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Public commenters urge Hood County to seek EPA air testing and question data‑center development
Summary
Two public commenters called on the court to address community concerns: Tina Brown criticized misinformation and county communications around development; Kenneth Better urged the county to request EPA baseline air monitoring before large industrial projects proceed.
Several members of the public used the comment period to press the commissioners on development and public‑health concerns.
Tina Brown opened the public-comment segment saying she was "tired of the nastiness [and] misinformation" circulating on social media and questioned whether the county had adequately informed neighbors about past development decisions. Brown raised a past trailer‑park dispute and a lawsuit and said the county’s limited authority against state actions had been presented to her when she took office.
Another speaker, Kenneth Better, focused on industrial development and air quality near proposed data centers and large‑scale projects. Better said the area is "borderline if not not attainment right now" and urged the court to seek outside testing. He asked the county to "get the EPA in here and do studies on our air quality" to establish a pre‑construction baseline. Better also suggested the Hood County Clean Air Coalition was concerned about current monitoring and that county officials should pursue additional monitoring or studies before approving major industrial projects.
The court did not commit to a specific next step in the meeting minutes beyond hearing the comments; no staff response committing to an EPA request was recorded on the record.
Context: public concerns about environmental impacts and county communications surfaced repeatedly during recent agenda items and public comment; speakers sought clearer processes for when large industrial projects are considered.
