Meta's Wyoming Wastewater Fiasco Coincides with Microsoft Data Center Deal

Meta's $800 million 'Project Cosmo' AI campus in Cheyenne, Wyoming, has been at the center of controversy after a rare bacterium was found in the city's reclaimed water system. The bacterium, Cupriavidus gilardii, is metal-resistant and potentially hazardous to immunocompromised individuals.

The contamination occurred when subcontractors building the Meta campus routed wastewater from its cooling system into the city's sanitary sewer. Over 800,000 gallons of contaminated water flowed through the system before being caught by Cheyenne's Board of Public Utilities.

The authorities cited the operation for 'serious noncompliance' and permanently revoked discharge privileges, fining Meta $10,000. The company claims to have stopped discharging wastewater immediately after the issue was discovered and found no trace of the bacterium in its own tests.

A week later, Senator Cynthia Lummis's family sold a 3,500-acre land parcel to Microsoft for another data center campus. This sale occurred just before the contamination story broke publicly and after the city council voted to annex the land for the new data center.