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Harmony leaders begin drafting data‑center ordinance; focus on water, noise, energy and utility impacts
Summary
City officials, planning board members and the EDA met Feb. 18 to translate earlier definitions into draft ordinance language for data centers, agreeing on closed‑loop cooling and reporting requirements and drafting noise, screening and utility‑impact provisions for further technical review; no votes were taken.
Harmony city officials and advisory boards on Feb. 18 began drafting a municipal data‑center ordinance that would limit water use, set noise and screening requirements, require energy and emissions reporting, and mandate utility impact studies before approvals.
Facilitator Katrina Hurley opened the joint session of the City Council, Planning & Zoning and the Economic Development Authority and reminded participants that the evening’s work would produce draft language for later review, not final decisions. Participants affirmed a focus question for the meeting: "what standards, safeguards, and requirements must Harmony include in its data center ordinance to protect community values, resources, and long‑term interests." That focus guided debates about technical feasibility, monitoring, and enforceability.
On cooling and water use, the draft language the group produced would require closed‑loop cooling systems that recirculate coolant without continuous discharge and aims to require zero water for cooling operations. The draft also calls for annual reporting of consumptive water use to the City and for numerical limits to be set by the City after further consultation with utilities and vendors. Participants cautioned that enforceable water‑use caps depend on reliable monitoring, clear legal triggers, and defined enforcement mechanisms.
The group also negotiated initial noise, screening and buffering language. Participants discussed whether to adopt Minnesota Pollution Control Agency standards or to impose local limits, how to protect nighttime hours, and the scope and cadence of noise studies. The working draft calls for noise studies before approval and every two years thereafter and proposes permanent vegetation and/or permanent structures and visually solid screening (for example, a wall, fence, berm or building) along property boundaries, with technical specifications to be determined later. (The meeting transcript records a proposed numeric noise limit as “.65 decibels”; meeting participants asked staff to correct and clarify the intended metric and units before formal adoption.)
On energy, the drafters agreed data centers should report annual energy consumption, peak demand and backup generator usage and should submit annual emissions inventories. Officials said details on reporting formats and any peak‑demand caps will require consultation with utility partners and grid operators.
The session also emphasized utility infrastructure planning. The draft requires a utility impact study for substations and transmission routing, and it notes that interconnection language is pending input from MiEnergy. Participants recorded the need to align ordinance language with applicable state codes and public‑utility requirements.
The meeting concluded with a list of follow‑up items that will inform a revised draft: MiEnergy input on interconnection, specification of acceptable screening materials and setback widths, technical feasibility information on closed‑loop and zero‑water cooling, emergency response plan wording, permit transferability criteria and financial assurance thresholds, monitoring and reporting metrics, adaptive management triggers, and decommissioning and clawback provisions. Hurley said she will present additional setback proposals at the March 4 meeting.
No formal motions or votes were taken; the draft text is to be forwarded to Planning & Zoning for legal review and technical consultation before any formal action by City Council.
