Priscilla Gonzalez Data Centers and AI
No new AI data centers until we have rules.
The AI boom is driving an unprecedented rush to build massive data centers across the country. There are no comprehensive federal policy standards, a lack of community consent and little accountability when things go wrong. In Calcasieu Parish, a St. Louis company has optioned 1,100 acres north of Moss Bluff for a data center that residents do not want and that has no zoning approval. In Acadiana, families are already paying higher power bills because of Meta’s data center in Richland Parish.
If elected to Congress I will support legislation or write legislation to issue an immediate, national moratorium on new AI data centers until:
Federal ratepayer, water and environmental standards are in place.
Communities are given a binding vote on whether to host a data center.
Full disclosure of energy use, water use and ownership is required.
Local zoning authority is protected from federal preemption.
No community should have a data center forced on it. No ratepayer should subsidize corporate profits, no reservoirs should be drained for AI.
Corporations who impose the current data centers on communities should pay you back.
If elected to Congress I will introduce a mandatory Ratepayer Rebate Program. Tax revenue from these companies will be given back to communities that have an AI data center in their home area, as compensation for higher energy bills and/or poor water conditions.
Legislation will be supported or introduced to cap water consumption and require close-loop cooling systems. Discharge of contaminated cooling water into waterways will become a felony and result in heavy fines and in severe cases, imprisonment. Independent environmental impact statements from the EPA will be mandatory before construction of new data centers.
Louisiana’s water is not for sale to outside corporations.
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