The Data Center Action Coalition held a community meeting on Jan. 27 to discuss issues with data centers, such as water consumption and pollution ahead of city council votes.
The discussion centered on the downsides of data centers and opposition to their construction in surrounding areas. The meeting, held at Rodriguez Elementary, came two weeks after the San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission approved a zoning change application for the CyrusOne data center on Francis Harris Lane, despite about 78 people speaking against it at the meeting. City council previously rejected an application for the CyrusOne project.
The zoning application will now go before city council, with a public hearing scheduled for Feb. 3 and votes scheduled for Feb. 17 and March 3.
Major concerns raised by the organizers centered on environmental risks from data centers, such as water overconsumption, increased flooding risks and noise pollution.
“We want to live in a world where everybody has clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, where we can leave the cities, and there’s still rural land that hasn’t been engulfed by cement, and we can still admire the stars,” Si Frede, one of the organizers, said. “A world in which just because somebody has tons of money doesn’t mean they can imperil our homeland, poison our water and air and prevent us from meeting even our most basic needs.”
Other concerns included allegations of a lack of transparency in development and the chemicals that could be used at potential data centers.
“Data center coolant contains hazardous substances, which are proprietary secrets, so the water discharge from data centers can carry harmful carcinogens like PFAS , propane, glycol, heavy metals,” Frede said. “PFAS is particularly concerning. These are persistent, bio-accumulating poisons which are not removed by wastewater treatment plants.”
PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, are a class of manmade chemicals that are known to cause numerous health conditions, such as cancer. According to The Guardian, data center companies are not required to report chemicals used or the volume of chemicals discharged.
Another concern raised by organizers and attendees centered on power usage by data center facilities. According to the Texas Comptroller’s Office, the Texas Energy Reliability Council of Texas forecasts the energy demand for Texas to double by 2030. Large parts of that increase in demand will come from data centers’ growth, according to The Texas Tribune.
“In addition to the extreme cost of overhauling the electric grid, over 100 new gas-fired power plants are planned for construction in Texas over the next few years to meet the demand from these industries,” Frede said.
Torrie Martin neighbors the planned CyrusOne data center in San Marcos. She’s spoken before both city council and the Hays County Commissioners’ Court regarding concerns about how data centers will impact her family’s ranch.
“What will this do to our property value, our water bill, our power bill? Will we even have water?” Martin said. “Will I be able to sell my ranch when it becomes too hazardous to live there? Who will want to buy it? Oh, another data center.”
San Marcos city council member Amanda Rodriguez spoke at the meeting and explained the process the zoning application for the CyrusOne data center will go through before final approval or rejection.
Rodriguez encouraged attendees to register to speak at the Feb. 3 city council meeting for the public comment period and the public hearing. According to a city of San Marcos Facebook post, speakers for public comment must now register at or before 5:30 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
“Our job is to listen to you. It’s not to sit here and force feed you an item that you don’t want,” Rodriguez said. “So in order for us to listen to you, while it may be scary and intimidating … we need to hear you.”
San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson and Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra were both present at the meeting, but organizers refused to allow them to speak. Organizers argued that they already had an audience and platform due to their being in elected office.
After the meeting, Hughson spoke to organizers, questioning where they got their information from. Hughson insisted she was interested in reading the sources for herself as she had concerns about some of the organizer’s points, such as chemical usage.
No representatives or proponents of data centers were present to speak at the community meeting.
The CyrusOne project that will be presented to city council over the next three meetings is only one of numerous proposed projects in the areas surrounding San Marcos. Other projects will separately come before city council, the Hays County commissioners court, the Caldwell County commissioners’ court or special utility districts, respectively.
