DNR Wisconsin- Department of Natural Resources Public Comment & Testimony

June 21, 2026

Maily

Public Testimony at the Capitol

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
My name is Maily Kocinski. I am a lifelong Wisconsin resident, a property owner, and an educator. I am here because my land sits downstream of Beaver Dam’s new Meta data center development — and because what has already happened to my property reveals a serious gap in how Wisconsin evaluates and regulates these intrusive projects.
I am here to describe observable change, documented impacts, and systemic failures that leave residents like me unprotected, while data centers get rushed through approval protocols without enforceable accountability.
For almost 50 years, a natural creek has flowed through my property. At 20 feet wide, and up to 4 feet deep, it has persisted through droughts, floods, and seasonal variability. It is part of a complex system-the water table, tributaries, runoff, groundwater, watersheds and aquifers all interconnected. It sustains wildlife habitat and ultimately flows into Beaver Dam Lake. Until construction began upstream on the data center, its behavior was stable and predictable.

After construction started, that changed.

The creek began to stop flowing entirely — not slowly diminish, not reduce seasonally, but cease. Then, without rainfall, it would return abruptly, often cloudy and opaque like milk with enough force to cause drastic erosion and damage. This pattern repeated itself dozens of times over a single construction season to the point that it was dry half the time.

That behavior is not consistent with natural variability.

It is not explained by weather patterns. And it is not something that occurred in any prior decade of recorded experience on this land.
So I did what the system tells residents to do: I contacted the Department of Natural Resources. What I encountered was not indifference — it was fragmentation.
I spoke with dedicated DNR staff who were clearly overstretched. My reports were transferred between departments. Records were lost during handoffs. At one point, I was told the issue was no longer under DNR jurisdiction — yet no clear authority was identified to replace it.
That experience taught me something critical: our regulatory framework does not treat water as a connected system, and it does not assign responsibility for cumulative or downstream impacts during large-scale construction.Water quantity, water quality, stormwater, blasting, dewatering — each is permitted separately, often by different offices, under different statutes. No one is tasked with evaluating how these activities interact, or what happens beyond the project boundary when they do. There simply is not a working system to make sure these permits are being followed.

This is not a failure of individual agency staff. It is a policy failure.

The law is on the side of the business, not the rural residents.
The second thing I learned — and what most communities do not understand until construction begins — is that Permit compliance does not equal protection. Permits are narrow by design. They regulate specific activities, not system-wide behavior. They do not require baseline monitoring on downstream private property. They do not require real-time data. They do not require independent verification of construction-phase impacts. In my case, the creek’s flow now appears correlated with industrial activity upstream and the times when large scale construction took place, including daily blasting with dynamite. When that discharge stops, my creek stops. When it resumes, water returns suddenly.
That raises legitimate, technical questions about groundwater interception, dewatering, and construction-phase hydrology. Questions that current law does not require anyone to answer before these projects are approved. There were no environmental impact studies required. Which leads to the third issue this body should consider: data centers are not passive infrastructure.
Modern data centers — especially those supporting artificial intelligence workloads — are single-use industrial facilities with extraordinary power and cooling demands. They concentrate tens of megawatts of electrical load and rely on complex water and cooling systems that many local governments are not equipped to evaluate. There are also unresolved questions about noise, vibration, and long-term exposure impacts that communities are not given the chance to evaluate before approval. Those who approve these projects without the information these tests provide are putting community members who live near them at the greatest risk.
Yet these projects are often fast-tracked as economic development, supported by tax incentives and special legislation, with limited environmental review and minimal public understanding of the risks involved.Recent changes in Wisconsin law have further shifted the balance of power. When municipalities are allowed to commit large portions of future tax revenue to a single project, they become financially dependent on its success. That dependency weakens oversight and discourages scrutiny — even when legitimate concerns arise.
Meanwhile, residents downstream bear the consequences.
There is no clear process for remediation. No automatic mechanism for compensation. No requirement that independent monitoring be funded. And no assurance that private property owners will not be forced to absorb damage in service of projects that primarily benefit entities far outside the community. Simply sending in water samples from my property cost $121 in shipping alone. The costs will be around another $400 when finished. Per testing cycle.
Water testing on my property shows elevated strontium and other indicators consistent with deeper groundwater influence — a change that coincides with large-scale excavation and blasting upstream and warrants independent investigation. During construction, workers reported encountering groundwater at significantly deeper depths over time, suggesting substantial subsurface disturbance. These findings raise serious questions about long-term drinking water safety and groundwater integrity — questions current law does not require anyone to answer before construction begins.
When groundwater systems are disrupted by large-scale excavation and blasting, the chemistry and flow paths of that water can change. That is not speculation — it is basic hydrogeology. The concern is not about one single metal or one single test result. The concern is that we are altering subsurface systems without requiring baseline monitoring, downstream evaluation, or independent review before construction begins. That gap in oversight leaves residents to discover potential impacts only after they occur.
When construction is complete, nearly 1,000 acres in my backyard will be converted from living, permeable land into a paved industrial surface — land that once actively recharged groundwater, aquifers, and watersheds. That change does not stop at a property boundary. It reshapes the surrounding community.
This is how rural communities are transformed without ever being asked if that transformation is acceptable. Homes are not built near these facilities. Families move farther out. New parcels are opened. And then the next project arrives — like the second data center now being proposed in Beaver Dam.
Farmers and local families cannot compete with the prices these corporations can pay for land. They never had a chance. And over time, the places that defined Wisconsin — agricultural land,rural communities, and working landscapes — are quietly replaced by industrial development that primarily serves interests far outside the state.
Wisconsin has long been known for stewardship of land and water. The question before us is whether our laws still protect that identity — or whether we allow it to be eroded project by project, approval by approval.

We used to be America’s Dairyland. No one wants “America’s Datacenter land” on their license plate.

The city of Beaver Dam annexed this land from my township and approved it as a data center. The county immediately granted the rezoning to make this possible. Despite community pushback and outrage, there is no way to prove a project will be detrimental to people’s health BEFORE it is constructed, so the law sides with the business against the best interest of the citizens. Even documented evidence of negative health effects of similar projects are not enough. There is no protection for the people. The residents of the township have to live with the negative impacts of a data center now on city property, and they are not represented by the city legally.

I don’t even have a city council member who represents me.

I am not asking this body to decide what caused my creek to change. I am asking why Wisconsin law does not require that question to be answered — rigorously, independently, and before harm occurs.
Why are communities expected to discover these risks only after construction begins?
Why is oversight fragmented across agencies with no single point of accountability?
And why are residents left to document impacts that should have been anticipated?
Every protection is in place to protect businesses from accountability, and residents are left vulnerable and helpless — forced to do all of the work, pay for all the testing, and shoulder the burden of proof in court. Meanwhile, billion-dollar corporations have all the money in the world to delay justice and tie ordinary people up in legal battles until they are financially drained and forced to give up. This is a predictable problem — foreseeable and preventable through state legislation and requirements.
What is happening on my property is a predictable outcome of a system that approves large-scale industrial development without sufficient guardrails — and The data center isn’t even up and running yet. If this can happen before a facility is even operational, it raises serious questions about what protections exist at all. If Wisconsin continues down this path, more communities will face the same situation — not because they opposed development, but because they trusted the process.

I urge you to pause further expansion of these projects until stronger protections are in place: unified oversight, mandatory baseline and downstream monitoring, independent review, and clear accountability for impacts beyond project boundaries.
The state needs to require corporations to post performance bonds upfront, fund independent third-party testing, shift the burden of proof so that companies must prove compliance before breaking ground. Establish a citizen enforcement mechanism allowing residents to hold violators accountable without being financially destroyed.
Economic development should not require communities to surrender their water, their land, or their recourse.
Thank you for your time and your attention.

Beaver Dam Dodge County Meta Wisconsin DNR Wisconsin Alliant Energy

June 21, 2026

Maily

Kocinski Documentation of their creek on land near Meta Data Center project

5-23-25 Murky, like chocolate milk, 1 ft deep. I called quarry (Linc. Aggregates, and they hung up on me).
6-18-25 creek completely dry. 413.1K views, comments. Strong smell of fertilizer, called DNR. Had been raining for days. I called the quarry to ask if I can do that. Warden Brad Burton, Trevor Banniste. Was told that if it happened again to call the Spill Hotline, and they’d alert the entire team.
6-18-25 PM, creek back, 100% fast flowing, ducks in the creek. DNR came out to investigate and take samples. They walked the creek, no physical blockage up to the quarry.
6-19-25 murky, raining for days. Opaque .
6-23-25 no water, creek dry 813.2K views, called DNR. No fertilizer smell. Met with warden. Water flow, smell, murkiness of water separately dealt with. Warden assesses on site. Departments: Spill hotline (smell), issue permits and see if there was a permit violation, department that enforces clean up, taking samples of water. They took photos, too. Was told it was the top priority in the county..
6-24-25 creek back on, downpouring and flash flood and storm damage, not very murky, interesting that it’s fairly clear during a flood. .
6-26-25 creek dry. Can’t get near it with lawnmower, ground is so wet from frequent rain. Reported to DNR warden, came back to take another sample. Walked the creek to quarry. .
6-27-25 Tree down, roots at a bend in the creek, fell into the creek, severe erosion, just fell over. .
7-15-25 No water. Reported, still no results from 1st testing yet. No smell. No more ducks. (morning) .
7-15-25 4 hours later, creek running again, running heavy and fast, murky. (lunch) .
7-15-25 4 hours after previous, creek is slowing down. (after work). Water flow is way down, and murky. Went to quarry, no one knew anything. .
8-18-25 Downpour storm (during the Dodge County Fair) Water level normal. .
8-25-25 No water..
8-27-25 running normal, update. No answer from DNR yet. Was told 5 people were on the team. 1-permits (wherever water goes through), 2- chemical spills/cleanup, 3- water flow (interruptions/dams/blocking, etc)., 4-warden (1st stop, 5-water quality .
*Warden said that due to no more smell/odor, it’s lower on the priority list. Too short staffed. .
8-28-25 I was referred to a different department. Warden called me back with an update. No blockage, all surface water, goes underground at quarry. Running clear today. Pump system in the quarry seemed to beturning on and off. I was required to start over with my reporting to a new department, one that doesn’t include the chemical spills/smells staff. Now reporting to Storm Water management and county zoning. No answers. .
9-5-25 Documented construction dust clouds. Higher than my truck on W. Flowing and blowing west. Started noticing a film on our lawn, broadleaf weeds. Feels like dust. .
9/10/25 No water. Called DNR. I was told that the woman in charge of the Storm Water Management system lost her job, and they had no records of my reports and I had to start over. This new person knew nothing about the case. (Francesca Sanchez) .
9-12-25 Water returned, murky. .
9-16-25 No water. Drove to the quarry, no one was there for me to talk to. New person in charge of Storm Water Management has been unable to contact the previous person who held that post for information. Came back over night. .
9-17-25 No water. Talked to Warden at DNR again. Still no blockage physically. Was told 3 new people were coming to investigate. Came back the next day. .
9-19-25 No water again. Spoke with Mining Permit geologist. One officer for the entire state. Lane Loveland. DNR update. 3-4 hours later, water back on, murky. Rock Quarry on Spruce was due for an inspection and would happen this fall. They’d receive specific questions about water quality and quantity. Water running quite high compared to recently, but a foot lower than usual. .
9-21-25 creek running low. Fisher spotted in our creek bed, attacked our peacock. Didn’t look well, acting sickly. Moving erratically, but sluggishly. .
9-22-25 No water. .
9-23-25 water is back, running about a foot higher than usual, very clear. .
9-25-25 no water. Called Lane Loveland, Geologist DNR to report. .
9-26-25 still no water, Lane Loveland called and said that the rock quarry was found to be NOT contributing to the water quantity issue. They do have some water quality work to do to clean up the quality, but not at fault for stopping the water. I was transferred to another department again. Suggested that 4 miles away to the north a farmer put in drain tiling, and they would have thought it’d make more water, not less. .
9-27-25 water back on, rushing wide and clear. Got map from mining permit investigation team. .
9-30-25 no water. Reached out to representative Baldwin. (Still No answer) .
10-2-25 no water. Noticed that hashtags for metadatacenter are now down to less than 50, used to be in the Thousands. .
10-3-25 update email from Lane Loveland, mining permit. Gave me a map to look at the farm tiling. Questions about dewatering at the rock quarries. Ditching and tiling may be under investigation in the future. (there are actually 3 of them near one another, not one big one). All included in the report/investigation..
10-5-25 No water. I drove to the farm site that did tiling. It is about 4 miles away, and clearly not the issue. .
10-10-25 no water. No one answers the phone when I report. I have a report I could file, but must accuse someone specifically. Trying to find the information about the metadata center to have them investigated. 10-11-25 Still no water. Came back that night. .
10-18-25 no water. Was told to look into Dewatering during construction for the Metadata center. .
10-22-25 no water... Back the 23rd. .
10-24-25 no water again. I went to quarry. They said they have not shut off pumps all summer. Water came back next day. .
10-26-25 no water again. Comment by a worker at the construction site and he said “they have been blasting twice a day since early May, but no dewatering going on inside the project. The water table has dropped considerably because of all the blasting. When we started we hit water about 10 feet down…now it’s around 18-20 feet down.” “From my experience once you start blasting, especially that much, you disturb water tables. It may never come back to it’s original location. The ponds that they have blasted for are deeper than the height of the water level when we started and they are bone dry and we’ve had a wet summer.” “not sure about that but there’s no water pumping going on inside the data center unless it rains a bunch.” .
10-30-25 water finally back on. Running full and clear. .
10-31-25 no water. Within 30 minutes it was back running very fast, murky and deep. .
11/3/26 First presentation at city council regarding our water/creek issues .
11-4&5-25 Water off and on twice over the 2 days. .
11/7-8/25 no water, down to barely a trickle, asked for an investigation with the county (filed paperwork) .
11-10-25 Water really murky, neighbor reported to DNR, very cloudy like chocolate milk. Tried reaching out to environmental lawyers for help/options about how to find answers .
11-11-25 No water .
11/12/26 follow up meeting with mayor and Terry Bierke, city engineer. I was told an environmental impact study was done in 2019 when it was the Beaver Dam Commerce Park. I was given a copy of the deal with the data center. City mayor told me she doesn’t represent me, but would hear me out. .
11-13-25 water opaque white, like milk. Called Spill hotline. (They had already received a report by a neighbor). I asked for a follow up message. Eventually went completely dry, then a trickle but clear. Spoke with Channel 12 News in their investigations, they were curious about impacts from construction at Data Center. County replied, county said they did not have jurisdiction. Told me to go to city council instead). They told me to go to the DNR. I told the DNR all of this today. The DNR told me they are meeting with the ‘team’ this week. Hoping to give me a point person. I was told many people had retired and new people were involved. They were getting ready for a yearly flyover of the waterway, by Christmas. (source to lake). .
11-15-25 Creek completely opaque like milk. Reported to the spill hotline but there is no one that could come out and take a sample. By the time they arrived it was dry and standing water spots were clear..
11-18-25 No Water (Rained all night and day) .
11-19-25 Meta reached out to me via the mayor to schedule a meeting and touch base about what’s going on. .
11-24-25 No water, message from DNR Hailey Anderson, no one knows who I should be calling, but should call Spill Hotline with murky water.(No longer Francesca Sanchez who had only returned my call one time anyway) .
12-17-25 Meeting with mayor, Matt Sexton (Meta) and Neil (Geosyntec). Was told blasting would be done with a couple of weeks and they’d do a hydrology study and we’d reconvene when that was done some time in January. .
12-20-25 creek running well, longest it’s been flowing since May. Was LOW last night. I shared that I heard nothing new from their reporting. .
1-7-26 raining for 3 days, mild sediment in water, but still clear, flow level normal. Struggling to get water testing results from DNR. I was told a week, now about 2 months, was told the issue was moved to another department. Trying to find out what records to specifically ask for. Some sediment in the water today. .
1-12-26 Email response, Haley Anderson, 12-15-25 our water sample taken 11-15-25 was sent to Stormwater department for further analysis. No results yet .
1/19/26 temperature is -22 F. Water flowing just fine. .
1/21/26 phone interview about the data center with several news stations, the Data Center group and WISclimate.org .
1/23/26 temperature is -18 F, real feal of -45 F and school cancelled. Water still flowing in the creek. .
2/3/26 Met with Amanda Bell (former USGS Water Scientist) and talked about our water testing results and what those elements mean/are from. Found out the city council is hearing information about a second data Center. .
2/5/26 asked to present at the state capitol with Data Center University, group of experts2/15/26 Former USGS Water Scientist Amanda Bell came, we walked the creek from our property to the quarry, examined evidence of erosion, flow, drainage easements/ditches, sediment and growth. .
2/16/26 Creek water is low, down 6-10 inches. Spoke at city council against 2nd data center being ‘proposed’. Asked for a Town Hall. .
2/17/26 presentation at the Senate Committee on Utilities, Technology, and Tourism Madison at the capitol *several emails for weeks trying to meet in person to follow up with Matt and Neil, who offered Zoom meetings. We declined (as did the Mayor) in favor of an in person meeting. Several meetings scheduled, cancelled and rescheduled. .
2/24/26 received Hydrology Desktop Study from Geosyntec. .
2/27/26 Found out from DNR James Martin that Adam Freihoefer, water use section manager, is aware of the report. This is a new person, and I was reaching out about the Geosyntec report. This is a new person, I haven’t heard of yet. I reached out asking to talk, as I don’t know how much he knows or if I’ll need to start all over again. No response. .
3/17/26 received email from Karon Szyszkiewicz Executive Staff Assistant – South Central Region, looking into discharge permits will get back to me. .
3/30/26 was told Franks’ and Another Neighbor’s wells dry. Saw Another Neighbor’s bill and took pics. Bill says “Massive Data Center”. Had to be drilled deeper (Aqua company). Neighbors been staying inside due to dust. Amy and Scott let Rob share their story at the council meeting tonight. .
3/31/26 called Sam’s Well Drilling, said they are worried it’s the data center. Reported the landscaping place on 33 has bad water pressure and are concerned. He said when construction projects blast, that find sediment loosens up and moves into the watersystem/groundwater and fills in before the aquifer can fill back in with water. Sometimes it’s so hard like cement then, that they have to dig the drill back out. When that eventually loosens up again, the water comes flowing. And that’s probably what’s happening with my creek. He said Franks’ aquifer is gone and not coming back. They want to look into aquifer situations and get back to me. .
4/1/26 citizen overheard and recorded representative Mark Born and Matt Sexton from Meta talking about me and discussing the wells going dry and our water testing. I have the audio from Stephanie Wiedenhoeft .
4/10/26 Still no updates from DNR. Aqua Well company said they don’t want to drill on our well (asked for quote), Sam’s doesn’t want to talk to news (Amy and Scott’s story got out). .
4/13/26 received email from Karon Szyszkiewicz Executive Staff Assistant , saying DNR Waterways isn’t sure what’s going on, but maybe I could reach out to the Stormwater department (One of the departments I’d already been talking with). Husband and I met with Mark Born, to update on the situation, and explained the journey of trying to find answers. He agreed the Geosyntec report didn’t seem to provide an answer, and will reach out to DNR to try to bring it together for an answer. .
4/18/26 Email from Karon Szyszkiewicz that they’ll reach out by phone regarding the water issue. I responded in email to ask if they meant they are calling me, and to try to get that phone call scheduled. .
4/19/26 Met with Amanda Bell, hydrologist, used topographic map from Geosyntec report and project permit maps, and showed topographic lines could direct groundwater flow from Meta project site to Quarry. Well monitor where my creek meets Beaver Dam Lake matches the stopping and starting documentation I have. .
4/20/26 Received email from Ashley Bystol Wisconsin Natural Resources Board Liaison, that this is outside her scope and I should defer to Karon Szyszkiewicz. I requested a meeting with the board. .
4/21/26 presented with other residents to the Trenton Town Board about everything going on near the Data Center regarding water, etc. Spoke with the board for about 90 minutes. Also submitted a list of 5 actionable items for them to consider doing to regulate/protect against further development. They said they would consider putting it on agenda, several handouts were left with them. Pastor Ostrander from the Harmony Baptist Church came to me at the meeting to share that when they turn the faucets on, the water comes out black/brown. They’d reported it to the DNR (Richard R. Joslin) and are having the water tested in Watertown. They got a blasting note from the company doing the dynamite on site back in February (He thinks). He wanted to know if I have a way to contact Meta. .
4/22/26 I emailed Matt Sexton with an update about the water at the church, and asked if I could share his contact information with the Pastor. Waiting for a response. .
4/24/26 Phone call from Shelly Alness, DNR Secretary’s Director. Talked about 15 minutes. I updated her about what’s going on, and how we are thankful for all DNR department individuals, but the system is not working. She asked about our water testing and we both acknowledge their limited involvement in wells, but that we were discussing the system of issues as a whole, and that wells are part of the whole concern. I told her about the blast-induced-hydraulic displacement and quarries communications and USGS and topographical map showing water flow that direction. She does not have blasting records for the DC. I told her we need records for quarry pumping 2025 yet. She said email from Karen directing me to Stormwater was an error, and I should continue emailing only Karon. She (Shelly) will triage (possible with one other person unnamed, she didn’t say) to direct questions to right department. I clarified that DNR geologist said it’s not the quarries. I repeated how scared we are. She said she will reach out to Watertown health dept. And that many of the people I was working with were new and didn’t know how the system was working or who to direct me to. I said I understood, but we still need answers. .
5/1/26-5/3/26 Creek quite low, exposed mud on edges .
5/8/26 Water flooding patterns in the 2 mile radius (visible by me, could be more) are not occurring according to natural patterns over the last 47 years. Fields that flood this time of year are dry, creek flow is consistently low (1 foot or so) compared to usual consistent depth. Official Report to EPA online: Environmental Violation Submission.5/11/26 emailed Karon S at DNR to ask for an update about the open records request for the quarry pumping records 2025. Also emailed Tom Janssen with the city of Beaver Dam to request blasting records for 2025 on the metadata Center project site .
5/12/26 Dana Vulton, WKOW shared with me that she had the blasting records from Beaver Dam, and sent them over. Jenny Merrill, Beaver Dam Resident across 151 from Meta (1/3 mile as the crow flies? Driving around where there are roads to it is 1.2 miles), shared photos of her cars at the house covered in dust, and that they have air pockets in their water. (W8051 Birch Rd). From Karon: Members of our team are scheduled to visit the quarry next week. Wastewater and stormwater staff will be requesting wastewater discharge data from 2023-present from the quarries when they complete the site visits. As we receive it, we can share the data with you. Additionally, I’ve attached a 2025 Water Withdrawal Report from the Drinking Water & Groundwater Use Information System which shows pumping records from water withdrawal at the Warmka quarry. .
5/13/26 Emailed Karon, asking for water samples to be taken at the East wall of the quarry where water enters and on the west wall when it exits. She also said they’ll get 24-25 pumping records next week when they are there. .
5/27/26 Presented at the DNR NRB in Madison. (Public comment). Packet handout prepared ahead of time and emailed a few days ago, as well as handed out in person. .
5/28/26 Presented via Zoom on Data Center Florida group Data Centers: A Defining Election Issue in Florida .
5/29/26-----6/10/26 Voicemail (not received until 6/10/26) from Shelly Allness (DNR) saying she saw my WDNR NRB presentation and wanted to know what answers I was still looking for. I returned and left a voicemail saying that I hadn’t gotten any answers, and reiterated the email I had sent to the DNRNRB and presented regarding all the questions we still have and what we are asking for. I received an email back from Karon S. (DNR) saying that they got my message, and Shelly is going on vacation, and will be back in a week. Asking for an in person meeting with Shelly. .
6/2/26 sludge (dirty foam) in creek along banks reported. Next day DNR responded that it is natural and nothing to be concerned about .
6/15/26 Spoke with Shelly Allness DNR for about 33 minutes. .
33-minute conversation with the DNR secretaries Director, quarry inspection results will be available in 6 weeks. She believes it is the quarry... No inspection yet on the data center, no explanation about why this has never happened before this data center build. She mentioned that she knew nothing about Wells going dry other than the ones I reported that they have not heard from the landowner. And then told me the landowner should go through the regular channels of reporting and that would make their way to her. But there's nothing that can do about Wells going dry anyway. I mentioned they were not willing to do that based on my experience of reporting through regular channels and I asked several times if there was a phone number that I could give them to reach her directly so that the entire situation could be looked at as a connected system and she said no that they will just have to report through regular channels. .
I mentioned about other data centers around the country reporting black and brown water near their construction site and that the church is having the same experience here in Beaver Dam. She said they hadn’t reported that, but DNR offered them help and they declined (already receiving help form Watertown) She asked for more pieces of documentation and information that would help her get me answers, and I reminded her that I already sent all of those things. She explained there is one person on staff who only works part-time that is responsible for following up on all of the thousands of permits in the state, to make sure they are being followed. It is not common to follow up on permits... Even if someone like me makes a report that needs to be investigated. But they did check into the quarry to try to get answers. .
No field data to rule out the data center project. I asked her if she investigated the data center site and she said they only have jurisdiction over the permits that they have and they have not checked. And when I asked her who has the authority to inspect or investigate the data center site, she said no one. .
She also said that strontium, the element that makes our drinking water unsafe, is common in the bedrock in this area. I responded with the research from the hydrologist and geologist that we've been meeting with as well as Amanda Bell and that that strontium is safe when it is encased in bedrock. But when it is blasted up into fine particles and moves in the water system, it becomes unsafe. .
I also mentioned that this was in all of the reporting and documentation I had sent her. She also referenced Haley Anderson as the DNR personnel when citing data center permitting. I mentioned that it is Francesca Sanchez who is on those permits instead, and mentioned that that was also in my documentation and I wondered if she was able to read any of the things I had sent her. She said she was sure somebody was looking through it. .
She said she thinks the report from the quarry will help me when it is done. .

Beaver Dam Dodge County Meta Wisconsin DNR Wisconsin Alliant Energy

June 21, 2026

Maily

My name is Maily Kocinski. I am a lifelong Wisconsin resident, educator, and property owner in the Town of Trenton, downstream from the Meta data center construction site in Beaver Dam. For over a year, I have been trying to get answers through the Wisconsin DNR about dramatic changes to the water system on and around my property.
For over 48 years, a natural creek has flowed through our land. It was steady and predictable. But after large-scale construction began upstream on the data center in May of 2025, the creek began repeatedly stopping completely, then returning suddenly without rainfall, sometimes cloudy, opaque, and forceful enough to cause severe erosion and damage. Although there is a quarry between my property and the data center, the DNR mining geologist informed me in September 2025 that it was not believed to be causing the water quantity issues affecting my creek. That led us to look more closely at the massive construction activity occurring upstream at the data center site. Neighboring wells have gone dry. My own water testing now shows elevated strontium levels requiring filtration because the water is unsafe for us to drink. From the first moment in May of 2025, I contacted the DNR.
Wardens came out. Samples were taken. Multiple departments became involved.
And I want to be clear: the staff I spoke with were professional and trying to help. But what I encountered was not a coordinated system.
My reports were transferred between departments and lost during staffing changes, and I was repeatedly referred to new contacts and asked to start over. Different divisions handled separate parts of the issue, but no clear lead authority coordinated them together in the investigation. Meanwhile, residents are left carrying the burden themselves: documenting, paying for testing, researching, and trying to navigate a process that feels fragmented and unclear.
I have reported issues consistently for months, multiple times per week. And today, over a year later, I still do not have a clear answer about what happened to our water system, who is responsible for determining that, or what protections exist for residents living near projects like this. I also want to address the hydrology study prepared for Meta. It was a desktop review, not an independent field investigation, and it did not include field monitoring data capable of fully ruling the project out. What many of us are asking for is an independent, transparent investigation using real field data capable of either responsibly ruling the project out or identifying impacts if they exist.
It feels as though attention keeps shifting elsewhere, while the one area requiring the most thorough independent evaluation, the active construction site itself, still has not undergone that level of study. Meanwhile, residents are still living with these impacts every day. I need your help to recognize that residents need a clearer path to answers, accountability, coordination, and communication when serious environmental changes are reported.
I cannot drink my water.
When ordinary citizens follow the process and still cannot get answers, trust in that process begins to break down, and we the people are suffering the consequences

Thank you for your time.

Beaver Dam Dodge County Meta Wisconsin DNR Wisconsin Alliant Energy