Lowell Residents Sue Data Center Over Environmental Concerns

A lawsuit was filed on April 27, 2026, in Middlesex County Superior Court by ten Lowell residents against the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Markley Group, the owner of a local data center. The plaintiffs, members of Honest Future for Lowell, allege that the data center's expansion has negatively impacted their neighborhoods, designated as environmental justice communities.

The core of the dispute involves a 352,000-square-foot data center, which residents claim causes issues with cooling tower mist settling on properties and diesel generators creating noise and emissions. The lawsuit specifically challenges the DEP's approval of an air quality permit for eight new diesel generators, bringing the total to 27, and an "unlawful" administrative agreement that permitted construction during an ongoing appeal.

Attorneys for the residents, from Yale Law School's Environmental Justice Law and Advocacy Clinic and the Conservation Law Foundation, argue that the DEP exceeded its authority by allowing construction through a consent order without completing the full permitting and appeals process. This case is considered the first lawsuit against a data center in Massachusetts and may establish a legal precedent as similar facilities expand nationwide.

Plaintiffs are seeking to have the DEP's air permit approval and the consent order revoked. The legal action follows a recent vote by the Lowell City Council to impose a temporary moratorium on new data center construction, reflecting growing local and national scrutiny of these facilities amidst AI infrastructure expansion.