Protect Lowndes County

Who we are

Protect Lowndes County
Coalition Leadership

Meet the people helping our neighbors stand together for Lowndes County.

Coalition leadership, September 11, 20261​

Adrian Johnson

Adrian Johnson

Adrian Johnson serves as Lowndes County’s District Judge. He is also a neighbor of the proposed Project Red Clay site and has spoken publicly about residents’ opposition to the development.2​3​

Ann Burgwin Faulkner

Ann Burgwin Faulkner

Ann Burgwin Faulkner has pressed local officials for stronger community protections as they consider Project Red Clay. Her public advocacy has drawn attention to the Robert Gardner farm and the importance of protecting the county’s historic places.4​

“We need to protect this historical site.”

Speaking to al.com, August 5, 2026
John Urquhart

John Urquhart

John Urquhart and his wife bought their Lowndes County property to retire on and leave to their children and grandchildren. He has brought that long-term stake to public meetings. On August 24, 2026, he read Protect Lowndes County’s petition to the County Commission, calling for disclosure and accountability.5​6​

“We’ve asked for answers since April.”

Speaking to Alabama Reflector, August 2026
Tom Gardner

Tom Gardner

Pastor Tom Gardner has brought residents’ concerns directly to the Lowndes County Commission. At its May 26, 2026 meeting, he questioned how the project would benefit the county, challenged information residents had received, and urged his neighbors not to give up.7​

Hayden Freeman

Hayden Freeman

Hayden Freeman brings on-the-ground knowledge of the area to Protect Lowndes County. He helps fellow organizers understand the places and properties being discussed as the coalition responds to Project Red Clay.8​

Portraits supplied by Protect Lowndes County. Used with permission.

What we are

Protect Lowndes County is a residents' group formed around one question: whether a thirty-year commitment involving more than a thousand acres, a reported 1,500-megawatt power request, and an unnamed operator should be decided before the community has seen the documents.

We are not against growth, and saying so is not a hedge. This county needs investment, jobs, and a tax base. What we oppose is a decision made faster than disclosure.

What we are asking for

Name the operator. Publish the executed water-service contract and the electric-service agreement. State the dollar value of the abatement. Make the community benefit enforceable and say who can enforce it. Hold the vote after all of that, not before.

A project that is good for Lowndes County survives being looked at. That is the whole argument.

Where we come from

Organized opposition to this project in Lowndes County began in spring 2026, when neighbors of the proposed site learned about it through reporting rather than through notice. Public meetings followed, then county meetings that filled to standing room, then national coverage.

On July 27, 2026, at the Commission's regular meeting, Protect Lowndes County announced that it is working alongside the Alabama Rivers Alliance. The Southern Environmental Law Center and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a public-records request with the Commission that same day, on behalf of both organizations, seeking the confidentiality agreements, site-selection records, utility and incentive filings, and meeting minutes described on our public record page. Outside of that filing, Protect Lowndes County has not authorized any organization to speak on its behalf.

How we work

Six rules we hold ourselves to.

  1. Sources, or it does not go up

    Every figure on this site names where it came from and when it was last checked. If a claim has no source, it does not publish. That is enforced by the build, not by good intentions.

  2. We publish what cuts against us

    A study finding that homes near data centers in Northern Virginia sold for more is on our site, because leaving it off would make everything else less believable.

  3. Structures and decisions, not people

    We write about how a decision was made, who had the authority, and what was disclosed. We do not run dossiers on private individuals or trade in allegations we cannot document.

  4. Disputed figures stay side by side

    When the record contains four different job numbers, we show four, with their dates and speakers. We do not average them and we do not pick the convenient one.

  5. Unknowns are labeled, never filled in

    Where the project has not disclosed something, the page says so in a marked gap rather than substituting an estimate that would look more complete.

  6. Corrections in public

    If we get something wrong and you tell us, we fix it and note what changed. A record that cannot be corrected is not a record.

Our status, plainly.

Protect Lowndes County is a residents’ group. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. On July 27, 2026 the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a public-records request with the Lowndes County Commission on behalf of the Alabama Rivers Alliance and Protect Lowndes County; that filing is on our public record page. Outside of it, Protect Lowndes County has not authorized any organization to speak on its behalf, and no tax-exempt status is claimed.

Some organizational details below are still being finalized and are shown as pending rather than filled in with something that sounds official. We would rather show you a blank than a placeholder you might mistake for a fact.

Organization
Protect Lowndes County
Tagline
Citizens for Responsible Economic Development
Legal name
Protect Lowndes County
Entity type
[ENTITY TYPE TBD]
County
Lowndes County, Alabama
Email
info@protectlowndescounty.org
Contact us

Photo credits

  • Ann Burgwin Faulkner, coalition leadership.Supplied by Protect Lowndes County · Used with permission for this website. Third-party reuse not granted.
  • Hayden Freeman, coalition leadership.Supplied by Protect Lowndes County · Used with permission for this website. Third-party reuse not granted.
  • John Urquhart, coalition leadership.Supplied by Protect Lowndes County · Used with permission for this website. Third-party reuse not granted.
  • Adrian Johnson, coalition leadership.Supplied by Protect Lowndes County · Used with permission for this website. Third-party reuse not granted.
  • Tom Gardner, coalition leadership.Supplied by Protect Lowndes County · Used with permission for this website. Third-party reuse not granted.
  • The Lowndes County Courthouse, Hayneville. Where the Commission meets.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA
  • Lowndesboro C.M.E. Church, built 1833.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA
  • Lowndesboro First Missionary Baptist Church, built 1880.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA
  • The Viola Liuzzo memorial on U.S. Highway 80, where she was murdered in 1965 driving marchers home from Montgomery.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA
  • Holly House, 1836, Lowndesboro Historic District.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA
  • The Will Stone Store, 1820, Lowndesboro Historic District.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA
  • Hayneville, the county seat.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA
  • Black Belt timber and farmland just east of the proposed parcel.U.S. Geological Survey, National Map · Public domain
  • Longleaf pine, the ecosystem this part of Alabama sits in.USDA NRCS via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  • Six-mile context aerial centered on the proposed site near Burkville. Imagery is USGS and may be one to three years old.U.S. Geological Survey, National Map · Public domain
  • The same six-mile field of view as a USGS topographic map.U.S. Geological Survey, National Map · Public domain
  • The proposed parcel near the junction of U.S. 80 and AL-21, about a mile and a half across. USGS imagery, not a site plan.U.S. Geological Survey, National Map · Public domain
  • High-voltage transmission infrastructure. Illustrative, not the proposed route.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • An industrial diesel backup generator at a data center. Illustrative: the number, fuel, and permitted hours proposed here have not been disclosed.Wikimedia Commons · CC0 public domain
  • Residents hold NO DATA CENTER signs at a Lowndes County Commission meeting.Photograph by a Protect Lowndes County member · Used with permission
  • The Town of Lowndesboro website, captured September 11, 2026. Its live notice says the town’s well is out of service and it is using its Pintlala interconnect.Screenshot supplied to Protect Lowndes County · Used with permission for news reporting and commentary
  • Lowndesboro Volunteer Fire Department at the Old Town Hall, with its water tower behind it.Photo supplied to Protect Lowndes County · Used with permission for news reporting and commentary
  • White PVC pipes and standing water beside a building. The location, date, water system, and cause are not independently verified.Photo supplied to Protect Lowndes County · Used with permission for news reporting and commentary
  • A PurgeRite service truck fueling on the morning of July 29, 2026. PurgeRite is a Texas company that flushes and purges the cooling loops inside data centers.Photograph by a Protect Lowndes County member · Used with permission
  • Neighbors arrive at the courthouse for the August 24, 2026 Commission meeting.Photograph by a Protect Lowndes County member · Used with permission
  • One of the youngest in the room, August 24, 2026.Photograph by a Protect Lowndes County member · Used with permission
  • Commission Chairman Charlie King Jr. at the dais, August 24, 2026.Photograph by a Protect Lowndes County member · Used with permission

Sources on this page

  1. ↑

    Coalition leadership roster supplied for the About page, Protect Lowndes County (2026-09-11). Coalition-supplied information

    Accessed 2026-09-11
  2. ↑

    Lowndes County Judiciary Directory, Second Circuit Court of Alabama (2026-09-11). District Judge Adrian Johnson — view source

    Accessed 2026-09-11
  3. ↑

    In rural Alabama, voters feel sold out to massive data centers: ‘Slap in the face’, al.com (2026-08-09). Reporting by Ruth Serven Smith — view source

    ReportedAccessed 2026-08-14
  4. ↑

    Alabama Counties Say They Lack Authority for Data Center Bans, John Sharp, al.com, republished by Government Technology (2026-08-05). Faulkner's comments on historic-site protection — view source

    ReportedAccessed 2026-09-11
  5. ↑

    The Sunset | John Urquhart on Project Red Clay, Protect Lowndes County (YouTube) (2026-08-21). Voices, the seven interviews — view source

    Accessed 2026-08-25
  6. ↑

    Lowndes County residents demand transparency in hyperscale data center development, Alabama Reflector (2026-08-25). Reporting by Anna Barrett — view source

    ReportedAccessed 2026-08-25
  7. ↑

    Pastor Tom Gardner addressing the Lowndes County Commission, May 26, 2026, Recording of the public meeting (2026-05-26). Gardner's remarks, condensed from the meeting recording — view source

    ReportedAccessed 2026-08-13
  8. ↑

    Coalition background notes on local organizing, Protect Lowndes County (2026-08-07). Coalition-supplied information

    ReportedAccessed 2026-09-11

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