The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will be conducting a statewide review of the environmental consequences posed by large data centers.
The measure comes after Midwest Environmental Advocates filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Sierra Club last July.
The group called out the DNR for permitting the Vantage data center campus in Port Washington without investigating its immediate and long-term environmental impacts.
The settlement announced Friday requires the DNR to complete a statewide analysis of hyperscale data centers.
Midwest Environmental Advocates spokesperson Peg Sheaffer says that means digging into all potential environmental harms, "including the impact on water resources, projected energy demands, consequences for air quality and the climate, and the effects of all of the related infrastructure such as new gas-fired power plants and high voltage transmission lines."
The review is due by January 2028 and will be paid for by Vantage Data Centers.
Midwest Environmental Advocates hopes the DNR will hold off on permitting permit other large data center projects until after that time.
In the meantime, Sheaffer says Midwest Environmental Advocates will be watching for proposed data centers and pushing for in-depth environmental reviews on a case-by-case basis.
Vantage Data Centers did not respond to WUWM's request for a comment by the deadline for this story.
Editor's Note: Vantage provided the following statement - Vantage supports a thoughtful, fact-based discussion about the responsible development of data centers in Wisconsin. To support these efforts, Vantage has agreed to fund an independent, statewide strategic analysis led by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). The analysis will examine the environmental and economic considerations associated with data center development, providing policymakers and communities with additional information as the state considers the industry's continued growth. The WDNR retains sole responsibility and control over the process for developing the strategic analysis.
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