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Watch On “It sounds like someone set up a vacuum, like in your living room. And the vacuum is just… that thing needs to be cleaned … the filter is clogged up, so it’s a high-pitch whining. And they just left it on and walked out," said Lindy Valenzuela, one of the residents living across from the data center. Billy Finn, who also lived nearby, added, “You’ve seen movies and stuff where they have somebody in a cell torturing them with sound. And that’s basically what it is."
Dowagiac has recently instituted an industrial noise ordinance, with a daytime limit of 65dB during the day and 55dB at night, and it has fined the data center for violations. However, Hyperscale Data is challenging the city’s readings and methodology. The company said that it’s planning to expand its operations in the footprint in the area, but the city said that it hasn’t received any permit applications.
Still, this statement did not sit well with the affected residents. One of them said that their family has been living in the area for close to a hundred years, with their friends and support system, while another has a 17-month-old baby and another on the way, meaning moving for them is going to be difficult, if not impossible. Because of this, the residents asked the CEO why they didn’t act on the complaints as soon as they started and accused the company of not being a good neighbor.
Wisconsin residents file class-action lawsuit against Microsoft's 'world's most powerful AI data center' due to data center noise
AI data centers face increasing complaints about inaudible but 'felt' infrasound
Pennsylvania residents complain they are being 'bulldozed' over AI data center concerns
This isn’t the first noise pollution lawsuit that a data center is facing in the country. A Microsoft data center is facing a similar class-action lawsuit in Wisconsin from residents who live within 1.5 miles of the facility. One non-profit organization also said that inaudible vibrations, called infrasound , that these industrial sites emit can be heard and felt for hundreds of feet in surrounding areas and could potentially have negative health effects on anyone who can feel it.
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