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Residents urge moratorium, strict limits on data centers at Grant County subcommittee meeting
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Summary
Hundreds of citizens and speakers at the March 11 hearing urged strict restrictions or a moratorium on data centers in Grant County, citing water use, health, noise, utility‑rate and decommissioning concerns; speakers said a moratorium draft was before county legal counsel.
At the Area Planning Commission Data Center Subcommittee meeting on March 11, a broad swath of local residents told the panel they opposed data centers locating in Grant County and urged strict local limits or a two‑year moratorium.
June Brown of Living Sweetest asked the subcommittee to be "overly restrictive" if necessary to protect water, electricity, property values and health, and warned that state bills (she cited SB277) are stripping local protections. Jocelyn Whitaker and other commenters asked what studies exist on long‑term health or environmental impacts and cited worries about groundwater contamination and noise.
Multiple speakers raised water use as a central concern. One attendee said even a "smallest" data center can use about 1,000,000 gallons a day for cooling; others asked for baseline groundwater testing, periodic discharge and temperature monitoring, and strict reporting obligations. Several residents pointed to nearby or regional examples where cooling withdrawals and discharges affected wells and biological communities.
Speakers also cited economic and civic concerns: Cassie Moriarty, a small business owner, warned that utility rate hikes and state tax exemptions for data centers could harm local businesses, and that state policies or eminent‑domain processes could undermine local rules. Brian Detimore and others urged a two‑year moratorium; a county staff member said a moratorium draft had been sent to legal and could be presented to the county commissioners on March 16 for consideration.
Speakers repeatedly asked the APC to require transparency (recorded leases and prominent signage), financial assurances for decommissioning and remediation if companies fail, and explicit enforcement provisions. The subcommittee said staff would incorporate public feedback into subsequent drafts and notify the public of future meetings.
