Residents press commissioners for independent study as data‑center concerns mount

Several dozen residents addressed the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners on July 14, urging the board to protect neighborhoods from large data‑center development and to commission an independent health and environmental study before lifting a county moratorium.

At the public‑comment period, residents described concerns about noise, air pollution, electromagnetic fields and increased local heat from large data‑center facilities. "These data centers destroy the air, the water, the soil," said Dawn Rush, a resident who urged commissioners to prioritize community health over private profit. Dr. Conrad Hayashi, speaking on public‑health and security issues, said data centers produce noise and heat and could become targets in international conflicts. Several speakers asked the board to adopt a buffer between industrial data centers and residential neighborhoods.

Commissioner Ted Terry introduced a resolution and substitute asking the administration to procure an independent third‑party health and environmental study, and he proposed an initial countywide allocation not to exceed $150,000 split across districts. Commissioners debated the appropriate scope, vendor selection and timing. Commissioner Davis Johnson said she had not been consulted about the allocation and moved to deny the funding allocation; several commissioners asked for staff briefings and recommended committee review.

After prolonged discussion about scope and timing, Commissioner Terry and others agreed to withdraw the immediate funding request and to pursue the resolution and procurement steps through the appropriate committee (PECS) and the procurement office. The withdrawal means the board will revisit what a vendor‑procured study would include and whether and how to provide funding at a later date.

Speakers who urged a study also pointed to the board’s earlier extension of the county moratorium on new data centers through March 2027 and called for stronger siting rules, buffers and a transparent, independent study to resolve community questions. Commissioners said staff will bring further information on options and procurement to committee before any county funding is committed.

The discussion reflected a larger, countywide debate over the benefits of data‑center investment and the potential environmental and public‑health tradeoffs for neighborhoods close to proposed developments.