Erin Brockovich, who secured a historic $333 million settlement against PG&E in 1993 and was immortalized by Julia Roberts on the silver screen, has launched a new battle against the proliferation of AI data centers across the United States and beyond.
The Guardian reports that the environmental activist who became a household name after her work on the Hinkley, California, groundwater contamination case has identified what she describes as a threat on par with that scandal, only larger in scope. After receiving thousands of emails from concerned citizens, Brockovich has turned her attention to the rapid construction of massive AI data centers happening with minimal public input or environmental oversight.
The campaign began when Brockovich noticed an unusual pattern in her inbox. She received 30 emails from people in the same town, all expressing concerns about data centers. In April, she issued a public call on her website asking anyone with concerns about data centers near them to contact her. Within a month, 3,862 people responded. Brockovich characterizes the situation as “Hinkley on steroids.”
Using the information gathered from these emails, Brockovich created an open-source map documenting AI data centers across the United States. As of June 24, the map shows 33 AI data centers that are operational, 68 under construction, and 41 proposed. More than 7,000 reports have been submitted through her online form, revealing a pattern of construction happening largely without public knowledge or consent.
AI data centers are enormous in scale. Some stretch over hundreds of acres, and in May, Utah approved a center twice the size of Manhattan. According to Brockovich, many communities learn about these facilities only after construction has already begun, or in some cases, months after they have been approved by local officials.
A major concern for Brockovich is the secrecy surrounding the approval process. Data center developers often enter into nondisclosure agreements with local officials, making it impossible for residents to understand why projects were approved without environmental impact assessments or public input. Brockovich reports receiving emails from people whose local leaders are changing zoning laws to accommodate these facilities. “If data centers are so great, why are they being built in secret?” reads one headline on her Substack blog.
Local governments attempting to pause or halt construction face severe financial consequences. In Hill County, Texas, county commissioners voted on a year-long moratorium after unexpected public outcry. The county was then sued by developers for $100 million in damages and, according to the Texas Tribune, has since backed down from the moratorium.
Beyond concerns about water consumption, residents near operational data centers report significant noise pollution. “It really becomes about the noise, the decibels,” Brockovich says. People describe being driven to distraction by constant humming, hissing, and buzzing from generators operating around the clock. Communities also report increased electricity bills, power surges, and concerns about wildlife disappearing from areas surrounding the data centers.
Brockovich, who turns 66 this month, brings decades of experience to this fight. She was instrumental in the 1993 case against Pacific Gas and Electric Company on behalf of Hinkley, California, residents whose groundwater had been contaminated. Despite having no formal legal training, she helped secure a $333 million settlement, then the largest ever payout for a direct-action lawsuit. The 2000 film starring Julia Roberts immortalized her story.
Since Hinkley, Brockovich has worked on other environmental pollution cases, including additional cases against PG&E related to hexavalent chromium. More recently, she has focused on PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as “forever chemicals” that are components in firefighting foam used on US military bases. These chemicals have been linked to fertility issues and some cancers.
Brockovich’s immediate goal is to secure case-by-case moratoriums on data center approvals. She is compiling cases through her open-source mapping site and notes that council responses vary depending on how receptive officials are to local complaints. Many states are only now beginning to consider whether state-level regulation and oversight of data centers is necessary.
She emphasizes that opposition to data centers is bipartisan. Her approach focuses on building lawsuits from the ground up rather than seeking immediate policy change from the top. She advocates for environmental impact reports, transparency about power sources, and town hall meetings where residents can voice their concerns.
“We have to have some courage to show up, and it’s difficult to do that when you’re up against forces that have all the money and all the intelligence and all the bandwidth in the world,” Brockovich says. Despite describing herself as being in her “legacy phase” with six grandchildren, she remains committed to the fight, though she acknowledges she cannot win it alone.
Breitbart News previously reported that AI data center opponents have blocked or delayed projects worth $130 billion so far this year:
At least 75 projects worth about $130 billion have been blocked or delayed from January through March across the country as a result of data center opponents, according to a Data Center Watch study obtained by NBC News.
The authors of the study further noted that this hindering of AI data centers is the most on record in a three-month period since they began tracking the matter in 2023.
“The quarter reflected a structural shift rather than a cyclical spike: communities have internalized an opposition playbook, legislative sessions introduced formal regulatory uncertainty, and the number of active opposition groups more than doubled to 833 across 49 states,” the study read.
Read more at the Guardian here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.