The data center debate is raging on in Washtenaw County, and on Friday, a circuit court judge will hear arguments over a proposed data center in Saline Township.
A Saline Township woman is attempting to intervene in the 1.4-gigawatt facility being built on 250 acres of farmland in the township.
The proposal is known as Project Stargate, and it's being developed by Related Digital and Oracle Cloud, with OpenAI acting as the future operator.
The Michigan Public Service Commission previously approved a contract for DTE to provide power for the project back in December. Residents have voiced their concerns about rising energy costs from the moment the plan was approved by the township.
Watch below: Saline Township residents raise concerns, anger against incoming data center
The woman, who is a Marine Corps veteran and mother of five, says that Saline Township board members did not follow Michigan law when pushing this data center project forward.
In September, board members voted to deny rezoning the 575 acres of farmland needed for the $7 billion data center project. Several days later, landowners and project developer Related Digital sued the township in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. The lawsuit was eventually settled in October.
However, Kathryn Haushalter filed a motion in December to intervene in that settled lawsuit.
She claims, among other things, that township officials violated Michigan's Open Meetings Act, saying the vote to settle the lawsuit was done in private and not in open session. She will appear in Washtenaw County Circuit Court.
“A lot of environmental concerns, of course, we’re concerned rates will go up with DTE. I’m worried about forever chemicals seeping into our soil and water, poisoning us slowly," Haushalter previously told us.
She said she has a vested interest in this, as her property borders the site already under construction, fewer than 300 yards away.
The township refutes the claim that it violated the Open Meetings Act, saying everything was approved at an open public meeting.
