Oppose Project Blue - the Water Thirsty, Energy Hog Data Center

But Project Blue is a LARGE data center!

Project Blue is a secretive development proposed by a venture capital firm to build the largest data center complex in the state near the Pima County Fairgrounds to be occupied by an as yet unnamed customer.

There have been a number of promises made to Pima County and the City of Tucson that were convincing enough that the Pima County Board of Supervisors narrowly approved the project this week (though the swing vote, Supervisor Matt Heinz, has now changed his mind after the promise that the data center wouldn't increase electricity costs was broken by TEP on the same day the Supervisors voted. It would increase Tucson electric bills by 14%!) The project still needs City of Tucson Mayor and Council approval for the water component of the project, so it can still be stopped.

The developer promises no environmental impact because they are going to fund an expansion of reclaimed water service to the area of the project, but that ignores the fact that reclaimed water is being considered as a potential future potable water source if water supplies continue to dwindle and a portion of the reclaimed water is currently being used for riparian environment restoration along the Santa Cruz River. Adding a huge water user to Tucson Water's service area is bound to impact future water security. The other promises from the developers to fund projects that will increase the water supply in Tucson are assuming that it's possible to create water by spending enough money. You can't drink cash!

Reach out to your City Councilmember and demand that they vote against extending water service to this ill-conceived project. A theoretical gain in economic prosperity is not worth the risk of future water shortages.

SIGN THIS PETITION:

https://www.change.org/p/tell-tucson-city-council-to-stop-project-blue-ai-center-in-tucson?signed=true

Tucson Clean and Beautiful suggests these actions: 

Discover the rapid rise of U.S. data centers, with over $1 trillion invested, and see how this growth affects our environment and communities. Learn the stories behind the impact, explore ways you can get involved, and make your voice heard! We encourage everyone to do their research, stay engaged, and advocate for responsible tech development. 🤖🏜️

1. Identify Your Ward Councilmember: Find out who represents your neighborhood. Addressing your concerns directly to them can be especially impactful.

2. Attend Public Meetings: Keep an eye on scheduled public hearings, city council meetings, or planning hearings related to the project. Presenting your concerns in person or submitting written comments can make a difference.

3. Write Letters or Emails: Compose clear, respectful messages outlining your opposition or concerns about the development. Highlight how it might affect your community, environment, or local resources.

4. Engage with Planning & Development Services: Contact the City of Tucson department for information on review processes, comment periods, and upcoming hearings.

5. Coordinate with Others: Consider organizing or joining local groups or coalitions. Collective voices often carry more weight and demonstrate broad community interest.

6. Contact Pima County Officials: Community members in Tucson can reach out to Pima County officials to express their concerns and oppose the construction of the new data center.

7. Stay Informed on Utility Regulations: If power consumption or utility impacts concern you, reaching out to the Arizona Corporation Commission can provide additional avenues for advocacy. Visit at www.azcc.gov

Remember, active and informed participation helps shape outcomes that reflect your community’s needs! And don’t forget to utilize your platform!

Last Legislative Update of this Session? And some final actions...

There are a few actions at the end of this post (for those of you who haven't already acted on them), but generally this is an update on the Arizona Legislature from Sandy Bahr of the Sierra Club wrapping things up as the session comes to a close. (Dan and I added a few sentences elaborating on and clarifying SB 1611*.) 

Please, look out for a Call to Action on Project Blue, the proposed data center on the south side that would use a lot of water and energy. 

Sandy writes, "I am sorry I did not get you all an update last week. I was out of office enjoying a No Kings Day protest with my sister, plus there was not much to report until very late Friday night. I will catch you up now, however." So last week, the Arizona House passed a budget that had no support from the Governor or most Senate Republicans, so it was basically a nonstarter. This week, and late into the night on Thursday night, the Arizona Senate passed a bipartisan budget that has the Governor's support. The House was then supposed to begin action on that budget, but instead, they adjourned and left until Monday. The Senate then adjourned sine die, meaning they are not planning to come back at all this session. Read more about that here. So where does that leave us? It is unclear. The House could come back Monday and just pass the Senate budget and then adjourn. It seems unlikely, however. They could try to convince the Senate to reconsider its adjournment action and come back and work on further amending the budget. The House could stall and not pass a budget before the end of the fiscal year, which would then result in a partial shutdown of the state government. Sigh. What a mess. As far as the budget goes, the version upon which the Senate and Governor agreed is not bad, overall, on environmental protection. It still does not include adequate funding for important programs, but there are no major poison pills and there is $9 million for the Water Quality Fee Fund for helping to address impaired waters and also to implement new water quality standards in permits. There is also $1 million for the Arizona State Parks Heritage Fund -- it should get $10 million, but last year got nothing. The Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund, our state Superfund program, got $15 million, and there is $2 million for clean up of the Iron King Mine smelter near Humboldt. This budget passed with bipartisan support but the self-proclaimed "Freedom Caucus" Republicans are super ticked off, which is why we find ourselves with no state budget and the clock ticking. One positive thing the Senate did yesterday was to vote down HCR2013 early ballots; deadlines; foreign money, which would have referred a measure to the ballot that imposed stricter early voting deadlines and required Maricopa and Pima voters to confirm their addresses every election cycle. It was defeated 11-18-1. There are still a number of other bad voting measures that they could refer however, if the Senate comes back. SB1611 physical availability exemption credit; groundwater (Shope: Petersen), also known as the ag to urban bill because it promotes development on agricultural lands, was significantly improved and could result in some groundwater savings. For example, the revised bill sets limits on how much water a development can withdraw based on a groundwater threshold and it limits the use of water-thirsty landscaping and decorative features like lakes and waterfalls. We remain concerned about the bill promoting more urban sprawl rather than encouraging more sustainable development and that it significantly increases the replenishment obligation of the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD). The CAGRD was designed to utilize excess Central Arizona Project (CAP) water, but there is no excess CAP water any longer, so what will be used for replenishment? It also reduces the replenishment reserve requirement for the CAGRD. Additionally, there appear to be some potential loopholes in the 36 page long bill. It will likely be heard in the House next week.* On the bad news front, the House put a referendum on the ballot for 2026 for a proposed constitutional amendment. SCR1004 was substituted for HCR2035 tax prohibition; vehicle mileage; monitoring and passed with only Republican votes. If passed by voters, it would prohibit the state and local government from taking important actions to reduce vehicle miles traveled. Travel reduction is a component of our state implementation plans to improve air quality and removing those provisions would mean seeking approval and replacing those reductions with some other measure, thus shifting more of the burden for reducing pollution to other entities. It also prohibits any kind of fee based on vehicle miles traveled. Fees such as these have been proposed as an alternative to gas taxes to pay for roads. Finally, a constitutional amendment would also take away flexibility from the legislature itself for future measures to fund roads. Watch for this on your ballot in 2026. There are still a few other bills outstanding that we are concerned about, including a harmful wind energy bill, water bills, and several referrals. Reach out to your representatives about these bills, if you haven't already.  Find out who your Representative is, first find your district by using this app:  https://irc-az.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=424810a4667049388ef6df4f0c73098b Use that district to find your Rep and their contact info. here:  https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/ SB1150 NOW: wind farms; construction; policies; procedures  (Gowan) includes numerous new mandates for wind energy generation facilities that will erect significant roadblocks to siting wind projects. The mandates include requiring financial surety and prohibitions on the construction of wind projects within six miles of a property zoned residential, yet you can plop down a large gas plant – something that emits harmful pollutants – right next to a residential neighborhood. Thoughtful siting criteria are fine, but this bill is not about that. It is about stopping wind farms. It still awaits a final passage vote in the Senate. SB1520 Now: Rural Water (Dunn) establishes an extremely weak system for groundwater "management" in a limited number of areas in rural Arizona. It is not what is needed to stabilize aquifers to limit land subsidence, earth fissures, and the continued decline of water levels, which are drying up wells in some areas. Discussions have broken down on this bill, so the outlook is grim for rural water,  but legislators still may send it up for a veto.  There are quite a few referrals that could still move forward, but we have heard they plan to wait until next session for most of them. Here are two of them that could advance. HCR2025 constitutional amendments; sixty percent vote (Kolodin: Kupper, Marshall) refers a proposed constitutional amendment to the ballot that would require sixty percent approval for any future constitutional amendment, thus raising the bar significantly for future amendments. Why should only 40% of voters be allowed to tell 60% of the state what they can and can’t do? This bill passed out of the House and could be brought to the Senate Floor at any time. HCR2057 initiatives; referendums; signature requirement; counties (Keshel) refers a proposed constitutional amendment to the ballot that requires a proportionate number of signatures from each county for a statewide initiatives, constitutional amendments, and referenda. It passed in the House as well and could come to the floor of the Senate at any time as well.

How does AZ place on Best States for Environmental Protection?

With over half of Americans greatly worried about contamination of our waterways and soil, the non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best Charities for Environmental Protection and the Best States for Environmental Protection in 2025.

The U.S. produces over 292 million tons of waste per year, or over 4.9 pounds per person per day, according to the latest data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Additionally, over 50% of Americans worry a great deal about pollution of water sources and the contamination of soil and water by toxic waste. Pollution and waste are issues across the U.S., but some states work harder than others to limit their impact.

To highlight states that understand nature’s importance and the ones that need to improve, SmileHub compared the 50 states across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of environmental charities per capita to industrial toxins per square mile of land area to climate change vulnerability.

Best States		Worst States
1. California		41. Tennessee
2. Washington		42. Iowa
3. New York		43. Kansas
4. Vermont		44. Wyoming
5. Maryland		45. Kentucky
6. Hawaii		46. North Dakota
7. Massachusetts		47. Alabama
8. New Jersey		48. Mississippi
9. Oregon		49. West Virginia
10. Virginia		50. Louisiana

*Arizona landed 23rd

Key Stats

• California has the highest number of environmental protection charities per capita – 9.9 times higher than in Oklahoma, which has the lowest number.
• New York has the highest share of workers that use green transportation – 3 times higher than in Mississippi, which has the lowest share.
• South Dakota has the highest share of renewable energy consumption – 18.3 times higher than Delaware, which has the lowest share.
• Hawaii is one of the states with the highest soil quality – 27 times higher than New Mexico, which has the lowest soil quality.

JANA'S NOTE: Despite having an abundance of sun, we didn't even place on highest share of renewable energy consumption! What is keeping us from that? 

The majority at our state legislature pushes through bad bills that prohibit the advancement of clean energy in favor of fossil fuels.  They have also sponsored several bills that prohibit water conservation and even allowed landowners to dump toxins in dry washes on their property. 

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit: 
https://smilehub.org/blog/best-states-for-environmental-protection/123