Praise for Tonawanda Seneca Nation for latest legal victory to stop massive data center
Editor:
Congratulations to the Tonawanda Seneca Nation for their second massive legal victory against STAMP and the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC).
Through their ligation they forced the US Fish and Wildlife Service to retract a key right-of-way permit that would have allowed STAMP to run a waterline through the swamps into Orleans County. It would have dumped up to 6 million gallons of phosphorous-laden waste water into the already endangered Oak Orchard Creek.
While many Orleans County residents only learned about it recently, the Nation had been fighting it for years. The hydrogen globes stand idle with no ability to channel waste water. Their desperate attempt to divert the waste water through Oakfield will likely fail.
Having failed here, GCEDC attempted to push through a massive data center using an outdated and insufficient State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) like they have done in the past.
But this time, in a masterly move, the Nation joined forces with the Sierra Club and challenged the dubious SEQR in court. Knowing they didn’t have a leg to stand on, GCEDC voluntarily retracted project approval requests. They tried to spin it that the reason was because they intend to build an even larger data center.
But the reality is that all environmental reviews of future projects won’t sneak through behind closed doors and will be thoroughly reviewed and a larger data center would have an even bigger influence on the environment. To date the Stream U.S. data center has not completed a purchase and sale agreement for the land and it remains in doubt.
The Nation and the Sierra Club have dismissed their litigation with prejudice which allows them to return to court with the same issues in any further projects. Victory!
STAMP’s placement of the 1,263 acres in agricultural land, surrounded by a network of protected land that encompasses ecologically rich wetlands and forests that provide critical habitat for a diversity for birds, plants and animals borders on criminal.
It is plausible that STAMP would have no footprint there at all if they had followed legal guidelines like consulting with an adjoining sovereign nation as required by law. But they have chosen to conceal their actions from the public from day one until the present with the hopes of progressing without public knowledge or challenge.
The terrain of the STAMP land and its water runoff leads directly to the Tonawanda Creek where any harmful drainage or spills will affect the people of the Tonawanda Rez directly. They have wells not city water. The ancient Big Woods located between the Rez and STAMP has long been a source of medicinal plants and a valued hunting ground is at risk. They are fighting for their way of life over land that was once part of the reservation and stolen from them.
After 20 years and more than $410 million in subsidies paid by us, the taxpayers, GCDEC has struggled to get viable tenants. Currently, only Edwards Vacuum is under construction. It’s time to cut our losses and stop using tax payers’ money to keep it propped up.
The Tonawanda Nation has not won the war. But they have won some key victories and will continue to fight until their land and way of life is secure. The People of the Longhouse have a belief that they should look seven generations ahead when making decisions and that is what they are doing.
I celebrate their victories and you can too. There is a Victory Rally at Batavia City Hall on November 8th at noon to celebrate No Data Centers at STAMP. Everyone is welcome. You can also follow them on Facebook on their Allies of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation.
Arthur Barnes
Shelby
