Protecting Our Water, Air Quality, and Public Health from the Data Center Buildout

Organized by AI Now Institute and the Data Center Working Group.

The hour long workshop will review the strongest possible local (and some state) policy interventions to  protect water, air, and public health from the data center buildout—and explore how to use these protections to stop or slow data center development. The session will include:

• A quick overview of data center impacts to water, air, and public health
• Local (and state) policy options to protect water, air quality, noise, and public health from data center expansion (from banning diesel generators to water ordinances), including creative ways to use water and air protections to stop data center buildout when explicit bans aren’t an option
• An organizer and advocate panel with:
  • Andrea Pierce, Deputy Director of Programming, Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition and Amber Fellows, Ypsilanti City Council will talk through Ypsilanti’s recent win—a moratorium on water use for data centers—and how this fits into the community’s broader organizing.
  • KeShaun Pearson, Executive Director, Memphis Community Against Pollution will share the impacts of Elon Musk’s xAI data center buildout on community, air quality, and public health in Boxtown—and how people are pushing back with organizing, legal, and policy strategies.
  • Amy Adams, Deputy Director, Southeast Climate and Energy Network will dive deep into water regulations and share local and statewide strategies from North Carolina.

April 22 – June 24, 2026 | Wednesdays, 10-11 am PT / 1-2 PM ET

This is an 8-part North Star Data Center Policy in Practice training series lays out affirmative, enforceable policy pathways at the local, state, and federal levels to stop, slow and restrict the rapid expansion of AI data centers across the US.

Co-hosted with the Data Center Working Group, each session dives deep into specific policy areas from the North Data Center Policy toolkit, featuring expert-led analysis and real-world strategies from local and state organizers. The series will cover bans and moratoriums to zoning, water, energy, transparency, air quality, and beyond.

Training Sessions

• May 6 — Protecting Our Water Resources, Air Quality, and Public Health from the Data Center Buildout
• *May 21— Hyperscale Data Centers and CBAs: Myths, Facts, and What We Do About It
  • *This session will be on Thursday 12-1 pm ET
• May 27 — Energy x Data Centers: Why Ratepayer Protections Are Not Enough
• June 3 — Repealing Tax Incentives, Banning NDAs, and Myth-busting Economy & Jobs Claims
• June 10 — Mapping the Data Center Industry: Who Benefits, Who Calls the Shots, and What to Do About It
• June 24 — The Intersections of Big Tech’s Nuclear Buildout and Data Center Expansion