3 Sturtevant Residents Sue Microsoft Over Noise at New Mount Pleasant Data Center
Updated
Updated · WPR · Jul 2
3 Sturtevant Residents Sue Microsoft Over Noise at New Mount Pleasant Data Center
3 articles · Updated · WPR · Jul 2
Summary
Three Sturtevant residents filed a class action Wednesday in federal court, alleging Microsoft's newly operational Fairwater data center creates unreasonable, excessive noise that damages nearby properties and constitutes private nuisance and negligence.
The suit says diesel generators and HVAC equipment—including chillers, cooling towers, air-handling units and condenser fans—produce a constant low hum, including low-frequency infrasound that residents say standard dBA measurements do not capture.
Microsoft said it is aware of the lawsuit and has tried to address the issue; its April and June project updates said cooling fans caused the tonal humming sound and that engineers tested the site and installed noise mitigations.
Mount Pleasant's village spokesperson said no formal complaints have been filed since Microsoft made mid-April adjustments, even as nearby residents continue to cite construction dust, bright lights, truck noise and traffic around later project phases.
The dispute lands just after Fairwater opened as the first building in a larger campus project that Microsoft says has involved nearly 10,000 construction workers and now supports about 550 full-time on-site employees.