Lawmakers should put a moratorium in place for any more data centers. Before another permit is approved, communities deserve the right to weigh in through public hearings, honest environmental impact assessments, and limits tied to local capacity.

Indiana has no rules requiring data centers to disclose how much water they're pulling from municipal systems or local electric grids. In addition, Indiana offers some of the most generous data center tax incentives, with some running into the tens of millions. No taxpayer dollars should go toward these centers, including in the form of tax breaks.

A single facility can draw hundreds of millions of gallons of water annually for cooling, strain power grids, and drive up electricity costs. We need assurances that we won't see our water bills and electric rates continue to skyrocket or our environment suffer. Noise, resource use, and infrastructure costs should all be put under the microscope.

Supporters of data centers argue that they help local economies through job creation. However, the only real jobs are temporary, during the construction of the buildings themselves. Very few people work at the centers once they’re up and running. In the long run, data centers are eliminating employment opportunities.