Environmentalists push lawmakers to forge ahead on moratorium and regulations for data centers

Environmental groups including the Sierra Club's Michigan chapter, Clean Water Action and the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition gathered at the state Capitol on Sept. 9 to press lawmakers on a proposed one-year moratorium on new data center permits, plus rules covering water use, electrical customer protections and a ban on non-disclosure agreements between officials and developers.

Democratic state senators introduced the regulatory package in June; it has not moved in the Senate Energy and Environment Committee since. A parallel House Democratic proposal has likewise stalled in the Government Operations Committee, which the piece notes is generally where bills go to die.

Advocates argue that weak oversight elsewhere has let data centers pollute Black and working-class neighborhoods and that non-disclosure agreements have let entire projects surprise the communities they land in. House Speaker Matt Hall has expressed interest in some regulation, though nothing has advanced.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.