LETTER: Data center phase 2 must not escape environmental study

To Ozaukee Press:

Last week, I was honored to ask a question of the candidates for Wisconsin governor during a data-center-focused panel at Turner Hall in Milwaukee. Five of the six candidates were present (one of them dropped out the next day).

My question centered around whether any of the candidates see an opportunity

for phase two of the Vantage data center project in Port Washington to be subject to

a detailed DNR environmental impact statement and how they each view the challenge in front of them with regard to strengthening the resources of a state agency that has not been a budget priority in recent years.

It remains to be seen how large phase two will be, but given the resistance these projects are encountering elsewhere, Vantage will likely want to stretch Port Washington as far as it can.

The answers to the question were varied but they all seemed to recognize that the current situation regarding hyperscale data centers coming to the state with no guardrails in place is untenable. My sense is that there are a lot of single issue voters in Ozaukee, Racine and Dodge counties who will have a significant impact on this election.

Port Washington residents were deprived of an environmental impact statement for phase one. We can’t undo that, but we don’t have to accept it as precedent. By encouraging a DNR environmental assessment for phase two, we can bring much needed transparency, accountability and protections for our air, water and public health.

Once the community has a complete, unbiased understanding of all of the ramifications of a project of this scale, everyone can rest assured that the well-being of Port Washington residents will take priority over the interests of a large corporation that is being supported by extraordinary tax abatement.

The execution of phase one of the data-center development has left many in the city frustrated and confused, but there is a real opportunity for phase two to put residents first.

Michael Beaster

Port Washington

The letter writer is a Port Washington alderman.