University Claims Withholding Water From Nuclear Weapons Data Center Is ‘Unlawfully Discriminatory’ to Data Centers
The University of Michigan has sent a legal threat over a yearlong pause that would prevent water hookup to a proposed nuclear weapons research and AI data center. Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Michigan are looking to build a $1.2 billion, 220,000 square foot data center in Ypsilanti Township. On April 22, the Ypsilanti Community Utility Authority (YCUA) passed a 365-day moratorium on the delivery of water to hyperscale data centers in the area while it conducted environmental sustainability and long-term water use studies.
The University hand-delivered and emailed a legal threat to the YCUA on April 21, the day before it was to vote on the proposed water moratorium. According to a copy of the letter obtained by 404 Media, the university feels the moratorium is “unlawfully discriminatory” against data centers and promised to pursue “all rights and claims for relief” if its demands weren’t met.
Key Takeaways
- The University of Michigan has sent a legal threat over a yearlong pause preventing water hookup to a proposed nuclear weapons research and AI data center in Ypsilanti Township.
- The Ypsilanti Community Utility Authority (YCUA) passed a 365-day moratorium on the delivery of water to hyperscale data centers in the area while conducting environmental sustainability and long-term water use studies.
- The University argues that the moratorium is “unlawfully discriminatory” against data centers, citing various legal precedents and claiming there are no documented utility or public health needs for such a pause.
- Ypsilanti Township has been fighting the proposed data center for over a year due to its connection to America’s nuclear weapons industry and local opposition often linked with noise pollution, water quality issues, and increased utility bills for neighbors.
Luther Blackburn, YCUA’s executive director, confirmed that he had received a legal communication from the university but did not comment on potential or pending litigation. He stated that YCUA staff are working on a Request for Proposal to complete the investigations and studies outlined in the moratorium and believes it has acted lawfully and in accordance with industry best practices.
The University argued, citing various legal precedents, that the courts will not be on Ypsilanti’s side and claimed that the area has plenty of water. It quoted Blackburn as saying he had confirmed in 2025 that the data center’s proposed use of 200,000 gallons a day were within YCUA’s 8-10 million gallon per day capacity and that adding the data center would help mitigate overall costs by improving efficiency and cost distribution.
Sean Knapp, the YCUA’s director of service operations, previously stated that the YCUA is operating below capacity at the moment. Adding the data center as a customer would help mitigate overall costs by improving efficiency and cost distribution, according to Blackburn’s letter.
The University claimed the moratorium discriminated against data centers, arguing it was “pretextual” and unlawfully discriminatory because it singles out “data centers” by label rather than by utility impact. It is discriminatory to permit other users to connect and consume currently available capacity while the utility conducts undefined studies to determine whether there is sufficient capacity for the University’s proposed facility.
The letter also stated that the University requested the YCUA not to pass a moratorium, promising to “pursue” the matter. The University reserved the right to pursue all rights and claims for necessary relief if these legal requirements were not followed by YCUA.
Originally published at 404media.co. Curated by AI Maestro.
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