STAMP project faces new legal challenge 

The Tonawanda Seneca Nation and the Sierra Club have filed suit in state Supreme Court, challenging two resolutions approved by the Genesee County Economic Development Center for the development of a $6.3 billion data center at the Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park in the town of Alabama.

The lawsuit, filed July 1, claims that the GCEDC violated both the procedural and substantive requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act when it authorized nearly $472 million in public subsidies for Texas-based Stream U.S. Data Centers LLC to construct the data center. The lawsuit also alleges that GCEDC ended the environmental review process without project specifics or a site plan review. The defendants named in the lawsuit are GCEDC, Stream U.S. Data Centers and the town of Alabama. 

If built, the data center would occupy around 900,000 square feet. The plaintiffs contend it would consume 250 megawatts of electricity annually, burn 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year, and draw 10,000 gallons of water daily. The proposed facility would be constructed around half a mile from the Tonawanda Seneca Nation’s Reservation Territory. 

The concept for the industrial park was first proposed in the early 2000s—developers claimed that STAMP would create hundreds of jobs. Developers attempted to build an industrial wastewater pipeline through the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, but the project was halted after multiple incidents of drilling fluid spillage and road damage. 

On Nov. 29, 2023, the Tonawanda Seneca Nation filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming that the right-of-way permit that the agency issued for the industrial pipeline to be built violated the laws that protect the refuge. Since STAMP’s inception, members of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, a federally recognized Indigenous group and a member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and their allies have been vocal about their concerns related to the STAMP project. The site is surrounded by the Tonawanda Seneca Nation, Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area, and John White Wildlife Management Area. 

The current litigation against GCEDC argues that the agency did not coordinate its environmental review with the town of Alabama’s site plan process, and that the designs for the center were conceptual and not yet finalized, violating the Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement under the State Environmental Quality Review Act that was prepared for the project. 

“In each application for a data center, key details were either not disclosed or subject to change, all technical studies were initial or preliminary, and facility and site plans were strictly conceptual,” the suit states. 

In a brief written statement, GDEDC president Mark Masse said, “The GCEDC is aware of the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and Sierra Club and are currently reviewing the filing with our legal counsel. We strongly believe that the GCEDC adhered to State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) requirements. As this matter is in litigation, we will have no further comment at this time.”

When it announced approval of the final resolution in March, GCEDC said the project would create 122 jobs with estimated annual salaries between $80,000 and $120,000, and generate $218.4 million in local revenues over 20 years. In exchange for its $6.3 billion investment, Stream U.S. Data Centers would receive a sales tax exemption estimated at $462.5 million and a $9 million mortgage tax exemption. The incentives translate to roughly $3.8 million per job created.

The lawsuit seeks to overturn GCEDC’s decisions and force it to implement a new environmental review that aligns with SEQRA’s requirements. The suit argues that the GCEDC intentionally chose to bypass the required SEQRA environmental safeguards and review processes to expedite approval for the STAMP data center. 

As part of their legal action, the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and the Sierra Club requested a temporary restraining order to stop any progress on the data center while the case is still pending. Stream U.S. Data Centers has not signed a purchase and sale agreement for the property, and the Alabama Planning Board has not conducted its site review.

In a joint statement from the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and Sierra Club, Chief Kenith Dale Jonathan said, “Our Reservation is protected by treaty, and we have a responsibility to safeguard the land, water, plants, and animals for future generations. If our Territory is harmed, we have nowhere else to go.”

The 1,263-acre STAMP site is being developed in the middle of a rural farming region that is surrounded by publicly protected lands. Currently, the only active construction at the park is a facility for Edwards Vacuum. 

Alefiya Presswala is a student at Ithaca College and a member of the Oasis Project’s second cohort. Beacon contributing writer Jacob Schermerhorn created the data visualization for this article.

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