ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. (WNDU) – St. Joseph County Council candidate Jamie O’Brien has called for a county data center moratorium.
The request came over concerns about Microsoft’s Granger data center project and Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) New Carlisle data center campus.
The Granger facility is expected to begin construction in late fall 2026 or early 2027.
New Carlisle’s center broke ground roughly two years ago.
“The St. Joe County public, and many elected officials, are quite skeptical of data centers, including concerns related to utility usage, water usage and disposal, noise, construction, traffic and disruption to residential neighborhoods,” said O’Brien in a news release.
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The Granger center will reportedly operate on a closed-loop system, meaning that water will continuously recirculate through the site. AWS said that their facility will use water for less than 2% of the year.
Microsoft also said that they have utility agreement components designed to protect other rate payers.
According to O’Brien, four of nine current council members support adopting a moratorium.
O’Brien is the Republican candidate for Granger’s seat in the St. Joseph County Council.
He said he will present a proposal for the moratorium in the coming weeks.
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