Markley Lowell Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over ‘Noise Pollution’ from Lowell, MA Data Center

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that a data center operated and maintained by Markley Lowell, LLC, produces unreasonable, excessive amounts of noise pollution into nearby residential areas.

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The 18-page lawsuit contends that Markley Lowell, which operates a 352,000-square-foot data center in Lowell, Massachusetts, continually emits “consistent and pervasive” industrial noise from the facility’s emergency diesel backup generators and cooling towers. This suit alleges that the noise physically invades the nearby residential neighborhood, leaving residents unable to open windows, enjoy outdoor spaces, or even sleep at night.

According to the environmental lawsuit, the noise pollution from a data center’s diesel generators and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, which at Markley Lowell include 16 cooling towers, can exceed 48-60 A-weighted decibels (dBA) without appropriate mitigation. The suit describes these massive cooling systems as “integral” to a data center’s operation, as the sheer amount of heat produced by the servers could damage internal components and chips required to process data.

The class action lawsuit says that Markley Lowell predicted that the data center would produce offsite noise at levels between 34.9 and 50.9 dBA.

Related Reading: Data Center Noise Pollution, Water Contamination Lawsuits

The “loud, annoying, and pervasive” noise from the data center has been the subject of complaints from residents, which the lawsuit says indicates that the data center has failed to utilize low-noise cooling systems or implement adequate soundproofing measures, including acoustic barriers and shields to prevent noise from escaping.

Per the case, Lowell recently issued a 360-day moratorium on data centers within the city, enacted as a response to the “rapid development” of the defendant’s data center, including its “continued modifications.” The data center opened in 2016 with seven emergency diesel generators and is now permitted to operate 27, the filing says.

Furthermore, the complaint shares that in July 2023, Markley Lowell was assessed a $500 penalty from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for its failure to produce a Source Registration emission report, in violation of its own permit and Massachusetts environmental protection laws.

The lawsuit says that the Lowell data center has been at the center of “significant scrutiny” in the local news concerning its noise emissions. The suit quotes a resident who said “[n]obody knew what the extent of what the noise and diesel emission would be from a facility such as this, [t]hey weren’t really heard of, especially not in Massachusetts.”

The case says that the same resident went on to say that “[i]t’s constant sleepless night because of the noise. It has been nonstop noise, construction. Pollution.”

Per the case, the Markley Lowell data center runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Despite Markley Lowell’s apparent awareness of the facility’s noise emissions levels through resident complaints, administrative records, public scrutiny, government communications and media attention, the company has failed to follow proper industrial practices to prevent the offsite emission of incessant noise, the complaint says. The filing asserts that noise emitted from the Lowell data center has interfered with residents’ ability to use and enjoy their properties, and subsequently lowered residential property values.

The Markley Lowell data center class action lawsuit looks to cover all owner-occupants and renters of residential property residing within one-half of a mile of the facility at any time within the applicable statute of limitations period.

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