Why is Max Moran Suing
Max Moran farms in Mason County, works land his family owns and leases, and serves as President of We Are Mason County KY Inc. — the corporation behind both lawsuits against the data center. As president of the plaintiff corporation and a named individual plaintiff, Max Moran is doing double duty in this litigation.
His claimed injuries: water pollution, noise, light pollution, and decreased property values.
We have already covered the water. Western Mason Water District — the professionals who actually operate the system and are legally responsible for it — reviewed this project and committed in writing that they have sufficient capacity to serve the data center without affecting any existing customers. The Ohio Valley Alluvial Aquifer that supplies the system holds an estimated 7 billion gallons and has a sustainable yield of over 280 million gallons per day, continuously recharged by the Ohio River. No plaintiff in this lawsuit — including its president — has produced a hydrogeologist, a capacity study, or a single technical document that contradicts what the water district put on the record.
On noise: Mason County already hosts large underground mining operations, multiple heavy industries, mobile and stationary farm equipment, highway traffic, and railroad operations. A data center’s cooling hum, at normal operating distances, does not move that needle in any measurable way. Unlike farm equipment, a data center is subject to permitting conditions.
On light: commercial and industrial facilities across Kentucky operate under state and local standards that address light spillover. This is a solved problem with well-established engineering solutions. It is on the list because lists look more impressive in court filings.
On property values: the peer-reviewed research on data centers and surrounding property values does not support the claim that they depress residential or agricultural land prices. What does suppress property values is economic stagnation — the kind that follows when a county spends a decade turning away investment.
Max Moran is entitled to his opinions about this project. What he is not entitled to is a veto over what his neighbors do with their own land — and that is precisely what this lawsuit asks a court to give him.
The folks behind this lawsuit have deep pockets and can afford to base their future on yearning for a time before Mason County lost tobacco, dairy, and several major industries. This second lawsuit proves large legal bills don’t faze them as they yearn for an economic foundation that was — but is no more. Will you speak up and let them know not everyone in Mason County can afford to live in the past?
Lets review the relative size of the data center project to keep the size of the project in perspective
