🚨CALL TO ACTION🚨: CLEAN WATER OVER CORPORATE PROMISES – Demand Equinix Data Center EPD Permit Hearing!
A massive data center called the Equinix AT10x facility is being built in the City of Hampton in Henry County.
Equinix has applied for a federal water discharge permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit that would allow them to release industrial cooling water into Clear Creek, which flows into the Flint River.
Key concerns raised:
- The data center could use 3.5 million gallons of drinking water per day.
- About 90% of that water evaporates into the air, meaning huge water loss during droughts.
- The remaining water would be discharged into Clear Creek, a small and sensitive stream.
⚠️The discharge could contain high levels of salts, minerals, and chemicals from the cooling system.⚠️
Because Clear Creek is a very small stream, the discharge could make up most of the water in the creek during low-flow periods, which could harm fish and wildlife and degrade water quality downstream.
Residents are asking the Georgia Environmental Protection Division to hold a public hearing before issuing the permit.
The public has until March 29, 2026, to submit comments requesting a hearing.
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What to Say in Comments
Comments to EPD should include a statement something like what is below.
Comments need to be permit/project specific for this to be effective, not a general rant against data centers
I/we __________________ object to the issuance of NPDES permit GA0050350 for the Equinix AT10x Data Center located in Hampton, Henry County, GA. Independent review of the permit application indicates the discharge of 350,000 gallons per day of salt brine into Clear Creek poses adverse unacceptable human and environmental impacts. The permit is deficient and does not address the specific pollutants generated by the Data Center and their affects on Clear Creek and the Flint River. I compel the Director of EPD to deny the permit as proposed and to hold a public hearing regarding the Equinix AT10x Data Center in Henry County, GA.<Insert a personal story as to why you love the area – or how you enjoy the nature (esp the water) of the area.><ask a question such as: What is the water plan during a drought? What is the testing plan for the discharge? How will testing and monitoring results be reported to the public? Will this impact ground water? Will this impact community water supply?>
How to comment
Persons wishing to comment upon or object to the proposed determinations are invited to submit same in writing to the EPD address below, or via e-mail at EPDcomments@dnr.ga.gov, no later than thirty (30) days after this notification (due March 29, 2026). If you choose to e-mail your comments, please be sure to include the words “NPDES permit issuance – Equinix, Inc. – AT10x (Henry County)” in the subject line to ensure that your comments will be forwarded to the correct staff.
Georgia Environmental Protection Division
Wastewater Regulatory Program
2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Suite 1470A East
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
ATTN: Industrial Permitting Unit Manager