A data center is not a utility. Don't shove it down Oldham County's throat.
In the final days of the legislative session, language was added to a bill and passed before anyone in the public could look at it and learn more. That bill provides a massive tax incentive package to create a 267-acre data center in our county. No one asked us if we wanted such a noisy, environmentally destructive monstrosity. They knew not to ask. We would have told them no. And now, we are.
Through a series of open records requests we have obtained, we have learned that the powers that be have made the unilateral decision that a data center is a 'utility,' which means they think the project can proceed without public comment or planning and zoning approval. Unfortunately, this blatant attempt at bending the law is being exercised on land that is zoned for agricultural use. The attorney on the case at a high-powered law firm is single-handedly making this assumption. She doesn't live here. And she's not one of us, but she's gathering billable hours at our expense every day.
Data centers are springing up all over the country, and in almost every case, they are being shoved down the people's throats with the same playbook they're using here. No community wants a data center on prime agricultural land that can never return to its state once they start pouring concrete all over the county. They are associated with devastating environmental impacts, including alterations to important ecosystems as a result of the noise and light pollution and emissions they chug out. Further, they use vast amounts of water to cool their systems, because, well, they use a lot of energy. LG&E would love to sell it to them with their local monopoly. And a large data center can gobble up to 5 million gallons of water each day.
Gerth: Greenberg finally did right rejecting tennis center in Joe Creason Park | Opinion
State law (KRS 278.010) makes absolutely no allowances for 'data centers' as utilities, and as they provide nothing to the public, that makes sense. To be considered a utility, per state law, the project would have to generate energy 'to or for the public.' We find that a stretch.
We, the people, have told our elected leaders we are opposed to the project. We have raised our voices at fiscal court meetings, at coffee shops and at community meetings. They think they can slide this under the rug and get it done before anyone notices.
We've noticed. We are unhappy with the lack of concern from the people elected by us to represent our interests. We call on them to speak up on our behalf now, before it's too late.
Agree or disagree? Submit your letter to the editor.
Nathan Oberg is a long-time resident of Oldham County, graduate of Oldham County High School and president of 'We Are Oldham County,' a nonprofit organization that actively opposes 'Project Lincoln.' Owning a 50-acre family farm, Nathan has deep roots in the area and a strong commitment to preserving the county's heritage and natural beauty.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Oldham County data center offers nothing to the public I Opinion
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Politico
3 hours ago
- Politico
Immigration raid at Omaha meat production plant leaves company officials bewildered
OMAHA, Nebraska — Immigration authorities raided an Omaha meat production plant Tuesday morning and took dozens of workers away in buses, leaving company officials bewildered because they said they had followed the law. The raid happened around 9 a.m. at Glenn Valley Foods in south Omaha, an area where nearly a quarter of residents were foreign born according to the 2020 census. A small group of people came out to protest the raid, and some of them even jumped on the front bumper of a vehicle to try to stop officers in one location while others threw rocks at officials' vehicles as a white bus carrying workers pulled away from a plant. Chad Hartmann, president of the food packaging company, said the front office was stunned by the aggressive nature of federal officials' raid and confused by why the company was targeted. 'My biggest issue is: Why us?' Hartmann said. 'We do everything by the book.' The plant uses E-Verify, the federal database used to check the immigration status of employees. When he said as much to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who carried out the raid, they told him the E-Verify system 'is broken.' 'I mean, what am I supposed to do with that?' Hartmann said. 'This is your system, run by the government. And you're raiding me because your system is broken?' Omaha police and the Douglas County sheriff said immigration officials had warned them about their plans, and their departments helped block off traffic around the neighborhood where many food production plants are located while ICE officers worked. Meatpacking plants rely heavily on immigrant workers who are willing to do the physically demanding work. The industry has not yet been the focus of President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts, but the administration has been intensifying its efforts in recent weeks. Trump called out the National Guard this week to respond to ongoing protests in Los Angeles over his immigration policies. CEO and owner Gary Rohwer told WOWT in Omaha he wasn't made aware of the operation ahead of time. He said federal agents entered the plant with a list of 97 people they wanted to screen. 'Of course not. It's a raid,' said Rohwer, whose company makes the Gary's QuickSteak brand of ready-to-grill steak. Estefania Favila, a supervisor at Glenn Valley Foods, said she was in a morning meeting when federal officials began banging on the plant's doors and yelling, 'Homeland Security!' 'They just came in and said that it was a raid and we had to get everybody out of production,' Favila said. Employees were separated by those who had documents showing they were U.S. citizens, those who had valid work documents and those who did not have documents, she said. About 70 people were taken away in buses with the windows blacked out, Favila said. Among them were two of her cousins who immigrated from Honduras, she said. ICE officials confirmed in an email the raid at Glenn Valley Foods, saying it was 'based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States.' They said it was likely the largest 'worksite enforcement operation' in Nebraska since the start of Trump's second term. Hartmann, the company president, said he planned to contact Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who represents the district, and other Nebraska leaders to try to get answers. By Tuesday afternoon, Bacon had issued a statement saying the ICE raid sought to investigate stolen identities and that 'ICE verified that Glen Valley Foods complied with E-Verify 100% and is a victim in this as well.' Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia, who rushed out of a regular meeting Tuesday morning after he learned about the raid, said the community is shaken. 'It clearly instills a lot of fear,' said Garcia, who represents the area. 'People are asking me if this is going to continue for multiple days here in Omaha. People are asking me if this is going to spread to other cities.'
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
US immigration officials raid meat production plant in Omaha, dozens detained
By Kanishka Singh and Kristina Cooke WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An immigration raid on Tuesday at a meat production plant in Omaha, Nebraska was the "largest worksite enforcement operation" in the state during the Trump presidency, the Homeland Security Department said. U.S. Congressman Don Bacon told local media 75-80 people were detained. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid happened at a plant of Glenn Valley Foods. The food packaging company said it was surprised by the raid and had followed the rules regarding immigration status. Chad Hartmann, president of Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha, said the plant that was raided used E-Verify, a federal database used for checking employees' immigration status. He told Reuters that when he said this to a federal agent, the agent responded "the system is broken" and urged him to contact his local congressional representative. ICE officers have been intensifying efforts in recent weeks to deliver on U.S. President Donald Trump's promise of record-level deportations. The White House has demanded the agency sharply increase arrests of migrants in the U.S. illegally, sources have told Reuters. Tensions boiled over in Los Angeles over the weekend when protesters took to the streets after ICE arrested migrants at Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse, according to migrant advocates. Local police in Omaha said they were informed by immigration officials about the raid in advance while the company said it got no notice about the operation ahead of time. Hartmann said federal agents had a warrant that said they had identified 107 people who they believed were using fraudulent documents. "This was the largest worksite enforcement operation in Nebraska under the Trump Administration," the Homeland Security Department said on X, adding no law enforcement official was hurt. ICE said a criminal investigation was ongoing into what immigration officials called a large-scale employment of immigrants who are present in the U.S. illegally. "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and federal law enforcement partners, executed a federal search warrant at Glenn Valley Foods, today, based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States," an ICE spokesperson told an ABC News affiliate. More than half of all meatpacking workers in the U.S. are immigrants, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank. Rights advocates, including the ACLU of Nebraska, condemned the raid.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Federal immigration raid at Omaha meat production plant sparks protests
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Immigration authorities raided an Omaha meat production plant Tuesday morning, inspiring some small protests, but details on exactly how many workers were detained weren't immediately clear. The raid at Glenn Valley Foods in south Omaha, which has a large immigrant population, happened around 9 a.m. Tuesday and left workers and executives at the plant shaken. Chad Hartmann, president of the food packaging company, said the front office was stunned by the aggressive nature of federal officials' raid and bewildered by why the company was targeted. 'My biggest issue is: why us?" Hartmann said. 'We do everything by the book.' The plant uses E-Verify, the federal database used to check the immigration status of employees. When he said as much to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who carried out the raid, they told him the E-Verify system 'is broken.' 'I mean, what am I supposed to do with that?' Hartmann said. 'This is your system, run by the government. And you're raiding me because your system is broken?' Omaha police and the Douglas County sheriff said immigration officials had warned them about their plans, and their departments helped block off traffic around the neighborhood where many food production plants are located while ICE officers worked. Meatpacking plants rely heavily on immigrant workers who are willing to do the physically demanding work. The industry has not yet been the focus of President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts, but the administration has been intensifying its efforts in recent weeks. Trump called out the National Guard this week to respond to ongoing protests in Los Angeles over his immigration policies. In Omaha, a small group of people came out to protest the raids, and some of them even jumped on the front bumper of a vehicle to try to stop officers in one location while others threw rocks at officials' vehicles as a white bus carrying workers pulled away from a plant. CEO and owner Gary Rohwer told WOWT in Omaha he wasn't made aware of the operation ahead of time. He said federal agents entered the plant with a list of 97 people they wanted to screen. 'Of course not. It's a raid,' said Rohwer, whose company makes the Gary's QuickSteak brand of ready-to-grill steak. Estefania Favila, a supervisor at Glenn Valley Foods, said she was in a morning meeting when federal officials began banging on the plant's doors and yelling, 'Homeland Security!' 'They just came in and said that it was a raid and we had to get everybody out of production," Favila said. Employees were separated by those who had documents showing they were U.S. citizens, those who had valid work documents and those who did not have documents, she said. About 70 people were taken away in buses with the windows blacked out, Favila said. Among them were two of her cousins who immigrated from Honduras, she said. ICE officials confirmed in an email the raid at Glenn Valley Foods, saying it was 'based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States.' They said it was likely the largest 'worksite enforcement operation" in Nebraska since the start of Trump's second term. Hartmann, the company president, said he planned to contact Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who represents the district, and other Nebraska leaders to try to get answers. By Tuesday afternoon, Bacon had issued a statement saying the ICE raid sought to investigate stolen identities and that 'ICE verified that Glen Valley Foods complied with E-Verify 100% and is a victim in this as well.' Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia, who rushed out of a regular meeting Tuesday morning after he learned about the raid, said the community is shaken. 'It clearly instills a lot of fear,' said Garcia, who represents the area. 'People are asking me if this is going to continue for multiple days here in Omaha. People are asking me if this is going to spread to other cities.'
