A contentious meeting in Niagara Falls took place on Wednesday as the City Council approved plans for a new data center amid backlash from community members.
The agreement settled litigation arising from eminent domain proceedings involving a parcel of land on Falls Street near the Seneca Niagara Casino.
Those who spoke during the meeting voiced their opinions in favor of, and against, the project.
“I believe both projects are essential for the city that will create a significant number of jobs for the building trades and provide a positive impact on our local economy and workforce,” one speaker said.
“These machines require and contaminate a lot of water, and once it’s gone, we don’t get it back. In addition to these examples, Americans living near data centers have reported drastically heightened cancer and miscarriage rates, white powdery substances on their cars and in their gardens, and a noticeable lack of wildlife in their ecosystems,” another speaker said.
In this, Niagara Falls Redevelopment can move forward with its $1.5 billion digital campus. NFR will also donate part of its land for the city’s $1 million Centennial Park proposal. The settlement also requires that the city reimburse NFR $4 million for that land.
There is no timeline for work to begin on either project.
This comes as a new bill, the Responsible Data Center Development Act, is being considered in both chambers of the New York state Legislature. The proposal is a reworked version of a previous proposal that now shortens a proposed moratorium on new data center construction from three years to one.
It also includes multiple pieces of legislation focusing on data center development in New York.