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Data Center Violations (and how they're being handled)

opalanie777
Oct 3
16 min read


  • DHS Program Analyzes Americans' Finances to Flag Drivers for Traffic Stops: Adam Gramegna Published Sep 9, 2026, 12:28 PM EDT. UPDATED 11:50 a.m. ET, 9/10/26: This story was updated with remarks from CBP.


The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is allegedly analyzing Americans' financial data to conduct traffic stops of drivers, some of whom were never flagged of committing any crimes. DHS is allegedly conducting operations through a U.S. Border Patrol program that feeds intelligence to local police who then pull drivers over, according to an investigation by 404 Media, a news technology outlet.


The units are reportedly called Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams, or PITT, revealing the program's name for the first time. They are allegedly run by Border Patrol, part of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within the DHS framework, according to the report.

Military.com reached out to DHS and CBP with questions about the program, including what financial data the teams review, whether the agency seeks a warrant before accessing Americans' financial records, whether a person must be suspected of a specific crime before a stop, and whether the financial data of service members, veterans or their families can be swept into the analyses.


“The U.S. Border Patrol utilizes intelligence-informed analysis to enhance national security, optimize resource allocation, and identify threats to public safety," a CBP spokesperson told Military.com. "A key component of this effort is the Predictive Intelligence Targeting Team (PITT) within the Border Patrol, which monitors indicators of potential smuggling and other criminal activity. Utilization of predictive intelligence is not unique to the Border Patrol; it’s used by other law enforcement organizations, too.


The spokesperson added that PITT "operates in strict accordance with all applicable laws, privacy protections, and oversight mandates." It also addressed reports such as those from 404, saying that PITT’s intelligence-led functions are focused on securing the border and identifying high-risk threats. "For operational security, we do not disclose specific analytical methods, targeting criteria, or investigative techniques," they added. "Public release of law enforcement sensitive information could compromise ongoing operations, jeopardize investigations, and create significant safety risks for our agents and the public.” Two Sectors Investigated: 404 identified one team in the Spokane Sector in Washington, which patrols the border with Canada, and another in the Laredo Sector in Texas, along the border with Mexico. The teams review financial records and other data, and then pass leads to local law enforcement. Border Patrol agent reads the Miranda rights to a Mexican national arrested for transporting drugs.


The program's stated purpose is to identify people who may have already committed crimes, according to 404 Media. But the outlet reported finding no instances of that happening. Instead, it reported that the program appears to generate pretexts for police to stop and search people, raising questions about whether the stops meet the legal standard of probable cause.


One Stop Exposed the Program. The program reportedly surfaced through the case of Kyle Olson, who was driving across Montana when he was pulled over. A Border Patrol targeting analyst named Matthew Phelps had flagged what a Homeland Security document described as "financial activity patterns commonly associated with illicit narcotics activity" and relayed it to the Montana Highway Patrol, the outlet reported. Troopers stopped Olson, citing that his license plate was obstructed. He was charged with driving under the influence and later with possession with intent to distribute after marijuana was found in his vehicle. The reason for the stop emerged during the discovery phase of his case, when Olson received a DHS document explaining that Border Patrol instigated it. He shared that document with 404 Media, which is how the program and subsequent reporting came to light.


What the Government Has Said. A CBP spokesperson told 404 Media that "U.S. Border Patrol uses intelligence-informed analysis and planning to support national security operations, allocate resources, and help identify potential threats and bad actors to public safety." The agency declined to tell the outlet what financial activity it monitors or whether it had obtained a warrant before analyzing Olson's records.


Civil liberties advocates have raised alarms. Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the Security and Surveillance Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, told 404 Media that "genuine probable cause cannot be synthetically generated," adding that Border Patrol appeared to be using "parallel construction" to conceal the real reason for its stops. Military.com reported last month that DHS had collected the DNA of some 3.3 million people, including U.S. citizens, for an FBI database. Critics say this program could enable broad genetic policing. The findings build on a broader pattern of federal data collection that has drawn scrutiny. A 2025 Associated Press investigation found Border Patrol using automatic license plate readers as part of the same predictive-policing effort.


  • Data Center Leaks 3 Million Gallons as Oklahoma Faces Severe Drought (Newsweek - Amanda Greenwood)


A data center linked to AI and bitcoin mining operations in El Reno, Oklahoma, lost more than 3 million gallons of water after a private water line failed, according to local news reports, raising fresh concerns about water-intensive data centers amid one of the worst droughts the state has seen since 2022. The leak, which city officials traced to a privately owned fire hydrant connected to a water line on the property, caused a dramatic drop in local water pressure and disrupted services across the community. El Reno officials said residents and businesses experienced low water pressure, while schools, government offices and other facilities were forced to close temporarily as crews worked to stabilize the system.


According to Canadian County property records, cited by local outlet KOCO 5 News, the site is owned by Athlon BT, a company that develops mobile data centers designed for AI storage and bitcoin mining. The facilities use containerized systems equipped with air- and water-cooling technology. Newsweek has contacted Athlon BT for comment via email.


How the 3 Million Gallon Leak Occurred: El Reno officials said a damaged private water line connected to a fire hydrant on the property leaked more than 3 million gallons before the source was identified and isolated. The loss was significant enough to strain the city's water system and force emergency conservation measures. Residents, however, were reassured that they would not bear the financial burden. "The citizens of the City of El Reno can be assured that none of the costs related to the water leak at the property will be passed along to our citizens," interim City Manager Ken Brown said in a statement, adding that the city's legal team was on standby, "preparing to take the necessary legal actions to recoup all costs and expenses related to the water leak from the property owner." Newsweek has contacted Brown's office for comment via email.


According to a statement the city released, construction began on the facility after a building permit was issued in 2021. However, El Reno issued a stop-work order in June 2023 after identifying multiple fire and life-safety code violations and permit issues. Brown said city officials believe the facility may have continued construction and potentially begun operating despite lacking a certificate of occupancy, though he noted that claim remained under investigation. Following the leak, the city condemned the property, arguing that the water line failure and other conditions presented "a hazard to the health, safety, and welfare of the community." "As this incident has demonstrated, failure to follow the City's directives and its Code of Ordinances can have catastrophic consequences," Brown said.


Why the Water Leak Matters During a Drought: The incident comes as drought conditions worsen across Oklahoma. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows 100 percent of Oklahoma experiencing drought conditions, with large portions of the state categorized as seeing severe, extreme or exceptional drought. A U.S Drought Monitor map, released on August 27, shows areas in Oklahoma experiencing drought conditions. Data released on August 27 showed substantial areas of western and central Oklahoma falling into the two most serious drought categories. The Oklahoma Water Resources Bulletin reported that the state received 21 percent of normal rainfall during the previous 30-day period, making August among the driest on record in several regions. State Climatologist Gary McManus recently described Oklahoma as "ground-zero for flash drought," noting that parts of the state were experiencing some of the hottest and driest conditions in recorded history. Extreme drought can lead to shrinking reservoirs, declining stock ponds, increased wildfire risk, reduced crop yields and water shortages for livestock producers, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. In exceptional drought conditions, producers may be forced to haul water and liquidate herds because of limited supplies.


How Much Water Is 3 Million Gallons? Three million gallons is enough water to fill roughly four and a half Olympic-size swimming pools. Based on average U.S. household water use estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency, it's also comparable to the amount of water consumed by thousands of households over the course of a month.


Are Officials Asking Residents To Conserve Water? While Oklahoma hadn't issued a statewide mandatory water-use reduction order at the time of reporting, multiple communities across the Oklahoma City metropolitan area have tightened conservation measures because of the drought. In August, Edmond moved to Stage 2 water conservation restrictions, limiting lawn watering to two days per week. Deer Creek imposed a mandatory ban on irrigation systems, while Oklahoma City officials urged residents to carefully manage water use and comply with conservation schedules. "We have a reliable water supply and a resilient system, but we can't take it for granted," Oklahoma City Utilities Director Chris Browning said.


What Happens Next: The water leak has intensified scrutiny of data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities, which have faced growing questions nationwide over their electricity consumption and water demands. For communities like El Reno, the timing couldn't be worse. As drought conditions persist across Oklahoma, the loss of more than 3 million gallons of treated water serves as a sharp reminder of how localized infrastructure failures can strain resources across an entire community.



  • Explained: Why a deadly virus at Mark Zuckerberg’s $800M AI data centre triggered a water crackdown META (Financial Express July 9, 2026): A massive AI data centre backed by Mark Zuckerberg has come under fire in Wyoming after a rare bacterium was detected in industrial wastewater linked to the construction site.


The incident was reported at Meta’s Project Cosmo, an 800,000-square-foot (74,322.4-square-metre) AI data centre under construction in Cheyenne’s High Plains Business Park. City officials say contaminated wastewater generated during construction entered Cheyenne’s sewer system, leading authorities to investigate the source.

Rare deadly bacterium found during routine testing


The issue came to light in February when routine wastewater testing detected Cupriavidus gilardii, a naturally occurring bacterium, in water flowing into the city’s sanitary sewer system. Officials traced the discharge to Goat Systems LLC, a contractor working on Zuckerberg’s Meta data centre.


According to authorities, the wastewater had been used during a “fill and flush” process to clean the site’s closed-loop cooling system before it became operational.


Following the discovery, the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities permanently revoked the contractor’s permission to discharge wastewater into the city’s treatment facilities.

The contamination also forced two water reclamation plants offline while crews began an extensive cleaning process expected to take several months.


Unlike drinking water facilities, Cheyenne’s reclaimed water is treated and reused to irrigate parks, golf courses and other public green spaces. Officials said this raised additional concerns because spraying reclaimed water could potentially aerosolise contaminants.


While authorities have repeatedly confirmed that residents’ drinking water remained safe throughout the incident, the discovery has intensified scrutiny of the environmental footprint of Zuckerberg’s rapidly expanding AI infrastructure as Meta continues to invest heavily in large-scale data centres.



  • NAACP Sues xAI Colossus 2: 27 Illegal Turbines [2026]


xAI Colussus (Tech Insider May 14, 2026): On April 14, 2026, the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP and a coalition of environmental groups filed a Clean Air Act lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging the company illegally operates 27 unpermitted methane gas turbines at its Colossus 2 data center in Southaven, Mississippi – a roughly 200-megawatt makeshift power plant feeding Grok’s training cluster without a single federal air permit.


The complaint, brought by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Earthjustice on behalf of the NAACP, transforms a year-long environmental-justice dispute over South Memphis air quality into the first major federal test of how the AI industry’s compute hunger collides with the Clean Air Act’s 1970-vintage permitting regime.


The filing lands at a brutal inflection point for xAI Colossus. Just two miles north of the new turbines, xAI’s original Colossus 1 facility – the 100,000-H100 supercomputer that trained Grok 3 and Grok 4 – has been the subject of community complaints since mid-2024. Colossus 2, which xAI executives have publicly called a stepping stone toward a million-GPU training cluster, accelerated the timeline. Plaintiffs now say the company added roughly a dozen more trailer-mounted turbines in the first quarter of 2026 alone, even as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled in January 2026 that such “mobile” units are in fact stationary sources requiring federal Title V permits. The lawsuit seeks an injunction, civil penalties, and a court order forcing xAI to install modern emission controls or shut the units down.


The legal theory rests on three pillars. First, that the 35 to 46 General Electric and Solar Turbines units currently humming behind chain-link fencing at the Southaven site qualify as a “major stationary source” under §111 and §165 of the Clean Air Act because they have been permanently fixed in place for more than 12 months. Second, that xAI’s reliance on Mississippi’s “portable equipment” exemption – designed for construction-site generators – is a sham, since the trailers have been welded to concrete pads, hardwired into the data center’s switchgear, and connected to a permanent natural-gas trunk line. Third, that emissions already exceed federal Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) thresholds of 250 tons per year for any single regulated pollutant.


“What xAI has built in Southaven is not a temporary backup,” said Amanda Garcia, senior attorney at SELC, in a press briefing on April 14. “It is a 420-megawatt fossil-fueled power station hiding behind a parking-brake exemption written for road graders. The Clean Air Act does not have an Elon Musk exception.”



  • Vineland, NJ Data Center Triggers Noise Complaints and Aquifer Fears


DataOne (SNJ April 24, 2026): A massive AI data center in South Jersey is drawing a wave of noise complaints, environmental concerns, and growing anger over a process that left many nearby residents entirely out of the loop. The DataOne facility at the corner of Lincoln and Sheridan avenues spans 2.6 million square feet, is backed by a multibillion-dollar AI deal tied to Microsoft, and is expected to eventually draw as much as 300 megawatts of power.


For residents living near the site, the most immediate consequence has been noise. Scott Montgomery, a Vineland resident, said the hum is felt as much as heard. “You can’t sleep. You can’t fall asleep right away. It wakes you up,” he said. “We like to sleep or be here with windows open because it got nice out. It was a brutal winter. And you could just feel it pulsating through the house.” Theresa Lewis, who lives within eyesight of the data center, described the sound as a low, unbroken drone, like a plane that never moves on. Several residents said that they have lived in Vineland for years and only began hearing the noise recently.


The approval process itself has drawn criticism. Because the property sits in an Urban Enterprise Zone, residents nearby were not legally required to be notified before the project received approval, and Pinelands Alliance pointed out that many locals only discovered the facility after construction was already underway. DataOne Vineland CEO Charles Antoine Beyney addressed community concerns at a Vineland town hall in late January, which Pinelands Alliance described as “too late.”


At that town hall, Beyney said that after an initial draw of millions of gallons from the city’s municipal water supply to start the system, the center would generate its own water by pulling moisture from the atmosphere through exhaust condensation. Skeptics have countered that during drought or extreme heat, the system would still place strain on regional water resources.


That concern carries added weight because the facility sits directly above the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, which provides drinking water to approximately one million people, supports agriculture, and sustains the region’s ecosystems. The site is also approximately 200 feet from sensitive wetlands near Manantico Creek. Sierra Club New Jersey argued that the gas engines, beyond the noise they produce, will generate new air pollution. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection confirmed it has not received any permit applications for water use or water allocation related to the facility, and that a draft air permit application is currently under review. Critics also reacted to the five-year property tax exemption developers received. The DataOne PILOT deal (payment in lieu of taxes) was approved at a Vineland City Council meeting in February, as reported by Vineland Voice, at the same session that granted a similar deal to a new golf course owned by pro baseball player and Vineland native Mike Trout. PILOT agreements are a common tool used by New Jersey municipalities to attract development.


The subsidy question has a parallel playing out near the state border. A JPMorgan data center expansion in Orangeburg received $77 million in tax breaks while committing to create just one permanent job, a ratio the New York Focus described as potentially the largest subsidy-to-jobs ratio in the country. The deal came primarily in the form of sales tax exemptions, with $40 million benefiting the state directly and the remainder going to localities. The pre-buildout project had already received $35 million in prior tax advantages and currently employs 25 permanent on-site workers.



  • Tennessee grandmother jailed after AI facial recognition error links her to fraud


A Tennessee grandmother says she is trying to rebuild her life after an incident of mistaken identity by an artificial intelligence (AI) facial recognition system tied her to a North Dakota bank fraud investigation.


Angela Lipps, 50, spent nearly six months in jail after Fargo police identified her as a suspect in an organized bank fraud case using facial recognition software, according to south-east North Dakota news outlet InForum. Lipps told the outlet she had never been to North Dakota and did not commit the crimes. Lipps, a mother of three and grandmother of five, said she has lived most of her life in north-central Tennessee. She had never been on an airplane until authorities flew her to North Dakota last year to face charges.

In July, US marshals arrested Lipps at her Tennessee home while she was babysitting four children. She said she was taken away at gunpoint and booked into a county jail as a fugitive from justice from North Dakota. “I’ve never been to North Dakota, I don’t know anyone from North Dakota,” Lipps told WDAY News. She remained in a Tennessee jail for nearly four months without bail while awaiting extradition. She was charged with four counts of unauthorized use of personal identifying information and four counts of theft.

According to Fargo police records obtained by WDAY News, detectives investigating bank fraud cases in April and May 2025 reviewed surveillance video of a woman using a fake US army military ID to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars.


The officers allegedly used facial recognition software to identify the suspect as Lipps. A detective reportedly wrote in court documents that Lipps appeared to match the suspect based on facial features, body type and hairstyle. Lipps told WDAY News that no one from the Fargo police department contacted her before the arrest. Authorities in North Dakota did not transport Lipps from Tennessee until the end of October, 108 days after her arrest, according to InForum. She appeared in a North Dakota courtroom the next day.

Her attorney, Jay Greenwood, told the outlet: “If the only thing you have is facial recognition, I might want to dig a little deeper.”


Lipps was later released on Christmas Eve after Greenwood obtained her bank records and presented them to investigators. The records showed Lipps was more than 1,200 miles away in Tennessee at the time investigators said the fraud occurred in Fargo. But Lipps said Fargo police did not pay for her trip home, leaving her stranded. Local defense attorneys helped cover a hotel room and food on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and a local non-profit, the F5 Project, was able to help her return to Tennessee, InForum reported. Lipps is now back home but says the experience has had lasting consequences. While jailed and unable to pay bills, Lipps lost her home, her car and her dog, she said. She also told WDAY News no one from the Fargo police department had apologized.


This is far from the first case of an AI error flagging the wrong suspect. In October, an AI system apparently mistook a Baltimore high school student’s bag of Doritos for a firearm and called local police to tell them the pupil was armed. Taki Allen was sitting with friends outside the Kenwood high school in Baltimore when police officers with guns approached him, made him get on his knees, and handcuffed and searched him – finding nothing. Earlier this year, police arrested a man in the UK for a burglary in a city he had never visited after face-scanning software confused him with another person of south Asian heritage. Authorities had used automated facial recognition software which matched him with footage of a suspect in a £3,000 burglary 100 miles away.



Virginia fines a Microsoft data center for emissions violations


By: Natalie Brand. Updated on: September 16, 2026 / 4:39 PM EDT / CBS News


A Virginia state agency has fined a data center nearly $2.5 million for exceeding emissions limits last year, the state's largest civil penalty against a data center to date.  The notice published online details an event in June of 2025 when the Microsoft facility in Leesburg, Virginia, reported a failure of an electrical substation and had to operate 62 emergency engines for a seven-day period, according to the Department of Environmental Quality. The state says the facility exceeded its permitted fuel emissions limits for pollutants including CO, VOC, PM10 and PM2.5 during that time.


As part of the settlement with Microsoft, the tech giant has agreed to invest $2.4 million toward an environmental project underway in Loudoun County, where the facility is located, to monitor air quality in the areas containing the highest concentration of data centers. The department says it plans to use the funds secured from the order to deploy dozens of air quality sensors around areas of the state with the highest concentration of data centers.

"As part of our continued commitment to the communities where we operate, Microsoft will support VDEQ's expansion of air-quality monitoring in Northern Virginia, as they work to deliver additional data and insight into regional air quality," Microsoft said in a statement to CBS News.


Loudoun County, in northern Virginia outside Washington, D.C., is nicknamed "Data Center Alley" and is  home to more than 250 facilities, according to Loudoun County. Community members have voiced growing concern about potential environmental and health impacts.

The nine-member Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted 7-1 with one abstention on Tuesday night to move forward with pausing the panel's approval of new applications for a period of one year, effective Sept. 15, as allowed by Virginia law. The county attorney argued an outright moratorium is against state law. Data center applicants can still submit proposals, but the board will not take action during the yearlong pause. The board is also debating more stringent standards and locations for data centers moving forward. A monthslong review process of recommendations is underway.

"The community must be involved in setting up the new standards and guardrails to guide data center development and to mitigate the damage that has already been done to the environment and well-being of our community," said resident Greg Pirio of Sterling. Pirio lives across the street from a data center with its own power plant. He was among those who spoke during around 90 minutes of public comment. Pirio has long raised concerns about noise pollution, health impacts and potential decline of property values in the area.  Opponents of the proposed pause argue the data centers have provided what they call transformative economic benefits, pointing to a projected $1.3 billion in local tax revenue. Supporters of the data center growth say that will fund public education, parks, law enforcement and other services.


"Moratoriums and other anti-competitive policies send a signal that an area is closed for business, for data centers, for the many local businesses that provide goods and services that support the data center industry, for the trade unions and schools that are training and growing the construction and operational workforce, and for other significant economic development projects," said Nicole Riley of the Data Center Coalition in a written statement delivered to the board. The moratorium will affect future development, but will not have any impact on current data centers and those already in construction. 




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