AOC presses EPA over Morgan County drinking water concerns tied to Georgia data center development
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used a congressional hearing last week to spotlight concerns from Morgan County, Georgia residents who say their drinking water has been negatively impacted by nearby data center construction.
During a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Ocasio-Cortez questioned EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Jessica Kramer about what she described as failures to protect clean water access in rural communities facing rapid industrial development.
The exchange centered on complaints from residents living near the Stanton Springs industrial area in Morgan County, roughly 60 miles east of Atlanta, where a large Meta data center campus has been under development for years.
Ocasio-Cortez held up jars of discolored water during the hearing and said some families have resorted to shipping water to their homes for cooking and bathing.
"This is not just inconvenience," the congresswoman argued during the hearing. "This is a basic public health issue."
The concerns have gained national attention after Ocasio-Cortez appeared in a recent documentary short produced by More Perfect Union featuring conservative Morgan County residents who say their water quality changed after nearby construction intensified.
Residents interviewed in the documentary described brown or sediment-filled tap water and voiced fears about groundwater contamination.
Meta has denied the claims.
In a statement referenced in the documentary, the company said it commissioned an independent groundwater study that found the data center's construction and operations "had no impact" on nearby residents' water supply. The company also said construction and operational water usage came from local utility systems rather than groundwater sources.
The EPA hearing arrives as Georgia continues to experience explosive growth in data center development, especially across metro Atlanta and surrounding counties. The projects have increasingly raised questions about water usage, electrical demand and environmental oversight.
Morgan County, which overwhelmingly supported President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, has become an unlikely flashpoint in the broader national debate over Big Tech infrastructure and rural environmental protections.
Ocasio-Cortez suggested during the hearing that the issue could warrant broader congressional scrutiny, arguing that communities nationwide may face similar concerns as artificial intelligence and cloud computing fuel rapid data center expansion.
CBS News Atlanta has reached out to the EPA, Morgan County officials and Meta for additional comment regarding the concerns raised during the hearing and whether any state or federal investigations are ongoing.
We will be sure to provide an update as we hear back.