NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — The state’s Environmental Protection Division has ordered a data center to stop construction immediately over violating state law.
Channel 2’s Michael Doudna learned that the project did not have the permits it needed.
Opponents of this project say it is a blatant disregard of the rules.
Last year, Voltagrid and Serverfarm applied for the right to build a power plant on the site to power an under-construction data center. But as the application was going through review, evidence shows they started construction anyway.
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“It popped up out of the ground, just, you know, felt like overnight,” said Maurice Carter, the president of Sustainable Newton.
The project, which is the first of its kind in the state, would build a data center with its own power plant built right next door.
“The thing for these guys is speed to power, and that can’t be accomplished at the expense of, you know, cutting corners around laws and putting the public at risk,” Carter said.
Carter opposes the plan that calls for the building of 33 natural gas engines and 37 diesel emergency generators to power the site because he says it could pollute the air with cancer-causing chemicals.
“We were in the middle of that process, none of those had been legally resolved yet and yet, they appear to be building this,” he said.
Last week, after receiving a tip, Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division sent violation notices to both companies, ordering them to stop work and claiming the unpermitted construction violated state law.
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“Our number one concern is that this thing gets built in a way that’s safe for our citizens,” Carter said.
Doudna reached out to both companies for comment, but received no response.
Carter says these projects need to be done correctly for everyone’s safety.
“If it’s okay to just ignore state law, federal law, and build without a permit, then we’ll see these things everywhere,” he said.
Both companies have until July 17 to explain why they started construction without the proper permit and when they began construction.
After that, the EPD will review the information and determine whether to penalize the companies.
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