A massive data center is being rushed onto land next to the Tonawanda Seneca Nation's reservation in western New York — and the federal government's treaty obligations are being ignored in the process.

The proposed facility, called Project Double Reed, would cover two million square feet and sit on the doorstep of the Big Woods: roughly 1,000 acres of wetlands, hemlock, maple, and walnut forest where Seneca Nation members gather medicines, hunt, and practice their traditions. The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC), the county agency pushing this project, has called it a "done deal" — even claiming it could "have shovels in the ground in a matter of weeks."

But there's a problem. The United States has a treaty with the Tonawanda Seneca Nation — one signed and ratified under George Washington. Under Article Six, Section Two of the U.S. Constitution, that treaty is the supreme law of the land. It requires meaningful government-to-government consultation before any development threatens the Nation's land, water, or cultural practices. According to Bird Logan, the Nation's spokesperson, that consultation has never happened. "This entire time, they've been saying they've been consulting with us," Logan said. "For the most part, some of it has just been sending emails."

The developer, a Texas-based company called Stream Data Center, has signed a non-disclosure agreement with GCEDC — meaning the surrounding community has no idea what will actually be built. What is known is staggering: the facility would draw 500 megawatts of power — more than five entire regional counties combined — and 20,000 gallons of water per day. The cooling system would use glycol, a chemical that Nation Chief Roger Hill has warned could contaminate surface water and groundwater if there is ever a leak or spill. Nation members rely on well water.

Beyond the water risk, 180 rooftop chillers running constantly would destroy the quiet that wildlife and Nation members depend on. Diesel generators would pump fumes into an area already adjacent to a protected reservation. Light pollution would blot out the northern lights. And rural roads — never designed for industrial traffic — would buckle under the load.

New York State's own Department of Environmental Conservation has said the project cannot move forward without a full supplemental environmental review. State law also requires an environmental justice analysis because of the project's direct impact on the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, a designated disadvantaged community. None of that has been completed.

We call on the GCEDC to halt all approvals for Project Double Reed until the Tonawanda Seneca Nation has been meaningfully consulted in accordance with treaty obligations, and until a complete environmental review — including an environmental justice analysis — has been conducted and made public.

A treaty signed by the first president of the United States is not a formality. It is the law.