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Mercer County Commissioners impose 1-year moratorium on data center permits after resident concerns
Summary
Facing public concern about a proposed NextEra/Basin Electric data center, the Mercer County Commission voted 3–2 on March 3 to enact a one-year moratorium on permitting new data centers while zoning language and local policy are evaluated.
Mercer County commissioners voted 3–2 on March 3, 2026, to impose a one-year moratorium on permitting new data centers after multiple residents urged the board to pause permitting while local zoning and policy are clarified.
The board's action followed public testimony about a proposed NextEra Energy Resources and Basin Electric Cooperative data center project. Commissioner Jamee Folk moved for the moratorium and Commissioner Steven Guenthner seconded; Folk, Guenthner and Commissioner Casey Voigt voted in favor, while Commissioners Gene Wolf and Rick Bauman voted against the motion.
Tax Director and Land Use Administrator Jennifer Neumiller conducted the second reading of proposed zoning ordinance amendments that would add definitions for “Data Center” and “Digital Asset Mining,” list Data Centers as a conditional use in the Industrial District, and update statutory authorization references to North Dakota Century Code chapters. The board set the third reading and associated public hearing for March 18, 2026, at 9:45 a.m.
Multiple county residents, including Michael Berg and Wes Klein, told the commission they were concerned about local control, zoning clarity, and potential impacts of a proposed data center. NextEra Energy Resources Project Director Stephanie Morales addressed the board during the public comment period; her remarks were recorded in the Minutes but no direct quote is provided in the transcript.
The moratorium is a temporary, board-level restriction on permitting pending additional work on zoning and policy. The Minutes do not record administrative details about how the moratorium will be implemented, which department will administer it, or whether any applications already submitted are affected. The board gave no additional direction in the Minutes about enforcement mechanisms or exemption criteria.
The third reading of the zoning amendment, scheduled for the March 18 meeting, will be the next formal opportunity for the board to adopt or reject the ordinance language that would define data centers and set their conditional-use status. The moratorium does not itself amend the zoning code; it temporarily halts permitting actions as the county finalizes policy and ordinance language.
