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Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06) received a letter from the University of Michigan in response to the December 11th letter she sent demanding they hold an urgent community forum in Ypsilanti Township to address questions about the Ypsilanti Data Center.

As data centers continue to move into communities across Michigan, including the 6th congressional district, Dingell will continue to insist that communities have a say about what is being built in their backyards. She will fight to ensure promises made to communities are upheld, including strong guarantees in these projects that the cost of utilities and water are not passed onto residential ratepayers, local water sources are protected, the environment is not harmed, and that potential noise issues are dealt with. These processes must be entirely transparent, and the concerns of the communities must be addressed and included in decision-making.

In the letter University of Michigan President Domenico Grasso writes:

“Thank you for your December 11 letter. The University of Michigan appreciates your engagement on behalf of your constituents, and I value your partnership as we work to address concerns and communicate clearly about the status of our high-performance computing facility project in partnership with the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”

Excerpts from the letter:

“From the outset, the university has committed to being good neighbors and community citizens and following a careful, transparent, and data-driven process. As we have shared previously, the project remains in the due diligence stage, and no final site selection has been made. We recognize that the absence of definitive technical details has contributed to community uncertainty, and as our evaluations proceed, we are committed to sharing accurate information as soon as it becomes available.”

“More broadly, we share your view that communities deserve clear, timely and accessible information. The issues you outlined–environmental impacts, first responder capacity, ratepayer impacts and the distinction between commercial data centers and federally supported research facilities–are important and deserve detailed explanation.”

"You are correct that communities across Southeast Michigan are facing uncertainty as data center related projects accelerate across the state. This broader context underscores the need for deliberative, evidence-based decision-making. While this project differs significantly from commercial data centers, we recognize that this distinction has not always been clear in public dialogue. We are committed to improving public understanding of this effort and its purpose.”

View the full text of the letter here.