Erin Brockovich is urging residents to watch local zoning decisions as AI data-center proposals spread, warning that private meetings, nondisclosure agreements and rezoning can move projects forward before communities have a meaningful chance to weigh in.
Brockovich’s AI Data Center Reporting project says it has received more than 9,500 community reports from all 50 states and Washington, D.C.; the submissions are collected by the project, not an independent national survey. She recommends monitoring planning agendas, attending hearings, requesting records and asking about proposed projects’ impacts.
In Stokes County, North Carolina, commissioners approved Project Delta. The Southern Environmental Law Center said it would turn about 1,850 acres of residential-agricultural land along the Dan River into heavy-industrial zoning; the group said residents raised concerns about pollution, generators, water and economic effects. Separately, Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office said in March it was investigating the use of nondisclosure agreements involving data centers. It cited reports of restrictions on some officials and an allegation that Amazon sought to restrict a Pima County official from discussing a proposed $3.6 billion project.
