The rural landscape of Trenton, Ohio in Butler County is the latest battleground in a high-stakes war over data centers. Outside the city limits, rolling farmland is facing irreversible change. Industrial real estate giant Prologis is forging ahead with “Project Mila,” a massive 250-megawatt, 141-acre data center campus. If completed, this facility will cover nearly one million square feet — the equivalent of more than five Walmart Supercenters.
Worse still for local residents, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is currently negotiating with city management to annex an additional 600 acres of neighboring agricultural land. The corporate giant plans to construct a “hyperscale” data center compound consisting of 18 separate buildings.
While local officials justify these developments by promising economic windfalls and long-term tech jobs, a growing cadre of local citizens are saying no.
The threats posed by multi-megawatt computing hubs are tangible, severe, and immediate. Data centers are notoriously power-hungry and water-thirsty. Millions of gallons of local water will be drained daily to keep the rows of data servers cool. Local ecosystems, water pressure, and the regional aquifer are under immense pressure.
Furthermore, residents living within a mile of Project Mila face the reality of constant, industrial-grade noise pollution from server cooling fans, alongside heavy air pollution generated by massive diesel backup generators.
Equally concerning to the community is the lack of transparency. Residents were blindsided when the Trenton Planning Commission approved the sweeping Project Mila zoning plans in a meeting that lasted less than ten minutes, explicitly shutting out public comment and leaving taxpayers feeling betrayed by backdoor deals.
In response to this corporate overreach, a dedicated coalition of neighbors has mobilized to form W.A.T.E.R. — Woodsdale and Trenton Environmental Resistance. Led by grassroots organizers including Barry and Lorie Blankenship, W.A.T.E.R. has become the champion of Trenton residents, working tirelessly to give the power back to everyday people.
The group launched a petition drive to place a charter amendment on the local ballot. This amendment would ban data centers exceeding 25 megawatts. Proving the community support for their cause, W.A.T.E.R. gathered 464 signatures—more than triple the number required by the Butler County Board of Elections.
Despite this overwhelming display of direct democracy, city leadership utilized legal technicalities regarding voter turnout to block the petition from reaching the ballot. Undeterred, W.A.T.E.R. has taken their fight all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court, filing an expedited writ of mandamus to force city officials to let the electors decide their own future. Sierra Club Miami Group has recently entered the fray, and will be working alongside W.A.T.E.R. to defend the quality of life for Trenton residents.
