Marietta, Georgia passed a six-month moratorium on data centers last month. This month its council voted 5–2 to approve one, while protesters chanted on the sidewalk outside City Hall. In Missouri, residents found eight non-disclosure agreements behind a power deal they were never told about. In Louisiana, regulators voted to let Meta keep its numbers secret. And two-thirds of the data centers now planned in America are going up on land that has been in drought. Here's what's actually happening behind the AI buildout.
COMMUNITY — Marietta, Georgia's City Council voted 5–2 to approve an 11-acre, 18-megawatt data center at 1155 Powers Ferry Place near Delk Road and Interstate 75, converting part of an existing Prime Group Holdings self-storage building. The city's own six-month moratorium, passed a month earlier, did not apply because the application was filed before the freeze took effect. Dozens of protesters chanted outside City Hall over utility costs, falling home values and jobs that opponents say will never arrive; the debate inside turned into shouting. The project has no announced construction start date.
⚖️ LEGAL — The Independence GUARD Alliance filed suit against the City of Independence, Missouri, seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to halt a Nebius hyperscale AI data center planned on nearly 500 acres off Highway 78 and Bly Road. The complaint alleges city leaders rezoned the land from residential to industrial in 2022 without notifying nearby homeowners, held several closed-door meetings, and signed eight separate non-disclosure agreements to push through a large power agreement — violating Missouri's Sunshine Law and the City Charter. Neighbors report constant noise, thick dust and deteriorating roads.
⚖️ LEGAL — The Preservation of Community Well-Being Collective and nine Lake County residents sued Grayslake, Illinois, T5 Data Centers and Alter Asset Management on July 31 over an $18 billion campus planned for up to 4
