TAARA PARTICIPATES IN GROWING COALITION TO RESIST DATA CENTERS

Currently there is an onslaught of environmental threats to Green Country with multiple data center proposals, a proposed aluminum smelter, a proposed state office of nuclear energy, and crumbling of environmental regulations. But the good news is that residents are pushing back, forming coalitions, and getting results.  

On March 30th, Beale Infrastructure announced it was canceling its Project Atlas, a hyperscale data center in Coweta after stiff local opposition. Atmoss LLC also withdrew phase 2 of Project Anthem, a proposed hyperscale data center for East Tulsa, just as the Tulsa City Council unanimously passed a nine month moratorium on approving any additional data centers to give the council time to update city zoning codes to be more protective to Tulsa residents. Phase 2 of Project Anthem would have added an additional 375 acres to the already approved Phase 1, doubling its size. Data centers are fast becoming one of the largest consumers of water for municipalities across the nation. 

March 25, 2026, Tulsa City Hall, Data Center Moratorium Vote - Photo from Kelly Boegemann

On April 1, 2026, a growing coalition of local environmental advocates took action together when 12 groups signed on to a letter initiated by TAARA Board Member Kelsey Royce and delivered it to the Tulsa Planning Commission to express concern about a conflict of interest between a city appointee Lou Reynolds and Project Anthem. 

The letter states, “The undersigned hereby call upon the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission to suspend any and all actions related to future iterations of Project Anthem due to the potential for pecuniary gain from public funds for private benefit.” The letter went on to state, “And, when considering data center projects at large, TMAPC has a special responsibility to act with integrity by honoring the rights of communities to flourish where they are without threat of displacement, erasure, and exposure to pollutants. The groups that signed on include Honor the Earth, L.E.A.D. Agency, Tulsa Area Arkansas River Advocates (TAARA), A2 Coalition, Stop Data Colonialism, Carrie Dickerson Foundation, Green Country Guardians, Rogers County OK Land Heritage, Green Country Watchdogs, Arkansas River Rights Coalition, Sierra Club Oklahoma Chapter, and Say No to Coweta Data Center. 

In addition, TAARA recognizes the bold leadership of tribal nations in the region leading the fight to protect our waters and oppose data center development. The Muskogee-Creek National Council voted against a massive AI data center proposed for Okmulgee County in November 2025 citing concerns of water consumption. This was the direct result of Muskogee Nation citizen activists Jordan Harmon and Mackenzie Roberts who organized town halls to raise awareness about the issue. The two were recently featured in the March 2026 Time Magazine issue titled “People vs. AI.” 

Soon after, in February 2026, the Cherokee Nation announced the establishment of a task force to study the impact of data centers, and most recently the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma voted unanimously for a moratorium on AI and hyperscale data center development on their lands, making them one of the first nations to do so. Honor the Earth and the Indigenous Environmental Network, two indigenous-led environmental nonprofits have laid a powerful foundation for resources to fight data centers. Visit Honor the Earth website to find excellent resources like the No Data Center Toolkit, and the Data Center Tracker to learn more. Data centers are still proposed in Sand Springs, Sperry, Tulsa, and Claremore at this time.