WHITEHALL — Concerned citizens in the White Lake area met for an informal, roundtable discussion Tuesday at the Viking Athletic Center regarding a topic at the forefront of many Michiganders’ minds: data centers.
Around the state, such as in Saline, Lowell, and Kalkaska, interested developers have earmarked both public and private properties for construction projects, sometimes facing backlash from local residents.
Attendees of the discussion are not yet part of a formalized group, though organizers of the session include Marisa McGlue and Claire Schlaff, both part of the Chemours Environmental Impact Committee (CEIC). Members of CEIC view the Chemours property, a brownfield which sits in White River and Montague Townships, as the sort of land developers could find attractive.
There were numerous concerns brought up during discussion, ranging from possible water and energy usage, the lack of substantial job opportunities, pollution, and a possible “burst” of the growing AI market, which many of these new data centers are slated to support.
The as yet informal group deliberated on several goals to support their mission to protect the White Lake area from data center development. The first, and most pressing, is to educate the community on what data centers are and the potential dangers they pose.
As McGlue explained, not all data centers are created equal, and not all are for the purposes of AI, though the current market is certainly creating a demand.
“They come in different sizes. They are created for different reasons," McGlue said. "They say that your digital footprint is forever. It’s kept somewhere. The same way our phone generates heat when we’re using it, those data centers generate a lot of heat and need to be cooled down.”
The group hopes to, in the near future, hold an official information session, in which a presentation on the topic is made available to the public.
The group is likewise interested in legislative influence, both on local and state levels. Attendees were encouraged to visit their municipal board meetings and make their concerns known, and the group hopes to provide scripts and templates for use in public comments or when calling up their state legislators in order to keep the message clear and consistent.
The ultimate goal, however, is to craft local legislation, which can be implemented by planning boards to protect their municipalities from data center development.
“There’s a lot of communities in the state now who do not have a data center ordinance that are going to be caught unawares,” said McGlue, who also sits on the White River Township planning commission.
Also in attendance was State Senator Jon Bumstead, who was invited by group organizers to attend and provide insight on what current legislation there is in Lansing related to data center development. Bumstead explained that while many in Lansing, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, have shown past encouragement for data center development and created incentives to nurture the industry in the state, he perceives a dampening in enthusiasm as more constituents are showing resistance.
“I think they’re losing support from folks like you that are in the room," Bumstead said. "I don’t see a lot of support legislatively right now on either side of the aisle.
"It sounds good on paper, but does it work? Nobody knows if they’re going to work, if they’re efficient, what the environmental impact is to our water…I don’t think we need to jump the gun anywhere in the state.”
A handout provided at the meeting described Public Acts 181 and 270, both passed by the state in 2024, meant to incentivize data center development and provide tax exemptions. Despite the public acts, Bumstead explained local municipalities still have the most control over what can and cannot be built in their area, advising strict ordinances. Other advice from the senator also included calling legislators and teaming up with other non-governmental associations and organizations which would likewise be interested in protecting our natural resources from data centers, such as those related to boating, fishing, tourism and ecological protection.
As of Tuesday, White River Township is crafting ordinances to dissuade data center development, and issued a moratorium, which ends in May. Montague Township is likewise working on a moratorium, and Fruitland Township is considering similar measures. According to several group attendees, the cities of Whitehall, Montague, and Muskegon have been made aware of concern, though what actions may be taken are still undetermined.
Further meetings regarding data centers will be made publicly available through email and further publications.
