A family in Beaver Dam was forced to move into assisted living after their 40-foot well went dry. Their neighbor is now fundraising to afford water filtration. Another neighbor's well has already failed and must be dug deeper. 

And this was before Beaver Dam approved a second data center, with two more speculated to come. 

In Port Washington, residents have been living with the effects of the 24 hour construction of their data center. The data center that had been in motion for nearly a year before the community even knew it existed. 

In Janesville, an unelected city administrator is taking a victory and giving talks about their success, before the project has even received final approval. This comes after residents banded together to get a measure on the ballot that would have allowed the people of Janesville to vote on a proposed data center. Only for that measure to miss the due date due to timing controlled by city officials. 

These are not isolated incidents. These are warning signs. The State of Virginia has over 500 data centers - 150 of those are hyper scale data centers. Unless something is done a data center is coming to your local community, it may already be in the works. 

Across Wisconsin, communities are being told to shoulder the costs, water, energy, infrastructure, and their quality of life, of these hyper scale data centers. Often, without clear information, without any meaningful input, and without a real chance to influence change before things are underway. 

Wisconsinites are being told to carry the weight of: 

-Rising energy demand and costs
-Long-term environmental and water impacts
-Tax structures that shift the burden away billion dollar corporations. 
-The loss of generation homes, farmland, and community. 

All in exchange for promises that may never show up, and if they do, it will be decades down the road. 

At the same time, people are trying to understand what's happening in their own communities, and running into walls and obstacles. Decisions that shape everyday life are being discussed in ways that are out of reach, hard to follow, influenced by the very companies taking advantage of the communities, and/or already in motion before the public catches up. And when residents push for answers about their water, their land, their future and their community, it takes time, money, and persistence just to get a partial picture. 

That is not how this is supposed to work. That is not how democracy works. 

Data centers are a symptom of things that are much bigger that need to be addressed. 

This is about transparency. 
This is about accountability. 
This is about whether the people of Wisconsin get a voice in decisions that will shape their community for generations. 

Right now too many communities are finding out after the fact. 

And by then, it is too late to ask questions. 


OUR CALL TO ACTION

We are calling for a statewide moratorium on new data center development in Wisconsin, including a pause on approvals, and construction of all facilities. 

This pause would give our state and our communities time to: 

Better understand the environmental, energy, and infrastructure impacts.
 
Put clear and consistent standards in place

Ensure tax structures are fair and transparent

Create real opportunities for public input before decisions are finalized

We are also calling for the creation of a bipartisan task force made up of: 

Elected officials

Independent Experts

Union and Industry Workers

Community Members

This task force should focus on two things: how we got here, and where we go from here. 

This means taking a real look at: 

How recent projects were communicated and approved

Where transparency broke down or public awareness was limited

What are the impacts that communities are currently experiencing
 
What needs to change so future decision are clearer, more transparent, and more open for community members to understand and take part in the process. 

This is about restoring trust, through clear understanding of how these decisions were made, what impacts are communities already experiencing, and a commitment to do better moving forward. 

Wisconsin deserves thoughtful, transparent planning - not rushed decisions made behind closed doors. 

Wisconsin deserves a voice to move Forward. 

Sign this petition to call for a pause, a plan, and a process that works for all of us.