A Maryland company called TeraWulf wants to build a massive new data center in Hancock County, Kentucky, on the site of a shuttered aluminum smelter. The project is backed by a 20-year, $10 billion contract with the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, and it would draw as much electricity as the old smelter once did: 482 megawatts, enough to power a small city.

TeraWulf told state regulators the project will actually use less water and release fewer pollutants than the old smelter, and that it won't raise electric bills. But that's TeraWulf's own claim, verified by no one outside the company. Residents who spoke at a Kentucky Public Service Commission hearing in Lewisport aren't convinced. They've raised concerns about water use, air and noise pollution, and whether this massive electricity draw will push their already-rising power bills even higher, curtailment agreement or not.

Kentuckians deserve more than a company's word. Before the Kentucky Public Service Commission signs off on the utility contract that would power this facility, the state should require an independent, third-party review of TeraWulf's environmental and rate-impact claims, not just take the filing at face value.

This isn't about blocking jobs or tax revenue; TeraWulf says the project could bring hundreds of construction jobs and millions in local tax funding for schools and health services, and that's worth welcoming. But growth and accountability aren't opposites. Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order was supposed to set real limits on data centers' environmental and energy impact. Hancock County residents, and Kentuckians everywhere data centers are coming next, deserve to see those limits enforced, not just claimed.

Sign the petition to demand the Kentucky Public Service Commission require independent verification before approving the Hancock County data center deal.