existing neighborhood baseline; or
Subsurface construction activities pose an unmitigated threat to groundwater quality or environmental remediation systems.
C. Brownfield and Subsurface Testing
Data center developments proposed on historic industrial or brownfield sites shall conduct comprehensive soil-boring and subsurface environmental testing.
Applicants shall demonstrate that construction activities will not:
Breach environmental remediation caps;
Mobilize contaminated soils; or
Migrate toxins into adjacent neighborhoods or groundwater systems.
SECTION 7. FIRE SAFETY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Add a new subsection titled “Advanced Fire Safety Standards.”
A. NFPA Compliance
All data center developments and associated battery storage infrastructure shall comply with:
NFPA 75; and
NFPA 855.
B. Fire Detection and Suppression
Facilities utilizing Battery Energy Storage Systems shall include:
Active Aspirating Smoke Detection (ASD) systems; and
Waterless clean-agent gaseous fire suppression systems.
C. Emergency Response Cost Recovery
Developers shall reimburse the Indianapolis Fire Department for any specialized firefighting equipment, chemical suppression materials, air-monitoring equipment, or technical training reasonably necessary to respond to battery or data center-related emergencies.
D. Water Pressure Certification
Applicants shall provide written certification from Citizens Energy Group confirming that emergency fire suppression demand associated with the proposed facility will not materially reduce baseline residential water pressure in surrounding neighborhoods.
SECTION 8. TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC PROCESS
Add a new subsection titled “Public Disclosure and Community Engagement.”
A. Transparency Requirements
A data center application shall be deemed incomplete if the applicant withholds any of the following information under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA):
Projected daily water consumption;
Peak megawatt electrical demand;
Grid capacity impacts;
Wetland impacts; or
Wastewater discharge characteristics.
B. Enhanced Public Notice Radius
For any data center projected to utilize more than five megawatts (5 MW) of electrical demand, the required public notice radius shall be expanded to one thousand three hundred twenty feet (1,320 feet).
C. Township Public Meetings
Prior to final action by the Metropolitan Development Commission, the Department of Metropolitan Development shall conduct at least one in-person public informational meeting within the affected township no fewer than thirty (30) days before the final hearing.
SECTION 9. SEVERABILITY
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or provision of this ordinance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of the ordinance.
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Additional recommended amendments:
-Update decommissioning plan to require a full decommissioning plan, not a partial decommissioning plan. Require companies to have a surety bond to make sure this plan is funded even if the company is forced to go out of business.
-Prohibit use of any diesel generators at all, requiring solely battery backups.