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Residents press board over new Bitcoin-mining site; supervisors explore zoning and permitting options
Summary
Residents raised safety, utility and oversight concerns about a Bitcoin-mining operation under development near an ethanol plant; land-use staff and supervisors said county lacks countywide zoning and discussed options including a standalone ordinance, moratorium or reliance on permitting (wells/DNR) to address local impacts.
At the end of the March 31 meeting, multiple residents told the Des Moines County Board of Supervisors they were alarmed by a Bitcoin-mining facility under construction near the county's ethanol plant and asked what oversight the county exercised.
"How did we end up with this company?" one resident asked, saying the same company had been denied in another county and reported to be "fire-prone." The resident raised concerns about increased electricity demand, possible effects on rates and the project's proximity to an ethanol operation.
County officials and land-use staff said the county does not have countywide zoning and noted a two-mile zoning jurisdiction around Burlington is the only area with county zoning. Land-use staff (introduced in the meeting) and board members said options include drafting a stand-alone industrial-development ordinance that would require notice and board approval for large industrial projects, pursuing a moratorium while ordinances are drafted, or considering a full county zoning process — which state code links to an updated comprehensive plan.
"If somebody's already started something, they're going to argue that they're grandfathered," an agency official said, adding enforcement and legal questions are fact-specific. Staff recommended first checking whether state or county permits (for example, well permits with county health or DNR oversight) had been sought for on-site work such as drilling.
A reporter asked whether battery storage and data-center guidance used elsewhere might be adapted; land-use staff said several Iowa counties have recently adopted regulations for data centers but usually in the context of counties that already have zoning. "Conceivably," land-use staff said, the county could adopt a stand-alone ordinance regulating battery storage and data centers, or adapt a zoning county's ordinance to a home-rule industrial-development code.
Board members said they would look into what other unzoned counties have done, whether a short moratorium is appropriate and whether immediate permitting gaps (for example, well permits) could be enforced. "We need to find out if permits were obtained; if not, we can send the sheriff or take enforcement steps," one board member said.
The exchange prompted calls from residents for rapid follow-up and greater transparency about major industrial projects in unzoned areas; the board did not adopt new regulations at the meeting but agreed to investigate next steps.
