JESUS EDUARDO ESCOBAR, District 1
(442) 265-1031
jesusescobar@co.imperial.ca.us
MARTHA CARDENAS-SINGH, District 2
(442) 265-1032
marthasingh@co.imperial.ca.us
PEGGY PRICE, District 3
(442) 265-1033
peggyprice@co.imperial.ca.us
RYAN E. KELLEY, District 4
(442) 265-1035
ryankelley@co.imperial.ca.us
JOHN HAWK, District 5
(442) 265-1034
johnhawk@co.imperial.ca.us
CYNTHIA MEDINA, Clerk of the Board
cynthiamedina@co.imperial.ca.us
RE: IMPERIAL VALLEY DATA CENTER
https://imperial.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=2976
Dear Imperial County Board Of Supervisors,
My name is Ismael Gonzalez. I am writing to express my opposition to the Imperial Data Center under consideration during your March 26 Special Meeting. Please VOTE NO or REJECT this data center for the sake and well-being of your constituents and your environment.
I believe the proposed Imperial Data Center is an irresponsible, industrial development that goes against state environmental protections and poses a direct threat to the public health of your Imperial Valley communities. I want to remind you, Imperial County has the highest asthma-related emergency room and hospitalization rates in the state, and research shows that nearly 1 in 4 children living in your jurisdiction suffer from asthma.
Data centers are known to be energy and water-intensive, and threaten to increase consumer prices, as they have done in many other parts of the country. Data centers often rely on diesel backup generators, which can contribute to air pollution. This project will require enormous increases in resource demands at full build out that will jeopardize the health of your constituents and your surrounding environment.
According to the developer's own estimates, this project will only garner 100 permanent jobs at completion. Those jobs are themselves at risk from being automated by artificial intelligence in the future from what leading organizations are reporting. This development is not worth the inequities and hazards for such a small return to the community.
Additionally, it is very concerning that the agenda for this special meeting was only post at 6pm today with no mention of time for public comment.
To address these concerns, I request that the County:
1. Place a continuance for transparency and accountability, especially with regards to the Brown Act.
2. Review the environmental impacts of this project. Please deny and reject this project due it hazardous nature and its lack of benefits to your community.
The residents of this county should not be asked to live with the environmental and health impacts in exchange for a project that benefits corporations and the developers rather the stakeholders who livelihoods lie at the heart of your jurisdiction. I urge the county to make sure this plan includes enforceable safeguards and provide the public with oversight before moving forward with consequences that residents might have to live with for decades to come.
Thank you,
Ismael Gonzalez (he/him/they/them)
Vice-Chair, Box Springs Group
Sierra Club | San Gorgonio Chapter