Sierra Club requested review by the Wisconsin Circuit Court of a decision by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to issue a Final Air Pollution Control Construction Permit and Operation Permit to a data center project without completing an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act (WEPA). Sierra Club alleged that the first phase of the planned data center campus is expected to consist of four buildings occupying 672 acres of previously agricultural and open land and will require filling in 4.7 acres of wetlands. It will need 1.3 gigawatts of electrical power to operate, more than all households in Milwaukee County combined, requiring new high-voltage transmission lines and gas-fired power plants. The campus will also include 45 industrial-sized diesel generators. Around-the-clock construction on the campus began in December 2025. WEPA requires that DNR “must prepare a draft EIS, provide an opportunity for public review and comment, hold a public hearing, and prepare a final EIS responding to comments received” for any “major action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” Wisconsin Administrative Code chapter NR 150 details additional procedural requirements for drafting an EIS, including providing an opportunity for public review and comment and holding a public hearing. DNR did not provide an EIS for the data center project. Instead it provided an Environmental Analysis Summary and Environmental Analysis Supplement. Sierra Club alleged that DNR failed to meet its obligations under WEPA and NR 150 by not drafting an EIS and by not providing an opportunity for public comment or holding a public hearing. Sierra Club claimed that the assessment was insufficient in part because the agency failed to obtain comment from the Public Service Commission, which has jurisdiction and expertise with regard to the transmission and generation projects associated with the data center. It further alleged that DNR failed to consider climate change impacts associated with the buildout of gas-fired power plants to meet the project’s energy demands and whether those facilities are consistent with the State’s clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals, among other impacts. Sierra Club requested that the court reverse or remand the agency’s decision that an EIS was not required and set aside or remand the approval of the project’s Air Pollution Control Construction Permit until the agency complies with WEPA.

Challenge to a decision to issue a Final Air Pollution Control Construction Permit and Operation Permit to a data center project without completing an environmental impact statement under the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act.

Sierra Club v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

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Sierra Club Challenged Decision by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to Approve Data Center Project Without Environmental Impact Statement

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

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A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Investment in electricity transmission and distribution systems capable of integrating renewable energy, supporting electrification and strengthening energy system resilience.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

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Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

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woman and genders outside of the gender binary

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The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

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This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

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Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

Sierra Club Challenged Decision by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to Approve Data Center Project Without Environmental Impact Statement

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance