Data Centers Matter. Principles Applied Honestly.

Data centers matter. They are critical infrastructure for national security, AI development, and economic competitiveness. There is a real and important national conversation happening right now about where they should go and how they should be built. SpaceX is even planning to put them in orbit by 2028. Local governments across the region are responding to that conversation with the seriousness it demands.

Caroline County's commissioners made a responsible decision this month when they approved a one-year moratorium on data centers in unincorporated areas, giving officials time to study the impacts on water, power, noise, and safety. The Federalsburg Town Council is weighing the same step for its jurisdiction. Both councils deserve credit for choosing deliberation over rush. But the facts on the ground do not wait for process. And when you look at this project honestly, the answer is clear.

Property Rights

Your property is yours. Four interconnected aquifer systems underlie the tri-county region: the Surficial, Choptank, Piney Point, and Aquia. The Choptank is the shallowest and most vulnerable to contamination and depletion. All four sit beneath Federalsburg and extend into Talbot County. Large-scale groundwater withdrawal at that site risks creating a cone of depression that could lower the water table and impact private wells across a three-county region. Private wells are property. I talked about what our waterways mean to this county in a recent video from Windy Hill Landing.

Fiscal Responsibility

Federalsburg's wastewater treatment plant is rated at 750,000 gallons per day and currently uses 380,000. A data center's cooling demands could consume the remaining capacity and then some. When municipal infrastructure hits its limit, taxpayers and ratepayers usually foot the bill for expansion. The entity creating the cost should bear the cost, not the taxpayers and ratepayers.

The same applies to power. Federalsburg is served by a member-owned electric cooperative. A facility drawing tens of megawatts would force grid upgrades, and those costs could pass through to every member in the system's nine-county service area. Ratepayers should not subsidize a private developer's infrastructure needs.

Local Control

Decisions are best made closest to the people they affect. An 80,000-square-foot industrial facility with 24/7 operations, backup diesel generators, and heavy truck traffic does not belong in a town of 2,700 people without compatible infrastructure. Roads, noise, emissions, and scale all matter. Local government exists to make those compatibility determinations. That is not NIMBYism. That is land-use planning, which is a core function of local government.

Accountability

At the July 13 meeting, the developer claimed the project would use "negligible water" with closed-loop systems. No environmental impact study has been produced. No independent hydrology report. No engineering analysis of wastewater or power demands. The community is being asked to accept the developer's word on faith. Government should require due diligence before approving projects of this scale, not after the damage is done.

Results Over Rhetoric

The developer promised 160 jobs. Most data center jobs are facility security and monitoring positions, not the high-paying technical roles people imagine. The economic benefit to the community is modest. The risk to the community is significant. Policy should be evaluated by outcomes, not promises.

The Bottom Line

There are places in this country with the industrial infrastructure, the zoning, and the local governance to support data centers the right way. West Virginia is courting them. Virginia built an entire corridor around them.

Putting a data center on top of a shared aquifer system in a small rural town with limited wastewater and power capacity is not a model that works. That is not politics. That is not anti-development. That is common sense.

I support the right of local communities to protect their water, their property, and their way of life. And principles applied honestly lead to a clear answer on this project: not here, not like this.

If you believe Talbot County deserves a representative who will fight to keep data centers out of our county and protect our water and property rights, I hope you will consider supporting my campaign. Every contribution helps Team Frank reach more voters across the county.

Frank Gunsallus
Candidate, Talbot County Council
frankgunsallus.com

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Authorized by: Friends of Frank Gunsallus, Paul Hagood, Treasurer