Petitioners Celebrate Rescission Victory
Press release
GENESEE COUNTY, NEW YORK— In documents posted publicly today, the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) confirmed its Board of Directors has retracted State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) and other approvals for Stream Data Centers’ “Project Double Reed,” a nearly 1 million square foot data center complex proposed for the Western New York Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) mega-industrial site in Alabama, New York. The retraction comes on the heels of litigation filed in NY State Supreme Court by the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and the Sierra Club challenging the legality of the SEQR approvals for the data center project.
In court documents filed in late August, GCEDC signaled its intent to retract the approvals and to consider an even larger data center project at STAMP in the future. The approvals had authorized GCEDC to, among other things, enter into an agreement for the sale of land at STAMP to Stream Data Centers. GCEDC had agreed to take no action on the sale of land to Stream Data Centers until the Court heard the case.
The lawsuit, filed on July 1, asked the court to void the SEQR and other approvals as unlawful. “We asked the court to strike down GCEDC’s SEQR approvals, so for GCEDC to void the approvals voluntarily is a huge win,” said Chief Roger Hill. “A massive data center at STAMP would harm our people and our way of life by creating constant jet-engine-like noise, damaging our waters, and raising electricity prices for our citizens and local residents. We have to fight against this idea because of the responsibility we have to protect our territory and future generations.” According to the Nation, no decision has been made regarding next steps in the court case.
According to GCEDC’s posted meeting minutes, the GCEDC Board’s vote to rescind the data center approvals was unanimous. While the decision means GCEDC cannot move forward on the data center project it approved in March, it does not require Stream to submit a new application and it will be up to Stream to decide whether to move forward with a new application.
In the meeting, GCEDC also approved waiving local labor hiring requirements for construction of the Edwards Vacuum facility at STAMP. GCEDC CEO Mark Masse recently published a letter to the editor touting GCEDC’s commitment to fulfilling its local labor policy.
The Double Reed data center would have been built within 300 feet of the nearest residence and roughly one half mile from the Reservation Territory of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, which, along with local residents, has strongly opposed the siting of a data center at STAMP.
Across the country, data centers face increasing opposition from local residents. Data centers are associated with a wide range of noxious environmental and quality of life impacts, including air and water pollution, continuous noise, and risk of house fire. Data centers use vast quantities of energy for cooling purposes, straining local electrical grids and increasing incidence of blackouts and brownouts. Research documents that infrastructure costs associated with data center energy usage are frequently displaced onto consumers, leading to higher electrical bills.
Despite nearly twenty years of effort and more than $410 million in taxpayer subsidies, GCEDC has struggled to attract viable advanced manufacturing tenants or to construct basic infrastructure at STAMP, the rural site proposed to become a “mega industrial park.” Currently, Edwards Vacuum is the only tenant under construction at STAMP. Plug Power paused construction on its green hydrogen manufacturing facility in 2023, leaving a gap in financing for the onsite electrical substation; Stream Data Centers committed to covering $50 million of this gap as part of their data center proposal. According to the July 1 petition, “To fast track the development of a data center and jump start the stalled STAMP Site, the GCEDC resorted to taking shortcuts around the very environmental review standards and procedures” put in place under SEQR.