Last week the Breeze published an opinion piece titled Fearing Data Center Fear. Response was as expected. I expected negative feedback because the proposed data center is not wanted. I expected readers to read things which were not stated or suggested because data centers are like sewer treatment plants. No one wants a sewer treatment plant or that which sewer treatment plants treat next door to their homes.

One reader, respectfully, suggested that I missed the point of the protests. The reader stated that the point of the protests was fear of the impact of the data center upon the environment and quality of life in Putnam County.

There is no reason to comment upon the point of the protests. The point of any protest is to effect change. The actions by which the Putnam County Commission can deter or prevent the proposed Google data center from locating on the $22 million property which Google purchased from American Electric Power near Buffalo are almost non-existent. Protesters have asked the county commission to join in their protest.

In my piece, I expressed my opinion that it was wise for the commission to be hesitant to act because computers of tomorrow will not be like the computers of today. The environmental impact of future data centers is unknown. The only reason for the commission to join the protest, in my opinion, would be to score political points. The commission must obey the law of the land. The law of the land does not allow the Putnam County Commission to change federal or state environmental laws. The law of the land does, however, allow the Putnam County to enforce existing county ordinances which do not conflict with state or federal law.

Putnam County has an enforceable noise ordinance which may or may not impact the planned Google data center. I believe the county’s current noise ordinance could be strengthened. I will get to that possibility in a bit.

There are a lot of things concerning data centers of the future and for Google’s next generation of data centers that I have learned from the company’s literature. I read Google’s literature with the eyes of a chemical engineer and science teacher. Data centers employ chemical engineers because chemical engineers are masters of the energy transfer. I understand what I read. There is good reason to harbor concerns relating to the environment. Discharge of heated water into the Kanawha River will not happen. The river water which is used to cool the computers will be discharged into cooling ponds to create an artificial bayou that slowly flows back into the river. The cooling bayou water transfers heat into the atmosphere. Data centers of the past have created local warmer year-round temperatures. Warm air rises and is replaced by cooler air. Some locations near the data center will see lower temperature readings. The waters of the bayou must be treated to prevent algae build up. I have water concerns because I know that I do not know all that I need to fear.

Electric costs are driven by demand. The price of electricity will increase because data centers, regardless of location, use electricity. Cell phones will become increasingly dependent upon the cloud which cloud requires data centers. I do not plan on throwing my cell phone away. Data centers will be built and the cost of electricity will continue to increase. No action that can be taken by the Putnam County Commission is likely to change Google’s plan.

Now to Putnam County’s noise ordinance. Data center noise is unrelenting. It will be morning, noon, and night. Putnam County’s ordinance requires nighttime decibel readings be 60 decibels or less in residential areas. Sound intensity depends upon distance from the source. A sound measurement one-fourth of a mile from a data center source is 16 times greater than a measurement made at one mile distance from the center. The Google data center will be in violation of the ordinance if sound intensity from the center measures 61 or greater decibels at a single residential location. If Google exceeds the 60 decimal limit, the company is subject to a fine. The current noise ordinance was fashioned with the intent of eliminating nuisance noise makers. Repeated violations of the ordinance is punishable by fines of up to $1,000 per offense or up to $1,000 per day if measured daily. Maybe a $1,000 per day expense would prompt Google to implement meaningful noise abatement measures. Maybe data center protesters should petition the county commission to increase the maximum fine for repeat noise offenders. No company should be allowed to willfully design and place in operation a data center that does not meet Putnam’s reasonable standard of 60 decibels in residential areas.

I do not know that the planned data center will produce unacceptable noise levels. Anything noise over 60 decibels is unacceptable. Violations need to be rewarded with proper punishment. A copy of Putnam’s noise ordinance can be found on Page 5.