data centers
They are greedy neighbors.
Because of them, our electricity costs increase. They typically siphon power off the shared grid and ask for tax breaks so they don’t pay their fair share. The costs to upgrade the power infrastructure to support them are usually passed on to residential and small commercial consumers.
They consume massive amounts of our water from local sources and can put toxic contaminants back into it. Larger data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons a day, which can dry out private shallow wells. Dumping waste water into local rivers can stress fish populations and trigger toxic algal blooms. Their cooling systems use chemical biocides to prevent bacteria, mold, and algae growth and this toxic material can contaminate the surrounding ecosystem.
They provide few economic benefits to local communities. Data centers are often built with no windows because they employ very few full-time on-site workers. And while construction of data centers does generate short-term jobs, there is no requirement to use local or union labor.
WHAT HAS REP MOUL DONE?
Moul has supported a number of bills designed to encourage data center construction despite the likely increase in costs to private consumers and risks to the water supply and the environment. He voted against a bill to help municipalities regulate data centers effectively to meet local needs. He voted against HB 1834 (2025), which passed with bi-partisan support, to require commercial data centers to source a portion of their power from renewable energy and to contribute to ratepayer assistance programs.
He voted against HB 2151 (2025), which passed with bi-partisan support, to give municipalities guidance on setting standards for data center development and operations. He voted against HB 2246 (2025), which passed with bipartisan support, that requires data centers to report substantial water usage to DEP in order to accurately track how much water each facility consumes
WHAT WOULD KATHLEEN PRATT DO?
As your new state rep, I’ll fight to protect our rural heritage, and you, from data centers. If the people of the 91 st want a data center, contracts must be written that protect the local community. Demands will include data centers to integrate renewable energy in their operations, not receive tax incentives (most are looking for location over incentives anyway), be held accountable with mandated environmental impact reporting, and, contractually be required to profit-share with the local municipality which can use those funds for local environmental, public, or economic initiatives. Until these demands are met, I don’t welcome them here.
Take me back to Issues.