Some individuals question why anyone would be against a hyperscale artificial intelligence (AI) data center campus in Mason County, Kentucky. The few voices on Facebook who support it argue they want it “badly” because of the promise of jobs and tax revenue from the company while alleging this is the only way to bolster our county’s infrastructure. Despite cautionary tales from legitimate news outlets across the world on how detrimental hyperscale data centers owned by the world’s largest companies have been for communities where they have increased air pollution, increased power and water rates, caused water pressure and quality issues, power surges, and blackouts, some persist with the argument that this company, who will not even tell us its name, will be the savior of our county and a “good neighbor.”

Whether or not you believe our community cannot survive without the tax revenue and promised infrastructure improvements the unknown company may provide, one cannot discount the irreparable harm such a facility may cause to our county’s landscape and culture. The campus will take around 2,000 acres of farmland between Valley Pike and Tuckahoe Road according to an FAQ document provided by Tyler McHugh, Executive Director of Maysville-Mason County Industrial Development Authority. According to research completed by Bernice Cord and Luanne Kilgus Mattingly, there are many cemeteries in this area that are the final resting place of over 2,700 individuals, including pioneers, slaves, and hundreds of veteran heroes who fought for our freedom as far back as the Revolutionary War. The most heartbreaking story may be of the widow who was given permission from the county to bury her husband on her property just a year and a half ago, only to recently find out the data center may be built near her home.

While there is a promise these cemeteries will be preserved, no one can imagine the individuals interred there and their families would be happy with their beautiful and peaceful resting places neighboring a loud, towering industrial facility. Cemeteries where visitors will no longer be greeted with nature all around and birds chirping but rather the constant hum of the data center cooling equipment and loud diesel generator tests and diesel fumes. No longer places of peaceful rest but casualties to what some view as “progress.”

The data center may not only disturb the tranquility of cemeteries in the area but could be a nuisance to the hundreds of Mason County residents living nearby. The current draft of the data center ordinance composed by the Mason County Joint Planning Commission only provides for 250-foot setbacks from adjoining residential properties despite an earlier promise of 500-foot setbacks. Setbacks are essential for protecting neighboring properties from both noise and light pollution. Also, despite the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending noise restrictions at no more than 30 decibels average near schools and 40 decibels outside of residences, the ordinance draft only limits noise pollution from the data center at residential, church, and school boundaries at 55 decibels during the day and 50 decibels at night.

According to WHO, passing traffic creates around 53 decibels on average. The difference in data center noise pollution is it is constant, low-frequency, and never stops or wanes. There may be no reprieve from this noise for those living nearby. Imagine your backyard going from peaceful, natural sounds at around 40 decibel average sound range to 55 decibels of constant industrial noise. Data center noise has been reported to cause sleep disturbance and health issues for those living nearby. Those who are not familiar with the sound of a hyperscale data center are urged to look it up online. You will also find numerous news articles about communities fighting Fortune 100 companies for years on the hyperscale data center noise issue.

Whether you are for or against the data center project, there are so many questions around this topic to wrestle with. Are we, as a community, willing to potentially sacrifice the peace and wellbeing of our neighbors and friends for tax revenue and potential jobs this AI data center may bring? Will those jobs be replaced by AI, as is the goal of some top tech companies? Is our county so bad off financially that we cannot survive without it? If this data center campus is the only hope for our community, what does that say about our current leadership? Officials governing communities both in the United States and around the world, including Oldham County Kentucky, have paused data center projects by issuing moratoriums until they better understand this technology and its long-term effects. Why is Mason County not doing the same?

Communities in Virginia where hyperscale data center projects were forced onto residents despite public opposition experienced a change in leadership shortly thereafter. Will that happen here in Mason County too? We will find out in November 2026. Until then, concerned citizens must show up at the Mason County Joint Planning Commission special meetings on December 3rd, 9th, and 10th at 5:30 PM at Maysville Community and Technical College. Each Mason County resident who wants to speak on the data center ordinance will be given three minutes to do so at the December 9th and 10th meetings. Do not be afraid to speak and know your community appreciates your voice!