Data centers have their critics, as you have seen lately.

Now, Kentucky's congressional and state House Democrats are joining the naysayers and vowing to push new data center regulations.

Our June Leffler attended a data center town hall last night in Louisville and filed this report.

I am here because I am absolutely opposed to the building of hyperscale data centers in Louisville and in Kentucky.

Congressman Morgan McGarvey doubts the Republican controlled House will regulate data centers.

He did send a letter to LG Andy and COO this week asking for specifics on a plan data center in southwest Louisville, including if powering the data center will take priority.

Overpowering homes during peak seasons.

I am sick and tired.

I am fine with out-of-state corporations coming into our state, our home, our community, and using our resources, wasting and exploiting our people for their gain.

This isn't the first time we've seen this in Kentucky.

We have a very strong corollary with what's going on right now to what happened with the coal industry in Kentucky.

We had an out-of-state companies come in.

What did they do?

They blew up our mountains.

They contaminated our drinking water.

They ravaged our resources.

They exploited our people.

They still haven't fully paid for the health and safety of our miners.

The state senator, an experienced union leader, says he can go toe to toe with any corporation running a data center.

I feel that it's 1940.

Here comes the rubber chemical factory.

Here they come.

But it's 2026, and we're far enough now to get ahead of.

And we got to get ahead of it now.

If they're coming to our city, if we cannot stop them coming to our city, then they need to produce their own power.

Some of your questions are about the water treatment, because they're going to pull that water there, right there at the river.

They're going to pull that water out.

If they build this, we have to force them to trap all liquids coming off, whether it's rainwater, whether it's coming back out of their circular cooling towers, then it has to be tested and regulated before it goes back to the river or goes back into our drinking water.

The town hall was full of Louisville staunchest data center opponents, some who have already been organizing on this front.

Policymakers ask their constituents to collaborate.

When the community is organized, it makes elected officials pay attention.

And so I know that it's a lot to put on to community.

Because a lot of folks are barely making it.

A lot of folks have, don't have the time.

They don't have the money, resources to go to these meetings and pay attention.

And so I thank you all for being engaged, and helping spread that word.

But it does take all of us in order to make sure that our communities have, the things that they need.

Ideas ranged from transparency to ratepayer and environmental protections.

Kentucky Democrats say this is an early step in preparing legislation for next year's legislative session for Kentucky edition.

I'm June Leffler.

Thank you.

Joan.

The city of Louisville is considering data center regulations right now.

The public comment period for that closes Friday.