Stop AI Data Centers in North Texas: Protect Our Rural Communities, Farms, Wildlife, Water, and Climate from Devastating Impacts

We, the residents of North Texas—especially in rural and country communities like Collin County, Fannin County, Blue Ridge, Leonard, Bells, Savoy, and surrounding areas—stand united against the construction of any new AI data centers in our region.

North Texas does not need AI data centers. We are already feeling a significant temperature rise and climate disruption from rapid urban growth and development that is surrounding and encroaching on our rural regions. This sprawl from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is drastically changing our local environment and climate. It damages the land itself, harms the people who live here, and threatens farm life as well as our natural wildlife. Adding massive AI data centers will only make these problems far worse.

These facilities are extraordinarily resource-intensive and create what experts call “data heat islands.” Studies show data centers can raise local temperatures by an average of 3–4°F — and as much as 16°F in some cases — within several miles, intensifying the heat we’re already experiencing.

Here are the facts:

Water consumption: A single large data center can use 1–5 million gallons of water per day for cooling. Texas data centers are projected to consume 49 billion gallons in 2025, potentially rising to as much as 399 billion gallons annually by 2030 — that’s up to 6.6% of the state’s total water use in a state already facing droughts and water scarcity.
Energy demand: These AI facilities require enormous electricity — enough to power entire cities — straining the ERCOT grid, driving up costs for all Texans, and often relying on fossil-fuel power plants that add more pollution and heat.
Noise and air pollution: Constant 24/7 cooling systems create jet-engine-level noise that travels for miles, disrupting sleep, health, and quality of life. Backup diesel generators emit harmful pollutants. Livestock near similar facilities have suffered reduced egg production, weight loss, and stress.
Land and habitat loss: These mega-campuses take hundreds or thousands of acres of prime farmland and wildlife habitat, further fragmenting the rural landscapes that define North Texas.
The short-term “economic benefits” (often just tax incentives and a handful of jobs) do not outweigh the long-term damage to our environment, farms, water resources, power grid, property values, and rural way of life. Neighboring counties like Hill County have already passed moratoriums on new data centers for these exact reasons. It’s time for Fannin County and all of North Texas to do the same.

We demand:

An immediate moratorium on all new AI and hyperscale data center projects in rural North Texas counties.
Rigorous, independent environmental impact assessments that fully account for water use, energy demand, waste heat, noise, air quality, and effects on agriculture and wildlife — before any permits are approved.
Strong local zoning and regulations that protect farmland, water rights, and our communities first.
State leaders to stop prioritizing Big Tech profits over Texas families, farmers, and the environment.
Our rural communities, family farms, natural wildlife, and future generations deserve better. We have already felt the drastic changes from urban development — we will not let AI data centers push our environment and climate past the breaking point.

Sign this petition and share it widely. Tell Collin County, Fannin County, Grayson County officials, Texas state legislators, Governor Greg Abbott, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality:
"North Texas says NO to A.I. data centers that destroy our homes and environment and farm life."

Change starts here — and it must protect what makes North Texas special.