TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Town of Tonawanda residents packed a planning board meeting on Wednesday night to listen and share their concerns and frustrations about a proposed $2B AI data center on River Road.
The proposed 500,000-square-foot AI data center, which is expected to take up space on the 140-acre former Tonawanda Coke industrial site, would require about 300 megawatts of electricity and include a planned $50 million electrical substation. You can watch and read our previous report below.
WATCH: Proposed $2B AI data center at former industrial site raises questions in Town of Tonawanda
Although the formal review discussion was paused at Wednesday's meeting, the planning board opened the floor for residents to share their thoughts on the project.
Bridge Rauch of the Clean Air Coalition NY urged the board to weigh community needs over speed.
"This project will come back to this body to consider; please consider like the highest and best use is not necessarily the fastest money that can be made, but the best use that fits the community needs and the community desires," Rauch said.
Town of Tonawanda resident Jamie Moore raised concerns about noise from the facility's cooling systems.
"Prolonged exposure above 70 decibels of sound is considered unsafe. These cooling systems typically operate at 75 to 105 decibels or greater. and the sound emitting from a data center wouldn't just be prolonged, it would be constant because the servers run 24/7 and they require perpetual cooling," Moore said.
A Buffalo native who identified himself only as Jaden drew a comparison to the Love Canal environmental disaster.
"Clay was poured over toxic waste in the Love Canal neighborhood in 1953 and continues to affect people today," Jaden said. "If we build this plant in 2026, how many years will the negative effects reach our friends, our family, generations to come? How many people is this going to affect and how many people does it need to affect for this plant to be a bad idea?"
One unidentified resident called for a pause on the project to allow time for research.
"The only way that we know what's going to happen with this place is to look at other places like it," the resident said. "And the only way we're going to know how much time we're going to need to gather data is to have a moratorium. We need a three-year moratorium."
WATCH: Town of Tonawanda residents share concerns, frustrations about proposed $2B AI data center on River Road
Elected leaders in the New York State Senate and Assembly have proposed legislation that could place a moratorium on issuing new data center permits across the state.
Assemblyman Bill Conrad, who represents the 140th Assembly District, which includes the Town of Tonawanda, released the following statement Wednesday:
“I am co-sponsoring legislation to issue a moratorium on data center permits, because I believe it is wise. I believe it is warranted. And I know that it’s wanted. My office has heard from hundreds of constituents, all expressing support for this bill.
In my district, we have the former Tonawanda Coke site along the Niagara River. Its story is one of lasting trauma for Western New York – 160 acres of legacy pollution, corporate criminality, and much suffering.
Developer John Williams approached the community years ago, offering a data center for a portion of the site. Since then, he has kept an open door to elected representatives, and he has mounted and helped fund an expeditious and thorough cleanup of one of the most dangerously toxic properties in the United States. A cleanup that well exceeded typical brownfield remediation benchmarks.
We must rein in the waste and community exploitation threatened by a proliferation of data centers. We also must appreciate that not all projects are created equally, not all developers are villains, and not all pieces of land offer limitless uses given their histories.
I applaud my constituents who have so faithfully mobilized around this issue, and I encourage continued dialogue around the reimagining of the former Tonawanda Coke, which was poised to become another Love Canal or Bethlehem Steel – more blight on prime land left to languish, poisoning the soil and water in perpetuity.
I support this bill as a necessary component of our responsible management of the AI boom, and to show a commitment to the citizens of the 140th, who demand and will forever deserve a fair say in the future of their riverfront.”
The developer behind the proposed AI data center, Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus, issued a statement on Wednesday ahead of the meeting in response to reports that the project was on hold.
According to Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus, the availability of power and potential upgrades to existing transmission infrastructure are major factors in making the project possible. Due to those factors, it has been having discussions with the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) and National Grid, including the potential costs and timelines, and while it awaits further details and clarification, it has temporarily delayed the project's SEQRA and site plan review process with the Town of Tonawanda Planning Board.
You can read the full statement released to 7 News on Wednesday below:
"There has been a great deal of public discussion – and confusion – surrounding the status of a proposed data center development at the Riverview Innovation and Technology Campus. To be clear, the project is not on hold, and we still firmly believe that our proposed project represents the best avenue to return this historically contaminated site back to active and productive economic use for Tonawanda and Western New York.
The availability of power and any potential upgrades to existing transmission infrastructure that may be needed are major factors in making the project possible. We have been having discussions with the New York Independent System Operator and National Grid on those issues, including the potential costs and timelines involved. While we await further details and clarification from NYISO and National Grid, we have temporarily delayed the project's SEQRA and site plan review process with the Town of Tonawanda Planning Board. Once we have all of the necessary information from NYISO and National Grid to chart a path forward, we will resume the Town review process. At this time, we have every intention to continue our proposed development, as we continue and complete the massive environmental clean-up effort we have been leading at the site for the past several years. Others left the site for dead. We have been steadfast and transparent in our vision and commitment to resurrect it."
The NYISO released the following statement to 7 News on Wednesday:
"The NYISO does not approve, deny, or direct whether any project proceeds. Decisions about whether a facility is built are made through local siting approvals, state regulatory processes and agreements with the local utility. The NYISO's responsibility is to ensure that, regardless of those decisions, the grid can continue to operate reliably in the interest of the health and safety of consumers."
