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Owen County planning commission OKs draft water-protection standard and will present it to county commissioners
Summary
The plan commission approved a draft 'new water standards' policy proposing a 10,000 gallons-per-day review threshold to address a regulatory gap between existing state thresholds and smaller local users, and authorized staff to present the draft to county commissioners.
The Owen County Plan Commission voted to approve a draft water-protection standard aimed at addressing a regulatory gap for projects that fall below statewide thresholds but could still have local water or utility impacts.
A member of the commission explained the draft sets a 10,000 gallons-per-day threshold for commission review and potential conditions; the draft was informed by outreach to a regional water provider and by review of other counties’ ordinances (one commissioner cited a recent Park County data-center ordinance as an example). Commissioners said the goal is to marshal local water resources and provide review for projects that would not otherwise trigger state-level thresholds.
Commissioners discussed whether the county could legally regulate some aspects of data centers or utilities and noted state preemption is a potential constraint. To ensure timely consideration, members voted to approve the draft standard and for a commissioner or designee to present the proposal to the county commissioners (motion passed). Staff will continue outreach to county officials and utility partners for coordination.
