Massive data center at STAMP will inflict noise, disruption on rural neighbors

Editor:

On February 28, GCEDC approved the construction of a data center at their STAMP site just outside the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and the Tonawanda Seneca Nation’s Big Woods.

Project “Double Reed” will be enormous—900,000 square feet. Hard to picture, isn’t it? Here are a couple comparisons: Marketplace Mall in Henrietta has 804,806 square feet of retail space; the Carrier Dome in Syracuse (now the JMA Wireless Dome) contains 527,320 square feet. Huge.

In addition, GCEDC misleadingly says that the building will only be one story tall—one story that rises 31 or 44 feet. Those are some high ceilings.

Imagine that you are driving through the countryside of pretty farms, fields, and woods. Then suddenly, a monstrous, blockish data center. No (proposed) landscaping will be able to hide it. And even if it could, you will be able to hear the low-frequency hum of the fans used to cool the equipment, a continuous sound, from miles away. Noise pollution has serious health effects—and if it’s bad from outside, it’s got to be worse to work inside.

The Sisters of St. Joseph live the mission of reconciling neighbor to neighbor and neighbor to God. They are committed to the good of the Earth and its people.  At a taxpayer cost of $3.9 million per (projected) job, the so-called benefits of “Double Reed” do not serve the land or the community

Holly Rockwell

Justice and Care for Creation Coordinator

Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester