FULTON COUNTY (25News Now) – A petition to stop a data center and solar farm from being built near Canton already has thousands of signatures within one week of its creation.
The proposed data center and solar farm from Donato Solar would be located outside Canton on a large parcel of land off West Hickory Street.
For the center to actually be built, the Fulton County Zoning Board of Appeals would first have to approve the request to change the zoning use of that land from agricultural to industrial.
Petition creator and local resident Kadie Seneca said the petition already has more than 1,200 signatures. Seneca said neighbors don’t want to see it happen, and she noted that one person already sold their house next to the proposed site.
Seneca said she and others are concerned the data center could raise property taxes, harm the local agriculture industry, and hurt the environment, something many farmers, country residents, and hunters rely on.
“We still have community members on wells. One of my neighbors has recreational ponds on their property, and that will disrupt that,” she said. “The census for 2023 was just 12,893 people. We don’t have enough water or electricity to supply this, let alone ourselves.”
Seneca said she is also concerned about environmental contamination, especially of underground water sources, like an aquifer, which she claims the company wants to use for the data center.
She said she believes that if the zoning change for the potential center is approved, it will be more difficult for the county to deny other projects like this in the area.
“All industry-regulated facilities will come with chemical toxic waste, and nobody wants that in their backyard,“ Seneca said. ”It would be like asking somebody if we could build a junkyard in our backyard.”
She said that for the future of the local agricultural industry, livelihood, and health of younger generations, the land needs to be protected.
“Everybody relies on this land, not only to feed us, but to feed the livestock that they produce,” Seneca said. “Future generations and our grandchildren’s grandchildren deserve clean air and the life they are able to live.”
A public hearing is scheduled to be held on Dec. 17 in Lewistown at the Fulton County Farm Bureau at 5 p.m.
25News reached out to Donato Solar but did not receive a response.
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