Hello friends, supporters and interested public! Here is a draft letter you can send to the City of Hermantown as comments on the Draft Alternative Urban Areawide Review for the proposed Google Hyperscale Data Center project in Hermantown.

Just start a new email, copy and paste the below text into the email message, customize it as you see fit, and send it before 4 p.m. on July 16 to: AUARComments@hermantownmn.com 

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Dear City of Hermantown,

I am writing to express several concerns regarding the Draft Alternative Urban Areawide Review (Draft AUAR) for the proposed Google Hermantown Hyperscale Data Center project in Hermantown.

As an initial reminder, a public survey conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Superior found that 74% of local people oppose or strongly oppose the data center. The City should act in the interests of this huge majority and cancel this project. Alternatively, the City should at least pause this project and support a statewide moratorium on data centers during which a state-wide environmental review can identify best practices on siting, project design and mitigations before decisions are made with lasting consequences.

If the City proceeds with this project, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is necessary instead of an AUAR. This hyperscale data center is a major industrial project which will create significant adverse effects. The public deserves full disclosure of project details and the opportunity to comment on them, instead of general statements about how several issues could be dealt with after the AUAR is complete.

A key issue that deserves better study and disclosure of project details through a full EIS is more information related to the closed-loop water cooling system that was newly revealed to be part of the project. This system will likely require the use of toxic chemicals to treat the water that will eventually be discharged as industrial wastewater. A full EIS would also require disclosure and specific details regarding backup power use. Huge diesel generators will produce air and noise pollution that will harm people, wildlife, and the environment. These issues, in addition to significant negative impacts to water sources, including nearby trout streams, continuous construction and operations noise, Low Frequency Noise (LFN) and other impacts on residents and the surrounding community have not been fully disclosed.

This project stands to degrade the environment, the value of properties, and the quality of life of the people in the community, especially those living near the data center, but has broader implications as well. This project is driving Hermantown toward a fully urbanized future, no longer maintaining a community which balances urban, suburban, and semi-rural areas.

This is not the future we want for Hermantown’s current or future generations.

Thank you for considering these comments.