Microsoft Sued Over Noise Pollution from Wisconsin Data Center

Residents living near Microsoft’s Fairwater data center in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, are suing the company over the facility's alleged noise pollution.

The class-action lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Three residents of Sturtevant — a village approximately 30 miles south of Milwaukee close to the data center—are named as plaintiffs.

“Through its operation and maintenance of the Data Center, Defendant has emitted, and continues to emit, unreasonable and excessive noise onto Plaintiffs’ properties, thereby causing property damages through private nuisance and negligence,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit is the latest salvo from frustrated citizens as data centers have swept the country in the race to power AI development. Complaints have included noise and air pollution, excessive water use, and increasing energy costs. Communities in a number of states have launched protests and pushed for legislation to stop their construction.

The Fairwater data center is the first of several buildings that Microsoft plans to build on the campus. Both Microsoft, and electronics manufacturer Foxconn, which has a facility at the site, plan to expand their data center operations there in the coming years, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.

The lawsuit cites complaints and comments about the facility that were received by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The plaintiffs claim the center "generates significant noise pollution from diesel generators and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, including chillers, cooling towers, air-handling units, and condenser fans."

The suit further states that the noise produced by the facility is "not only excessive, but consistent and pervasive."

The filing accuses Microsoft of failing to "implement adequate acoustic barriers, shields, or walls, that absorb, mitigate, and/or prevent the escape of noise, thereby resulting in the offsite emission of excessive noise beyond its property."

The plaintiffs are seeking an unspecified amount in damages.

A spokesperson for Microsoft told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the company is "aware of the lawsuit related to our facility in the Village of Mount Pleasant."

"Microsoft is committed to being a good neighbor in the communities where we build, own, and operate our data centers," the company said in its statement.

The Independent has contacted Microsoft for comment.

Sean Ryan, the Mount Pleasant village communications director, told The Sentinel that it had not received any complaints about noise since Microsoft made changes to the facility in mid-April to address a humming noise coming from the data center.

"Village officials stand ready to respond if people do reach out to us, and will continue to ensure Microsoft is a good corporate citizen and a good neighbor," he said.

In April, Microsoft investigated the noise complaints and determined the humming disturbing some residents was coming from the data center's cooling fans.

"We anticipated that our systems would need adjustments and create some noise as part of the data center startup, but we did not expect the tonal quality of the sound to travel as far as it has," the company said in a statement.

The tech giant announced in June that it had fixed the problem.

"Several neighbors confirmed what our independent monitoring showed: that these mitigations fully resolved the issue," the company said.

Residents living near the data center aren't only complaining about noise. Dust from construction, light pollution, and increased traffic have also irked locals, according to WPR.

Larry Neumiller, who has lived in the area for nearly 40 years, now lives across the street from the data center campus. He said that not only has the sound of dump trucks been a constant bother but dust from the construction sites is constantly blowing around the area.

“There’s some times I’ll be coming from Sturtevant, and I can’t see my house because the dust is blowing across the roads,” he told WPR.

He also said that the construction crews use "super bright lights that even my blinds in the windows can't keep out."

Resident Roger Johansen lives across the street from the data center and also complained that the bright lights have ruined the peaceful darkness he once enjoyed.

“It was so dark out there, you could see all the stars, and now you have a hard time seeing the stars with all the light,” he told WPR.

Brian Schue, another resident, moved to the area a few years ago and is already considering moving again due to the data center.

He complained the area had become a "dust bowl."

“I just washed my truck, and it’s completely dusty again,” he told WPR.

Microsoft said on its project website that "street sweepers will operate for approximately 10 hours per day" to address the dust issue. Regarding the light issue, construction work at the site is allowed to occur between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., according to Microsoft.

Despite the complaints, the data center has the support of Mount Pleasant's leadership.