Residents in Kansas and Oklahoma Challenge Data Center Projects
Citizen groups in Kansas and Oklahoma are using petitions and legal threats to block large-scale data center developments over environmental and community concerns.
Residents in Kansas and Oklahoma are mobilizing against the development of large-scale data centers, citing concerns over noise, air pollution, and the consumption of water and electricity. In Yukon, Oklahoma, Charles Scott filed a petition to amend the city charter and repeal ordinances to force a public vote on a planned billion-dollar facility spanning 184 acres.
In Kansas, the movement has seen varying degrees of success. In Emporia and El Dorado, citizen-led petitions successfully navigated judicial reviews and will appear on the November ballot. However, city commissioners in Ottawa, Kansas, declined to act on a petition from the group Ottawa United to ban data centers using more than 25 megawatts of power. City legal counsel Michelle Stewart argued the petition was administrative and legally unsound. In response, Ottawa United members delivered a demand letter to City Hall on August 25, threatening legal action.
The grassroots push has created political friction for Kansas Democrats. Representatives Brooklynne Mosley and Alexis Simmons now support temporary moratoriums on construction, a shift that led the Kansas AFL-CIO to refuse their endorsements. Additionally, the SMART Transportation Division Kansas State Legislative Board endorsed Republican Senate President Ty Masterson after State Senator Cindy Holscher proposed a moratorium on the facilities.
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