Petition Against Project Midspan
The Issue
Petition Against Project Midspan: Protect Our Schools, Taxpayers, and Community
Just because developers have filed a lawsuit does not mean there is nothing we can do. In fact, this legal challenge makes our collective voice more critical than ever. We must show up in massive, undeniable numbers to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our local officials in this legal fight, sending a powerful message to the court exactly how many Bradley County residents fiercely oppose Project Midspan.
We are a unified coalition of local families, neighborhood homeowners, dedicated educators, and passionate advocates for the future of Bradley County. From the families who cherish our quiet residential areas to the farmers who have tilled this land for generations, we are standing shoulder-to-shoulder to stop this reckless development. Our homes, our schools, our agricultural heritage, and the peace of the future generations who will inherit this county are simply not for sale.
The Threat to Our Community and Taxpayers
Project Midspan, a massive large-scale data center campus, is attempting to force its way into unincorporated Bradley County. The developer, SDCL Tennessee Propco, LLC, has officially taken Bradley County to court, filing a lawsuit in the Bradley County Chancery Court to completely invalidate the protective zoning regulations unanimously passed by the Bradley County Commission.
Worse yet, Bradley County families are directly footing the bill for this legal battle. Local officials revealed that the county's insurance provider will not cover the legal fees to defend our zoning guidelines, forcing the county to drain money from the general fund to hire outside counsel. SDCL is forcing local taxpayers to finance the defense of our own neighborhood protections.
Those critical regulations require data centers to maintain a strict 3,000-foot setback from existing homes, churches, and schools. Instead, SDCL bought 306 acres in the Hiwassee River Industrial Park with plans to build their high-density industrial computing facility just 1,700 feet directly behind Walker Valley High School and the future site of the new Bradley County Middle School. By demanding that the courts strip away our local protections, these developers are trying to eliminate the rules designed to protect our children and property values, all to build a massive computing powerhouse in our backyards.
The Domino Effect: Protecting Unincorporated Land from Project River
This legal fight carries consequences that reach far beyond Walker Valley High School. Right now, Wright Brothers Construction has placed a temporary "pause" on Project River, their massive, $11.3 billion industrial power and data center campus proposed for 850 acres along Lower River Road. The only reason Project River is currently halted in county territory is because Bradley County's strict 3,000-foot buffer rule essentially prevents it from being built there under current county rules.
If SDCL wins this lawsuit and strikes down the 3,000-foot rule, the floodgates open. Stripping away this ordinance removes the county's strongest shield, making it infinitely easier for Project River to resume its development on unincorporated land without any safe distance from local families and farms. Defeating SDCL in court is our only line of defense to stop a domino effect of unregulated industrial data center expansion across northern Bradley County.
Why We Must Stop Project Midspan
- Direct Threats to Our Schools and Children: Building a heavy industrial data center campus a mere 1,700 feet from Walker Valley High School places a vulnerable student population directly next to a massive utility strain. Despite the ongoing litigation, school leadership is pushing forward with plans for the adjacent middle school, making it even more urgent that we defend the 3,000-foot buffer zone to protect our learning environments. This positioning is a severe threat to concentration, particularly impacting students with special needs and sensory impairments who can be deeply disrupted by industrial operations.
- Severe 24/7 Noise Pollution and Health Risks: Data center cooling infrastructure and massive HVAC systems generate a relentless, low-frequency white noise hum running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Public health science proves that long-term exposure to continuous industrial noise disrupts sleep, triggers chronic stress, elevates cortisol levels, and is linked directly to increased risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes for families living downwind.
- Electrical Demands, Radiation, and Infrastructure Strain: Large-scale data centers require hundreds of megawatts of power to operate, with SDCL explicitly targeting our grid for at least 300 megawatts of electric power. Project Midspan will necessitate a massive expansion of high-voltage transmission lines and electrical substations directly adjacent to residential properties and schools. This heavy electrical infrastructure introduces deep concerns regarding electromagnetic radiation, localized grid instability, and the risk of catastrophic grid failure for existing utility customers.
- National Grid Warning & The Food & Water Watch Analysis: The rapid expansion of data centers represents one of the most significant environmental and social threats of our generation. A national call for a data center moratorium, backed by Food & Water Watch and over 500 partner organizations, highlights that tripling data centers across the U.S. dramatically increases fossil fuel pollution, strains vital water resources used for server cooling, and forces local household utility rates up by an average of 21.3% to pay for grid upgrades.
- Devastation of Historic Farmland and Residential Areas: For decades, local families have owned and operated peaceful farms adjacent to this tract of land. Forcing a high-density, multi-building tech campus into an area bordered by active agricultural land and family homes permanently degrades the rural character of northern Bradley County, lowering residential property values and turning open skies into industrial viewscapes.
- Encroachment on Local Wildlife: The transformation of open fields and rural edges into concrete pads, asphalt lots, and heavy security fencing destroys local ecosystems. The subsequent light pollution, persistent low-frequency vibrations, and heavy industrial runoff will permanently displace local wildlife populations that rely on these quiet rural corridors.
Our Unity is Our Greatest Weapon: Sign the Petition Today
Many of us are deeply frustrated with how our local elected officials have handled things leading up to this moment, and those grievances are completely valid. But right now, we must look at the bigger picture and set those political frustrations aside. If we spend our energy fighting each other, the only entity that wins is a well-funded tech conglomerate. We have to unite to win this lawsuit, and the most powerful tool we have is our strength in numbers.
When this case lands before the judge in Bradley County Chancery Court, the court needs to see an undeniable, overwhelming wall of local residents standing together. We must send a message that cannot be ignored: the people of Bradley County demand that the court honor the 3,000-foot buffer rule. This protective shield was designed by and for this community to safeguard our children, our homes, and our schools. We cannot allow an outside tech company to strip away our local protections and destroy the rural peace we hold dear just to maximize their corporate profits.
Your signature is not a political endorsement, it is a line in the sand. It is proof that we will stand shoulder-to-shoulder to defend our county. Please sign this petition today, share it with your neighbors, and let your voice be counted in this critical legal fight.
⚠️ Important Note Regarding Donations: Please be aware that if you choose to make a financial contribution after signing, any donations made on this platform go directly to Change.org to promote the petition across their network. None of these funds go to our grassroots campaign, coalition organizers, or the authors of this petition. If you want to support our local cause, the best way to do so right now is by sharing this link with neighbors, contacting your representatives, and showing up to the meetings!
1,723
The Issue
Petition Against Project Midspan: Protect Our Schools, Taxpayers, and Community
Just because developers have filed a lawsuit does not mean there is nothing we can do. In fact, this legal challenge makes our collective voice more critical than ever. We must show up in massive, undeniable numbers to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our local officials in this legal fight, sending a powerful message to the court exactly how many Bradley County residents fiercely oppose Project Midspan.
We are a unified coalition of local families, neighborhood homeowners, dedicated educators, and passionate advocates for the future of Bradley County. From the families who cherish our quiet residential areas to the farmers who have tilled this land for generations, we are standing shoulder-to-shoulder to stop this reckless development. Our homes, our schools, our agricultural heritage, and the peace of the future generations who will inherit this county are simply not for sale.
The Threat to Our Community and Taxpayers
Project Midspan, a massive large-scale data center campus, is attempting to force its way into unincorporated Bradley County. The developer, SDCL Tennessee Propco, LLC, has officially taken Bradley County to court, filing a lawsuit in the Bradley County Chancery Court to completely invalidate the protective zoning regulations unanimously passed by the Bradley County Commission.
Worse yet, Bradley County families are directly footing the bill for this legal battle. Local officials revealed that the county's insurance provider will not cover the legal fees to defend our zoning guidelines, forcing the county to drain money from the general fund to hire outside counsel. SDCL is forcing local taxpayers to finance the defense of our own neighborhood protections.
Those critical regulations require data centers to maintain a strict 3,000-foot setback from existing homes, churches, and schools. Instead, SDCL bought 306 acres in the Hiwassee River Industrial Park with plans to build their high-density industrial computing facility just 1,700 feet directly behind Walker Valley High School and the future site of the new Bradley County Middle School. By demanding that the courts strip away our local protections, these developers are trying to eliminate the rules designed to protect our children and property values, all to build a massive computing powerhouse in our backyards.
The Domino Effect: Protecting Unincorporated Land from Project River
This legal fight carries consequences that reach far beyond Walker Valley High School. Right now, Wright Brothers Construction has placed a temporary "pause" on Project River, their massive, $11.3 billion industrial power and data center campus proposed for 850 acres along Lower River Road. The only reason Project River is currently halted in county territory is because Bradley County's strict 3,000-foot buffer rule essentially prevents it from being built there under current county rules.
If SDCL wins this lawsuit and strikes down the 3,000-foot rule, the floodgates open. Stripping away this ordinance removes the county's strongest shield, making it infinitely easier for Project River to resume its development on unincorporated land without any safe distance from local families and farms. Defeating SDCL in court is our only line of defense to stop a domino effect of unregulated industrial data center expansion across northern Bradley County.
Why We Must Stop Project Midspan
- Direct Threats to Our Schools and Children: Building a heavy industrial data center campus a mere 1,700 feet from Walker Valley High School places a vulnerable student population directly next to a massive utility strain. Despite the ongoing litigation, school leadership is pushing forward with plans for the adjacent middle school, making it even more urgent that we defend the 3,000-foot buffer zone to protect our learning environments. This positioning is a severe threat to concentration, particularly impacting students with special needs and sensory impairments who can be deeply disrupted by industrial operations.
- Severe 24/7 Noise Pollution and Health Risks: Data center cooling infrastructure and massive HVAC systems generate a relentless, low-frequency white noise hum running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Public health science proves that long-term exposure to continuous industrial noise disrupts sleep, triggers chronic stress, elevates cortisol levels, and is linked directly to increased risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes for families living downwind.
- Electrical Demands, Radiation, and Infrastructure Strain: Large-scale data centers require hundreds of megawatts of power to operate, with SDCL explicitly targeting our grid for at least 300 megawatts of electric power. Project Midspan will necessitate a massive expansion of high-voltage transmission lines and electrical substations directly adjacent to residential properties and schools. This heavy electrical infrastructure introduces deep concerns regarding electromagnetic radiation, localized grid instability, and the risk of catastrophic grid failure for existing utility customers.
- National Grid Warning & The Food & Water Watch Analysis: The rapid expansion of data centers represents one of the most significant environmental and social threats of our generation. A national call for a data center moratorium, backed by Food & Water Watch and over 500 partner organizations, highlights that tripling data centers across the U.S. dramatically increases fossil fuel pollution, strains vital water resources used for server cooling, and forces local household utility rates up by an average of 21.3% to pay for grid upgrades.
- Devastation of Historic Farmland and Residential Areas: For decades, local families have owned and operated peaceful farms adjacent to this tract of land. Forcing a high-density, multi-building tech campus into an area bordered by active agricultural land and family homes permanently degrades the rural character of northern Bradley County, lowering residential property values and turning open skies into industrial viewscapes.
- Encroachment on Local Wildlife: The transformation of open fields and rural edges into concrete pads, asphalt lots, and heavy security fencing destroys local ecosystems. The subsequent light pollution, persistent low-frequency vibrations, and heavy industrial runoff will permanently displace local wildlife populations that rely on these quiet rural corridors.
Our Unity is Our Greatest Weapon: Sign the Petition Today
Many of us are deeply frustrated with how our local elected officials have handled things leading up to this moment, and those grievances are completely valid. But right now, we must look at the bigger picture and set those political frustrations aside. If we spend our energy fighting each other, the only entity that wins is a well-funded tech conglomerate. We have to unite to win this lawsuit, and the most powerful tool we have is our strength in numbers.
When this case lands before the judge in Bradley County Chancery Court, the court needs to see an undeniable, overwhelming wall of local residents standing together. We must send a message that cannot be ignored: the people of Bradley County demand that the court honor the 3,000-foot buffer rule. This protective shield was designed by and for this community to safeguard our children, our homes, and our schools. We cannot allow an outside tech company to strip away our local protections and destroy the rural peace we hold dear just to maximize their corporate profits.
Your signature is not a political endorsement, it is a line in the sand. It is proof that we will stand shoulder-to-shoulder to defend our county. Please sign this petition today, share it with your neighbors, and let your voice be counted in this critical legal fight.
⚠️ Important Note Regarding Donations: Please be aware that if you choose to make a financial contribution after signing, any donations made on this platform go directly to Change.org to promote the petition across their network. None of these funds go to our grassroots campaign, coalition organizers, or the authors of this petition. If you want to support our local cause, the best way to do so right now is by sharing this link with neighbors, contacting your representatives, and showing up to the meetings!
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Petition created on September 8, 2026