⚠️ SB26-098 Laid Over: Act Now to Protect Colorado from Data Center Noise

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At the exact same time that the SB26-098 State House Committee hearing was unfolding Tuesday evening in Denver, hundreds of Colorado Springs residents were packing into a standing-room-only community meeting about a proposed AI data center in their neighborhood. Many were turned away due to capacity limits, with lines stretching outside.

That real-time collision – legislators debating whether to weaken statewide noise protections while communities were actively mobilizing over the impacts of new industrial-scale facilities – underscores what is at stake.

Later that evening, after more than eight hours of testimony, SB26-098 was laid over in the House Committee. This outcome reflects growing recognition that dismantling Colorado’s longstanding statewide noise protections is a consequential and risky step.

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But this is not the end of the story – it is a narrow window to act.

One issue that came into especially sharp focus during the hearing is the role of noise regulation in the context of Colorado’s emerging data center boom and the emergence of new types of persistent noise.

Why would Colorado surrender its statewide noise standards before this boom has even begun?

Data centers are not hypothetical. They are already arriving—and with them, the exact kinds of impacts that statewide regulation was designed to address.

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As Colorado resident Kate Kent testified, communities exposed to 24/7 industrial operations can face constant, unrelenting noise – “like a B-52 bomber overhead” – with no effective recourse. Data centers operate continuously, producing persistent noise that is not a temporary or 9 to 5 inconvenience, but a long-term environmental and public health issue.

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This is already playing out in Colorado communities. In Colorado Springs, the proposed facility has triggered intense public concern – not only about water and power demands, but specifically about noise pollution and its long-term impacts.

Statewide noise standards exist for a reason. Noise does not respect municipal boundaries, and local control alone has repeatedly proven insufficient. These protections have formed a baseline for more than 50 years – ensuring that all Coloradans retain basic rights, regardless of where they live.

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If SB26-098 passes, those guaranteed statewide protections would be gone forever.  Colorado is at the very beginning of a major infrastructure shift. The decisions made now will determine whether this growth happens in a way that protects – or harms – communities across the state.

 

If you are concerned about the impacts of data centers, especially noise, now is the time to act.

Contact members of the House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee immediately and urge them to:

VOTE NO on SB26-098

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Before generations-old statewide noise protections are lost for good.

This fight is not over – but the window to protect these safeguards is closing quickly.

Coloradans are paying attention. Now lawmakers need to hear from you.

 

Sample Opposition to SB26-098 Email:

IMPORTANT Note:  it's important to copy us and the media for transparency.

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TO:  dan.graeve@coleg.gov, meg.froelich.house@coleg.gov, rebekah.stewart.house@coleg.gov,
andrew.boesenecker.house@coleg.gov, max.brooks.house@coleg.gov, jamie.jackson.house@coleg.gov,
mandy.lindsay.house@coleg.gov, kenny.nguyen.house@coleg.gov, amy.paschal.house@coleg.gov, jacque.phillips.house@coleg.gov, chris.richardson.house@coleg.gov, larry.suckla.house@coleg.gov,
elizabeth.velasco.house@coleg.gov, ron.weinberg.house@coleg.gov, info@killinforcolorado.com, joe@reaganforcolorado.com, 

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CC: integritymatterscos@gmail.com, pam.zubeck@pikespeakbulletin.org, brennen.kauffman@gazette.com, news@krdo.com, news@fox21news.com, news@koaa.com, news@kktv.com, talkshow@aol.com, Michaelle.Lavelle@coloradosprings.gov, yemi.mobolade@coloradosprings.gov, allcouncil@coloradosprings.gov, newsroom@denverpost.com, achalfin@krcc.org, bheaney@cprmail.org, oliviaprentzel@coloradosun.com, tips@thefp.com, luke@conservationco.org, mkemp@earthjustice.org, , orla.bannan@westernresources.org, jsmith@cc4ca.org, ejensby@alliancecolorado.org, juanmadrid@greenlatinos.org, jnichols@biologicaldiversity.org, daly.edmunds@audubon.org, matt@rockymountainwild.org, greg_aplet@tws.org, cwfed@coloradowildlife.org, director@theconservationcenter.org, lexi@sheepmountainalliance.org, CRosenthal@peer.org, jkrill@earthworks.org

 

Dear Members of the House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee,

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I am writing as a concerned Colorado resident to urge you to VOTE NO on SB26-098.  This bill assumes that local control is sufficient to protect communities from emerging industrial impacts. The experience in Colorado Springs demonstrates that it is not. At a time when Colorado is on the verge of a major wave of new industrial development – including large, 24/7 data centers – this bill would weaken one of the few consistent protections communities have: statewide noise standards.

Noise from industrial facilities like data centers is not occasional – it is constant, usually operating around the clock. As communities across the state are already beginning to experience, this kind of persistent noise is not just a nuisance; it is a public health and quality-of-life issue.

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The proposed Project Taurus data center (1565 High Tech Way in Colorado Springs) illustrates the scale and uncertainty of these impacts. Data centers introduce:

• Continuous mechanical noise from cooling systems operating 24/7

• Intermittent but high-intensity generator operation

• Persistent, low-frequency noise that travels long distances

 

Unlike traditional development, this is not intermittent—it is constant industrial activity beyond 9 to 5 operations.

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Wildlife Impact – A State Resource at Risk

This issue extends beyond neighborhoods.

The proposed site is located less than a mile from the Garden of the Gods bighorn sheep population, part of the Rampart Range herd.

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This herd is:

• Recognized by the City as a managed population within urban boundaries

• Identified by Colorado Parks & Wildlife as a source herd used for relocation and recovery efforts

• Critically important as other herds face disease-related decline

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Scientific research confirms that chronic industrial noise:

• Disrupts ungulate behavior

• Increases stress and vigilance

• Leads to habitat avoidance

Source: U.S. Geological Survey – Effects of Noise on Wildlife

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A continuous industrial noise source of this scale has not been evaluated for its impact on this herd.

 

COS City planning staff have confirmed that critical impacts remain unresolved for this project, including:

• Expected noise levels

• Effectiveness of mitigation measures

• Impacts to surrounding residential properties

 

Most importantly, City staff explicitly found that:

“Given the lack of noise calculations regarding ambient noise and equipment noise, staff is unable to accept the results and determine that offsite impact is adequately mitigated.”

At present, neither the applicant nor the City can demonstrate that this project will comply with noise standards or avoid impacts to surrounding neighborhoods. Residents previously experienced continuous and unresolved noise impacts from prior operations at this site, raising serious concern about expanding industrial use. 

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Local Control has failed:

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• Developers spend millions buying our elections

• Just recently, City Councilmember Nancy Henjum testified in support of the SB26-098 in the Venu (Ford Amphitheater) panel and did not discloser her conflict-of-interest that her son-in-law began working for them in October of 2025, and she has used her Councilmember email to forward invites from him to powerful government leaders like, for example, Travas Deal, the CEO of CSU.

The people need state protections from their own leadership who is put into office with Dark Money Direct Mail fliers.

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At a minimum, statewide protections should not be weakened while projects with unresolved impacts to public health, neighborhoods, and wildlife are actively under consideration. Local enforcement alone has repeatedly proven inconsistent and insufficient; weakening these protections now risks leaving many Colorado communities without meaningful recourse.

More fundamentally, SB26-098 removes essential baseline protections that exist at the state level to safeguard public health, safety, and welfare—for both residents and wildlife.

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Statewide standards exist for a reason. Colorado should be preparing for what’s coming – not dismantling the safeguards that have protected residents for decades just as new industrial impacts are emerging. The experience in Colorado Springs demonstrates that local control alone is not sufficient to address these challenges.

 

Please stand with Colorado communities and vote NO on SB26-098.

 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your City]

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