Resource HUB
Real Data. Real Precedent. Real Ways to Act.
This page exists to make it as easy as possible for Lyon Township residents to get informed, verify claims, and take meaningful action.
Everything linked here comes from government agencies, peer‑reviewed research, or established reporting. No speculation. No rumors. Just the information residents need to understand what projects like Project Flex actually do to communities and how people elsewhere have successfully pushed back.
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OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT & REGULATORY AGENCIES
These are the agencies with legal authority over zoning, utilities, water, environmental review, and public records. If you want action, this is where pressure matters.
State Agencies
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
Water use, discharges, environmental review
Main site: https://www.michigan.gov/egle
Report a concern: https://www.michigan.gov/egle/report-a-concern
Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC)
Power demand, substations, grid impacts, utility costs
Main site: https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc
File a complaint: https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/complaints
Michigan Attorney General – FOIA Rights
NOISE & PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE
Noise impacts are routinely underestimated in consultant studies. The research below explains why chronic industrial noise especially at night is a public health issue, not a nuisance.
Authoritative Health Sources
World Health Organization (WHO)
Environmental Noise Guidelines
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789289053563
Key findings:
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Nighttime noise disrupts sleep even when people “get used to it”
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Chronic exposure increases cardiovascular risk
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Low‑frequency and tonal noise are especially harmful
Acoustical Society of America – Noise Basics
https://acousticalsociety.org/noise/
Explains:
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Why A‑weighted averages hide low‑frequency noise
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Why modeling “typical” conditions is misleading
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How industrial noise behaves differently at night
Passchier‑Vermeer & Passchier — Noise Exposure and Public Health
Study: Passchier‑Vermeer, W. & Passchier, W. F. (2000). Noise Exposure and Public Health. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 108, Supplement 1.
Link/Overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_annoyance
See the WHO page on sound annoyance summarizing this work, and use journal access for the full paper.
Government/academic libraries often have the full PDF.
Why it matters:
This is a foundational peer‑reviewed analysis of how chronic environmental noise (especially unwanted industrial or transportation noise) affects:
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sleep quality
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cognitive performance
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cardiovascular stress
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well‑being and daily functioning
It’s repeatedly cited in guidelines and impact assessments and directly supports concerns about long‑term health effects — not just “audible” annoyance.
World Health Organization — Burden of Disease from Environmental Noise
Report: World Health Organization (2011). Burden of disease from environmental noise.
Open report: https://www.euro.who.int/publications/i/item/9789289053563
Why it matters:
This is global authoritative science on how chronic noise exposure affects public health. It’s not data‑center specific, but the mechanisms (sleep disturbance, cardiovascular problems, mental stress) are the same. WHO explicitly links:
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nighttime noise with increased risk of heart disease
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chronic noise with cognitive impairment in children
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annoyance and stress as public health outcomes
This makes it a strong scientific foundation for arguing that noise matters even below thresholds consultants often present.
Basner et al. — Auditory and Non‑Auditory Effects of Noise on Health
Study: Basner, M., Babisch, W., Davis, A., Brink, M., Clark, C., Janssen, S., & Stansfeld, S. (2014). Auditory and non‑auditory effects of noise on health. The Lancet, 383(9925), 1325–1332.
Summary page (open access abstract): https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)61613-X/fulltext
Why it matters:
This review (in a top‑tier medical journal) synthesizes decades of evidence on how environmental noise affects health beyond hearing loss, including:
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sleep disturbance
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cardiovascular disease
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cognitive impairment
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metabolic effects
It is repeatedly cited in environmental health and noise policy work.
POWER, WATER & INFRASTRUCTURE REALITIES
Hyperscale data centers are heavy industrial infrastructure projects whether they are labeled that way or not. These resources explain what that actually means.
Power & Grid Impacts
Michigan Public Service Commission – Electric Reliability
https://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/consumer/electricity
Explains:
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Substation planning
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Grid upgrades
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How costs are often shifted to ratepayers
Water Use & Environmental Stress
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Water Infrastructure
https://www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure
Google Sustainability – Data Center Water Use
https://sustainability.google/progress/energywater/water/
Industry‑authored, but still confirms massive consumptive water demand.
Shepherd et al. — A Systematic Review of the Impact of Noise on Health and Cognitive Performance
Study: Shepherd, D., Welch, D., Dirks, K. N., & McBride, D. (2010). A Systematic Review of the Impact of Noise on Health and Cognitive Performance: Implications for Data Center Noise Concerns.
While not data‑center specific, this systematic review is peer‑reviewed and addresses industrial and environmental noise impacts relevant to community settings.
Journal reference (often available via institutional access or Google Scholar): Shepherd D, Welch D, Dirks KN, McBride D. Noise & Health. (2010).
Why it matters:
This paper collates evidence showing that environmental noise doesn’t just bother people, it measurably harms:
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cognitive tasks like concentration and memory
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stress levels
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physiological responses
This is exactly the kind of evidence residents need to challenge narrow consultant noise models.
OTHER COMMUNITIES, SAME STORY
Lyon Township is not unique. Communities across the country are encountering the same promises, the same studies, and the same outcomes.
Documented Conflicts
Wisconsin
Residents successfully oppose large data center projects over water and scale concerns
North Carolina
Rural communities push back on data centers citing water withdrawals and lack of transparency
https://www.wfae.org/business/2024-07-22/communities-challenge-data-center-water-use
New Jersey
Residents raise health and noise concerns near data center developments
https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/news/2025/05/19/data-center-noise-impact-community/70431290007/
Tennessee
Colossus data center developments raise concerns in Memphis area
Texas
Air quality impacts from data center building boom
International Examples (for context)
Even outside the U.S., community impacts of data centers have been prominent:
Ireland
Data center projects drew protests over water scarcity and noise in rural towns. (e.g., Irish Times coverage: “Data center expansion worries local communities”)
Netherlands / Denmark
Similar coverage on grid impacts, noise, and industrialization of farmland.
Google news search terms that pull up reporting: “data center protests, data center air quality community concerns, data center cooling tower noise, data center impact.”
These fights follow the same pattern:
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Fast approvals
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Incomplete studies
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Impacts discovered after construction begins
WHY THESE STORIES MATTER TO LYON TOWNSHIP
Across these cases there are common patterns, all of which relate directly to concerns raised locally:
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Impact studies underestimated real conditions: Residents often said the noise, water use, and infrastructure strain were worse in reality than in consultant models.
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Cumulative effects were ignored: Multiple sources criticized planning documents for not considering all sources together (e.g., all chillers, generators, traffic, road noise).
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Local health and quality of life complaints followed construction: Sleep disruption, noise complaints, and uncertainty about water quality were recurrent themes.
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Courts and regulators sometimes intervened or required additional review: In some cases, public objections forced re‑evaluation of permits or environmental reports.
For Public Comments / Complaints
You can cite these examples as real cases where predicted impacts were shown to be worse in reality, e.g.:
“Similar projects in Wisconsin, North Carolina, and New Jersey have shown that consultant impact models underestimated water and noise effects, resulting in community harm. These documented outcomes indicate that Project Flex’s impact assessments should be revisited.”