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Data Center Watch Report · ZIP 39046

Canton / Madison County

Madison County

OperatingZIP 63.3% Blackpop 29,160

Operating (five buildings live) + Under construction + Announced expansion

Researched: 2026-08-02 · Lead source: Brockovich AI Data Center community map (1 resident report, 2026-07-22) · ZIP demographics: 63.3% Black, pop 29,160 (Census ACS 2023) · County: Madison County, MS Status: Operating (five buildings live) + Under construction + Announced expansion

This report is research, not legal, financial, real-estate, or investment advice.

0. Snapshot

ZIP 39046 (Canton) is the locus of the largest private capital investment in Mississippi history. Amazon Web Services operates a hyperscale data center campus on the Madison County Mega Site, off Highway 22 / Nissan Parkway just outside Canton. Five buildings are already operating. AWS has announced it will at least double that footprint.

  • Developer/operator: Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc.
  • Site: Madison County Mega Site, reported at 1978 Highway 22, near Nissan Parkway, outside Canton
  • Size: reported variously as 927 acres and "1,000 acres that are part of the county's mega site"
  • Status: Operating — five buildings; expansion under construction; targeted completion 2027
  • Investment: initial $10 billion (Jan 2024 announcement, Madison County, two campuses); $11 billion additional Madison County expansion announced April 2026; $25 billion statewide commitment
  • Jobs: 1,000 promised for the original Madison County commitment at ~$70,000 average salary; 2,000 statewide across all AWS Mississippi data center operations
  • Water: ~83 million gallons/year at Canton, sourced from recycled wastewater via a pipeline from Beattie's Bluff on the Big Black River — not potable municipal supply
  • Power: Entergy Mississippi; two new 754 MW combined-cycle gas plants (Delta Blues, Greenville, 2028; Traceview, Ridgeland, 2029) plus $300 million in grid improvements
  • Money: Fee-in-lieu-of-taxes (FILOT) agreements with Madison County; ~$28 million expected in 2027, projected $54 million/year by 2032

The environmental-justice read: The campus sits less than 200 yards from homes in the Idlebriar subdivision on the outskirts of Canton. Canton is a majority-Black town (ZIP 39046 is 63.3% Black). The county's other AWS campus was placed in Ridgeland — the affluent, majority-white southern tip of Madison County — but even there it was sited at the county's southern edge next to Tougaloo College and the Jackson city line. The Canton residents living closest to the operating campus are the ones reporting dust, noise, and asthma.

1. The Facility & Where It Sits

AWS Madison County Mega Site campus (Canton). Amazon Web Services built its first Mississippi hyperscale campus on the Madison County Mega Site, the county's flagship industrial park off Mississippi Highway 22 and Nissan Parkway, adjacent to the Nissan Canton assembly plant corridor. Reporting puts the AWS footprint at 927 acres of the mega site (Mississippi Today / Magnolia Tribune) or "1,000 acres that are part of the county's mega site at 1978 Highway 22" (The Northside Sun). Both figures appear in credible local reporting; the difference is likely between the AWS-controlled parcel and the total mega-site allocation.

As of Mississippi Today's June 9, 2026 status check, the Canton campus is operating, with five buildings live and plans to "at least double that presence." Construction on the additional buildings is ongoing, with a targeted completion of 2027.

The second Madison County campus — the "Costas" campus, 786 acres at Highland Colony Parkway and West County Line Road in Ridgeland — is covered in the companion report for ZIP 39174 (Tougaloo). Together the two Madison County campuses total roughly 1,713 acres.

Where it sits relative to homes. The Mississippi Free Press and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette both reported that the campus is less than 200 yards from homes in the Idlebriar subdivision on the outskirts of Canton. That is the closest documented residential proximity of any Mississippi data center in this research set. Residents report:

  • Dust accumulating on houses, cars, and vegetation
  • Night-time noise from vehicles and heavy machinery
  • Increased truck traffic and congestion
  • Concerns about property values

Madison County Constable Johnny Sims, an Idlebriar-area resident, told reporters he blames construction dust from the unfinished facility for worsening his teenage daughter's asthma; she went to the emergency room multiple times in the past year with severe flare-ups. (Mississippi Free Press; Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, March 1, 2026.)

County line. The Canton site is well inside Madison County. Madison County contains both some of the wealthiest, whitest municipalities in Mississippi (Madison, Ridgeland) and Canton, the majority-Black county seat. The AWS campuses bracket both ends of that divide.

2. Public Hearings & Notices

Madison County Board of Supervisors is the approving body for the mega-site FILOT agreements and county-level actions.

Documented actions:

  • January 2024 — AWS $10 billion Madison County announcement (two campuses). Madison County entered into two FILOT agreements with AWS, one for the Mega Site campus and one for the Ridgeland/County Line Road campus. (The Northside Sun; Madison County Journal.)
  • February 2026 — Hinds County / Clinton agreements for the separate $750M Clinton conversion (see Jackson reports).
  • April 2026 — Amazon announces an additional $11 billion Madison County expansion, with stated water and power safeguards. (Madison County Journal / onlinemadison.com, April 2026.)
  • 2026 — Board of Supervisors voted to aggressively pay down a $215 million state loan used to develop the mega site, using AWS-generated revenue. (Madison County Journal.)

Board leadership (as listed on the county site, accessed 2026-08-02): President Gerald Steen; Vice President Karl M. Banks; Board Attorney Mike Espy; Clerk Ronny Lott; County Administrator Greg Higginbotham.

Where to find agendas: Madison County posts an "Upcoming Agenda" page and a revised meeting-schedule PDF (see §8).

Upcoming hearings: Not found as of 2026-08-02. No specific noticed data-center hearing in Madison County was locatable for a date after 2026-08-02. Because the county's FILOTs are already executed and each new building receives its own 10-year agreement, future board items are likely and worth watching.

City of Canton. The AWS campus is on county mega-site land outside the Canton city limits, so the City of Canton Board of Aldermen is not the permitting authority. Canton residents in the Idlebriar area are nonetheless the closest affected neighbors, and the Board of Aldermen is the right venue for air-quality, road, and nuisance complaints inside the city.

3. Power

Serving utility: Entergy Mississippi, LLC (investor-owned, regulated by the Mississippi Public Service Commission).

Scale of demand. Reporting on the two Madison County campuses described the electricity requirement as equivalent to powering roughly 700,000 homes per year.

New generation built for this load:

PlantLocationSizeOnlineNotes
Delta Blues Advanced Power StationGreenville, Washington County754 MW combined-cycle gas, hydrogen-capable, ~$1.2 billion2028Replaces the 50-year-old Gerald Andrus plant, which retires when Delta Blues starts
Traceview Advanced Power StationRidgeland, Madison County754 MW combined-cycle gas + substation2029Also referred to as the Ridgeland Power Plant; permitted through MDEQ (facility ID 89056 in the MDEQ air-permit portal)

Entergy has also indicated plans for generating facilities in Hinds County and in Washington and Tallahatchie counties in the Delta to serve the AWS and AVAIO loads. A Texas Eastern (Line 31) natural gas pipeline expansion in Mississippi entered FERC environmental review to fuel this generation.

Who pays. Entergy states that AWS and other large-load customers cover 100% of new energy infrastructure costs, and that Entergy Mississippi customers will see more than $2 billion in projected savings over 20 years from spreading fixed costs across the larger load. Amazon separately says it is funding $300 million in grid improvements through Entergy Mississippi and has contracted 616 MW from five solar and wind projects in the state.

The contested part. The Mississippi Legislature gave Entergy authority to build generation for these projects without obtaining a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Public Service Commission — the approval that would normally be required. The PSC still regulates the resulting rates. Earthjustice published a May 2026 report, "In the Dark: Data Centers Could be Costing Mississippi Households," arguing that the terms of Entergy Mississippi's large-load agreements are not adequately public. Residents who want to test the "customers save $2 billion" claim should read that report alongside Entergy's own postings, and file comments with the PSC.

Note: the Earthjustice PDF could not be text-extracted during this research. Cited here by title, publisher, date, and URL only — read it directly.

4. Water & Drought

Canton campus water source: Amazon states the Canton facility will use approximately 83 million gallons per year of recycled wastewater, moving to 100% recycled water by 2027. The supply comes through a pipeline Amazon built from Beattie's Bluff on the Big Black River to the Canton campus — a wastewater stream, not potable drinking water.

Utility upgrades funded by Amazon:

  • Canton Municipal Utilities (CMU) water system capacity increased by 39%
  • Madison County Wastewater Authority's Beatties Bluff Wastewater Treatment Plant capacity increased by 50%

Cooling profile: Amazon states its data centers use outside-air cooling 91% of the year, with water-based cooling used the remaining ~9%.

Aquifer offset: Amazon partnered with Arable on a Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer replenishment project with regional farmers, projected to reduce groundwater withdrawal by 150 million gallons annually.

What to verify yourself. These are company-stated figures. Independent verification would come from: MDEQ water-withdrawal and discharge permits; CMU's own capacity and consumption records; and the Madison County Wastewater Authority's operating reports. Ask for the permits by number (see §8 questions).

Drought status. As of the U.S. Drought Monitor map released July 30, 2026 (data valid July 28, 2026), Mississippi statewide stood at 17.7% abnormally dry (D0), 7.0% moderate drought (D1), 4.2% severe (D2), 3.1% extreme (D3), and 0.9% exceptional (D4) — 15.2% of the state in D1–D4 drought, affecting roughly 269,500 residents. County-level classification for Madison County specifically: Not found as of 2026-08-02 — the county breakdown is only readable from the interactive map. Check droughtmonitor.unl.edu weekly.

5. Population & Who Lives Here

  • ZIP 39046: 63.3% Black, population 29,160 (Census ACS 2023, as provided in the project source data)
  • Canton is the seat of Madison County and a historically Black-majority city with deep civil-rights history (Freedom House, the 1966 Meredith March).
  • Madison County as a whole is one of Mississippi's wealthiest and fastest-growing counties, driven by the majority-white municipalities of Madison and Ridgeland in the south. Canton, in the county's center, has not shared proportionally in that growth.

This is the classic split the Black Towns Prospecting project is documenting: the county is prosperous on paper; the ZIP that hosts the industrial load is not the ZIP that holds the county's wealth.

Precise ACS poverty rate, median household income, and population trend for ZIP 39046: Not independently re-verified as of 2026-08-02. Pull them yourself at data.census.gov (search ZCTA 39046).

6. Money — Abatements, Incentives, Jobs

Fee-in-lieu-of-taxes (FILOT). Madison County executed two FILOT agreements with AWS — one for the Mega Site campus, one for the Ridgeland campus. Reported terms: roughly one-third of total assessed value is paid over 10 years, with each new building granted its own 10-year agreement.

Madison County's clawback is unusual — and worth knowing about. Per the Madison County Journal, Madison County is the only county in Mississippi that ties its fee-in-lieu percentage to project benchmarks. AWS must:

  • Create 700 jobs by 2036 and maintain that number for five years
  • Invest $10 billion by 2030

If it misses either, it pays a higher fee. That is a materially stronger deal than what most Mississippi communities have signed, and it is the benchmark residents in other counties should cite.

Revenue to the county:

  • ~$28 million in fee-in-lieu payments expected in 2027 for the five completed buildings, rising as more open
  • Projected $54 million/year to Madison County by 2032
  • Board of Supervisors voted to use this revenue to aggressively pay down the $215 million state loan that developed the mega site

State-level incentives. AWS projects in Mississippi receive Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and Mississippi Major Economic Impact Authority packages: long-term corporate income and franchise tax exemptions, sales-and-use tax rebates/exemptions on construction materials and equipment, and state-backed infrastructure financing. Mississippi's standard statutory data-center incentive requires at least $20 million invested and 20 full-time jobs at 125% of the state average wage, with MDA certification, recapture clauses, and annual review. For the largest deals, the state has granted permanent sales-and-use tax exemptions on equipment purchases.

Jobs, honestly. 1,000 permanent jobs at ~$70,000 average was the Madison County commitment; 2,000 statewide is the AWS figure across all Mississippi operations. Construction employment is far larger and temporary. Amazon reports $12 million since 2024 in Mississippi workforce/education spending and $400,000 committed in community grants.

7. Community Reaction & News Coverage

Documented resident concerns (Canton / Idlebriar):

  • Construction dust coating homes, cars, vegetation
  • Asthma exacerbation — Constable Johnny Sims' daughter, multiple ER visits
  • Night noise from machinery and vehicles
  • Traffic and congestion
  • Property-value anxiety

Organized activity in the metro: Mississippi For A Just World (MSJW) has been running "People Over Politics: Stop Data Centers Edition" community trainings, including a July 16, 2026 session at Tougaloo College. Environmental Advocates of Mississippi and Dogwood Alliance are also active. These groups are metro-wide and have taken up Canton-area concerns alongside Jackson's.

Pro-development voices: Madison County officials, Gov. Tate Reeves, MDA, and Entergy have consistently framed the projects as transformative. The Madison County Journal has editorialized about "Amazon's tax windfall."

Key coverage:

  • Mississippi Free Press — "Amazon's Canton AI Data Center Brings Dust, Noise and Pollution Fears for Neighbors"
  • Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (March 1, 2026) — "A Mississippi subdivision struggles with the data center next door"
  • Mississippi Today (June 9, 2026) — "Where do Amazon's data centers in Mississippi stand?"
  • Madison County Journal / onlinemadison.com — FILOT, revenue projections, expansion detail
  • BlackPressUSA — "Connecting the Dots: Mississippi's AI Boom Leaves Communities Searching for Answers"
  • Earthjustice (May 2026) — "In the Dark: Data Centers Could be Costing Mississippi Households"

Lawsuits or petitions specific to the Canton campus: Not found as of 2026-08-02.

8. Find Out For Yourself

All contacts below were taken from official government or utility websites on 2026-08-02. Verify before relying on them — staff and numbers change.

Madison County Board of Supervisors (the FILOT authority)

City of Canton (for city-limits nuisance, roads, and local voice)

Water & wastewater

  • Canton Municipal Utilities (CMU) — the city water/electric utility; ask for the capacity-expansion agreement with Amazon.
  • Madison County Wastewater Authority — operator of the Beatties Bluff Wastewater Treatment Plant; ask for the reuse-water supply agreement and current plant capacity.
  • Contact details for both: request through Canton City Hall / Madison County Board of Supervisors above. Direct published phone/email for CMU and MCWA not verified as of 2026-08-02.

Power & rates

Air quality

  • Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) air-permit portal — the Traceview Advanced Power Station record is at https://opc.deq.state.ms.us/ai_info.aspx?ai=89056. Search the same portal for construction and generator permits tied to the Canton campus.

Newsrooms (tips)

  • Madison County Journal — onlinemadison.com
  • Mississippi Today — mississippitoday.org
  • Mississippi Free Press — mississippifreepress.org
  • WLBT 3 / WAPT 16 / WJTV 12 — Jackson metro TV

Six questions to ask when you call

  1. "What is the permit number for every air permit issued to the AWS Canton campus and its backup generators, and how many hours per year may those generators run?" (Ask MDEQ. Generator runtime is the single biggest driver of local air impact.)
  2. "What are the exact terms of Madison County's two FILOT agreements with AWS — including the benchmark clawback language — and can I get copies?" (Ask the Chancery Clerk. These are public records.)
  3. "How many of the 700 benchmark jobs exist today, and how many are held by Madison County residents?" (Ask the Board of Supervisors and MDA. Ask for it in writing.)
  4. "What is the CMU water-system capacity before and after the Amazon-funded upgrade, and what is the guaranteed reserve for residential customers during a drought or main break?" (Ask CMU and the Board.)
  5. "What is the enforceable nighttime noise limit at the Idlebriar property line, who measures it, and what is the complaint number?" (Ask the county and the city. If the answer is 'there isn't one,' that is the finding.)
  6. "When Traceview comes online in 2029, what portion of its cost appears in residential rates, and in which PSC docket was that decided?" (Ask the PSC Central District office directly.)

9. If You're Thinking About Moving Here

Honest read, given what is documented:

What's real and positive. Madison County is getting genuine money — ~$28 million in 2027 rising toward a projected $54 million/year by 2032 — and the county has a benchmark-linked clawback that most Mississippi counties did not negotiate. That revenue is being used to retire a $215 million state loan, which improves the county's fiscal position. Property values in parts of Madison County have risen. Water for the Canton campus comes from recycled wastewater, not the drinking-water system — that is a materially better arrangement than several other data-center towns got.

What's unresolved.

  • Proximity. Under 200 yards from Idlebriar homes. If you are buying near the Highway 22 / Nissan Parkway corridor, drive it at 10 p.m. on a weeknight and again on a weekday morning before you sign.
  • Air. Documented dust complaints and at least one family reporting asthma ER visits during construction. Construction dust ends; generator emissions and continuous operation do not. Ask for the air permits.
  • Noise. No published enforceable property-line noise standard was found. That is a gap, not a reassurance.
  • Power rates. Entergy projects $2 billion in customer savings; Earthjustice argues the underlying agreements aren't public enough to check. Both cannot be fully true. Rates are set by the PSC, and you will pay them.
  • Expansion. AWS said it will at least double the Canton presence. Whatever you see today is not the finished footprint.
  • Jobs. 1,000 permanent jobs for a $10B+ investment, benchmarked to 2036. Construction jobs are large now and will decline.

Where the risk is lowest. Canton neighborhoods well north and east of the Highway 22 corridor are farther from the campus. Where the risk is highest: the immediate mega-site perimeter, including Idlebriar.

This is not real-estate advice. Get an independent inspection, pull the permits, and go to a Board of Supervisors meeting before you commit.

10. Sources

All accessed 2026-08-02 unless noted.

Facility, status, scale

Neighbors, dust, noise, health

Power

Money

Community organizing / context

Contacts

Drought

Lead source: resident reports on the Brockovich AI Data Center community map, then independently verified against public records. Research, not legal, financial, real-estate, or investment advice. Some resident-reported pins remain uncorroborated and are labeled as such above.