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Residents urge Hermantown council to pause data-center approvals, citing noise, water use and secrecy concerns
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Summary
During public comment at the April 20 Hermantown council meeting, multiple residents urged a moratorium on hyperscale data centers or demanded stricter review, raising claims about low-frequency noise, potential water usage and the city's transparency (NDAs and ordinance changes); speakers cited The Dalles, Oregon, as a cautionary example.
Dozens of residents used the city's public-comment period to press the Hermantown City Council on a proposed hyperscale data center in the city's southwest corner, asking for a pause while the council studies potential noise, environmental, water-resource and transparency issues.
Tom Bates told the council "on a quiet night, you'll hear it out to 5 miles," arguing that cumulative chillers, fans and transformer cooling fans from a multi-building hyperscale center would generate low-frequency noise and infrasound that trees could not block. He said such noise can disrupt sleep and cited research he said documents health effects.
Susan Anderson and others stressed environmental monitoring. Anderson cited recent enforcement actions elsewhere in Minnesota and asked whether the Hermantown facility would be monitored frequently enough to detect violations, noting that delayed detection could leave residents exposed for long periods.
Several speakers, including Dawn LaPointe and Emma Rickman, urged the council to adopt a one- or two-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers so the city can study impacts and prepare ordinances or zoning changes. "A pause allows them to study the many impacts of data centers on communities, the environment, and the use of resources," LaPointe said.
Residents also raised questions about the Adolph utility extension that underpins industrial development: Tim Resberg asked whether the data center would pay to install water and sewer lines and whether taxpayers would then pay maintenance; he also raised concerns about blasting into bedrock, potential well impacts and who would be legally responsible for damages.
Alicia Navetta cited The Dalles, Oregon, where she said Google's data centers used 100,000,000 gallons of water a year in 2012 and, across four centers, 550,000,000 gallons annually—claims intended as a warning of scale and potential future municipal water stress. Navetta also said nondisclosure agreements in that case delayed access to water-usage information.
Several commenters accused city staff of insufficient transparency. Sarah Lofalt alleged ordinance and zoning language had been altered to accommodate the project and said city emails and conduct raised questions about who the city serves. Jonathan Thornton said he was concerned the study presented that evening omitted neighborhood impacts and did not include data-center scenarios.
What the council did not do: No council action or vote on a moratorium or zoning change took place at this meeting. Public comment concluded and the council continued with the consent agenda and routine resolutions.
Why it matters: Residents described concrete quality-of-life concerns (noise, potential contaminants, water demand) and process concerns (NDAs, perceived lack of public notice). Those issues, if accurate, would affect local regulation, utility planning and municipal oversight responsibilities.
(Reporting note: Quotes and claims are recorded from the city meeting transcript of April 20, 2026. The article reports resident statements and allegations; it does not independently verify technical or historical claims about The Dalles or other enforcement actions.)
