What a 635-MW data center could mean for Massena
Three concerns that hold up under scrutiny — each one is laid out with its source on the Resources page.
Built on contaminated ground
The site is contaminated former-smelter land — PCBs, dioxins, and metals capped and contained in place, right beside a federal river cleanup. Heavy construction raises real questions about whether that cap stays intact.
See the receipts →Around-the-clock noise
The company says its studies show 40 dB at the nearest homes — but that already sits at the WHO threshold where nighttime noise begins to harm health. A comparable site in North Tonawanda, NY measured 70–90 dB. We want worst-case modeling, not one reassuring number.
See the receipts →Your electric bill
A 635-MW load is enormous. When a crypto operation scaled up in Plattsburgh, NY, residents' bills rose and the city became the first in the U.S. to pause mining. Who pays for grid upgrades here, and what happens to local rates?
See the receipts →Latest updates
Dated, sourced, and current — this is how you know the fight is alive.
A neighboring town is acting — and the county says Massena can too
Nearby Canton holds a July 8 public hearing on a moratorium that would pause large data centers (over 20 MW) through May 2027. And in June the St. Lawrence County Legislature affirmed that local siting authority rests with towns and villages, urging every municipality to consider a moratorium. The power to act is local — Massena has it too. The report →
“No data center in Massena”: neighbors rally at Town Hall
Several dozen residents — families, elders, and the Akwesasne Mohawk community — packed the Town Hall steps for an emergency rally organized by Mohawks United in Safety and Health, far more than the dozen who made the June 25 meeting. See the report + photos →
The June 18 meeting was cancelled — then a make-up was jammed in for June 25 on barely a day's notice
Per the town's own RSS feed, the cancellation of the regular June 18 Planning Board meeting wasn't posted until June 22 — days after the date. The make-up was then set for June 25, its agenda going up about a day ahead: first dated "June 26" (the wrong day) with no room listed, then quietly swapped for a corrected version about 90 minutes later. By one resident's account, only about a dozen people were in the room. The documents →
What the June 25 meeting actually did — the review began, nothing was approved
The Planning Board started its review of the data-center application — no approval, no final site plan, and the only vote of the night was to adjourn. It sent a threshold question to the Zoning Board of Appeals: whether a large data center is even a permitted use in that industrial zone (right now it isn't). The decision that matters — the SEQR determination — is expected at the board's July meeting. Read the full recap → · Watch the meeting →
A statewide one-year data-center pause is on the Governor's desk
It passed both houses of the New York Legislature and awaits Governor Hochul's signature. It is not yet law. Ask her to sign →
Four things you can do this week
You don't need to be an expert. Pick one.