Wisconsin News

Groups sue Wisconsin DNR over environmental review of Port Washington data centers

July 11, 2026

Environmental groups in a new lawsuit say the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources backtracked on plans to conduct a full environmental review for a $15 billion data center campus in Port Washington.

On Friday, Midwest Environmental Advocates, or MEA, sued the DNR on behalf of Sierra Club Wisconsin in Ozaukee County Circuit Court. They’re challenging the agency’s decision to issue permits for the data center campus in Port Washington without conducting an environmental impact statement. The project is being built by Vantage Data Centers for tech companies Oracle and OpenAI.

The groups obtained emails through a public records request that state DNR attorney Molly McNab informed Vantage representatives in July 2025 that an environmental impact statement, or EIS, would be required for the project. Andrew Stewart, director of senior corporate counsel for Vantage, said in a July 18, 2025 email that officials were “reviewing (and panicking) internally” about the requirement.

On Sept. 23, the lawsuit states a Vantage official texted Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke about the governor’s office seeking more information on why an EIS would “kill the project.”

Elizabeth Ward, director of Sierra Club Wisconsin, said environmental impact statements are critical because they help decisionmakers understand a project’s effects on air, water, land and the climate.

“It’s deeply concerning that with such a massive project like the Vantage data centers, the DNR did not do an environmental impact statement,” Ward said. “Then on top of that, we were able to get emails that said that the DNR had been planning to do an environmental impact statement and ended up reversing course.”

Ward said the agency has never publicly said why it didn’t move forward with a more thorough review. A DNR spokesperson on Friday declined to comment on pending litigation. Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Vantage, which is not a party to the lawsuit, said it had “worked closely and transparently with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and other regulatory agencies throughout the review.”

“We remain confident in the rigorous process that informed the permitting decisions and will continue to focus on developing the project responsibly and in compliance with all applicable requirements,” the statement said.

Both Sierra Club and MEA had urged the DNR to conduct a full EIS for the project. The agency conducted an environmental analysis summary of the project instead. They say the DNR violated Wisconsin’s Environmental Policy Act by failing to prepare an EIS because the data center is a major development that would significantly affect the human environment.

In April, Port Washington residents and environmental advocates had urged state environmental regulators to deny permits for the data center campus, which includes four data centers that span 672 acres. The first phase of the project would use 1.3 gigawatts of energy or enough to power 640,000 homes, but it could require up to 3.5 gigawatts of electricity in the future.

The DNR issued permits for the project on June 12.

Environmental groups and residents have expressed concerns about water and energy use tied to Vantage’s Lighthouse campus in Port Washington. Groups say data centers are driving construction of 5.4 gigawatts of new or updated gas-fired power plants to meet their energy demands.

A draft energy assessment released last week by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin found electricity demand could grow more than 40 percent by 2032 due to demand from hyperscale data centers.

Residents have also expressed concerns about traffic, noise, dust, and light pollution. Some are also worried about pollution from the use of backup diesel generators, including nitrogen oxide emissions that contribute to smog. The project would also result in filling 4.7 acres of wetlands.

MEA attorney Michael Greif said the case is about transparency and accountability over the DNR’s decision not to require an environmental impact statement.

“Perhaps due to outside pressure, they ended up walking that requirement back,” Grief said. “Today we’re challenging that decision, and ultimately hoping to get a full environmental review of the Vantage data centers, as well as the other electrical infrastructure that the data center is spurring construction of.”

The DNR is not the only state agency facing legal action over the project. Tech giant Oracle is suing the PSC over its financial requirements for data centers.