Residents of Angelina County are pushing back against a proposed data center, citing concerns over noise, water usage, and the impact on their community. The data center, which would be built on 1,000 acres of land, is expected to bring in $1 billion in private capital investment and create 30 full-time jobs.

Community Concerns

Kaesha Avishai, a retired nurse and born-again Christian, is one of the residents who has been affected by the proposed data center. She has seen men on four-wheelers crossing her land, pesticides and herbicides being sprayed, and helicopters and drones flying overhead. Avishai is concerned that the data center will disrupt her peaceful community and is calling for guidelines to be put in place to ensure that the data center does not harm the environment or the residents.

Other residents, including Christina Perez, a Houston-based political activist, are also speaking out against the data center. Perez is concerned that the data center will use up too much water and cause electric bills to skyrocket. She is also worried about the health impacts of the data center, citing a Time Magazine investigation that found that the humming from bitcoin mining operations led to mysterious ailments in Granbury.

Economic Benefits

Despite the concerns, Lufkin Mayor Mark Hicks believes that the data center will bring economic benefits to the county. He says that the data center will create jobs and generate tax revenue, and that the company building the center has agreed to use a closed-loop cooling system and provide regular reports to the county on environmental concerns.

Raine Cotton, managing partner for EPG Champion Development LLC, says that the company is open to working with the county and protecting the neighborhood. He notes that the data center will be built on a former papermill site and will use a sound buffer zone to reduce the impact on nearby neighborhoods.

Original reporting: Texas Tribune (HLL/CB) — read the source article.