Residents and green group sue Alabama county over data center tax breaks
The gist
Protect Lowndes County and Alabama Rivers Alliance sued county commissioners over a $2.7 billion data center tax deal.
The suit tests whether residents were shut out of the decision.
How it unfolded
- Oct 13, 2026Lowndes County commissioners voted 3-2 to approve more than $2.7 billion in tax breaks for Project Red Clay, described as the largest data center proposed in Alabama.
- Oct 18, 2026Two residents sued the county, alleging the commission violated state law by failing to give adequate notice of the Oct. 13 meeting.
- Nov 3, 2026Protect Lowndes County and Alabama Rivers Alliance filed a lawsuit in Lowndes County Circuit Court against county commissioners, alleging violations of two Alabama open-government laws.
Key terms
- open-government laws
- Laws based on the doctrine that citizens have the right to access government documents and proceedings for public oversight.
- Circuit Court
- The largest U.S. federal appeals court, based in San Francisco and covering nine western states.
- hyperscale
- Large cloud computing providers whose infrastructure can scale rapidly to meet growing demand.
Source: Wikipedia