Commission approves Apply Digital building permit 1096 with conditions over chair's objection

After extended presentations from the applicant and consultants and a period of public comment, the Oliver County commission voted to approve building permit 1096 for the Apply Digital data-center project with stipulations placed in a road-use and memorandum agreement.

Company and consultant speakers described site layout, heat/noise modeling, closed-loop cooling with water brought in from off-site, and proposed road and emergency-services agreements. The presenter (speaker 8) said the applicant would "haul" purified water and shift from septic fields to licensed septic-tank waste haulers to avoid aquifer injection; he also described mitigation measures and offered to reimburse county legal costs if litigation arose from the project. "It is the absolute worst case" for noise when modeling a hottest-hour, hottest-day scenario, the presenter said, adding that operational testing typically runs at lower levels.

During public comment residents raised concerns about process, the availability of the sound study and unresolved complaints alleging unpermitted work. One commenter (speaker 14) urged delaying a final permit and said a final approval would be inappropriate until outstanding questions and complaints were resolved. "A final approval of this permit tonight would be inappropriate in light of that process," the commenter said.

Commissioner (speaker 5) moved to approve permit 1096 with the conditions and the motion passed by roll call; the chair recorded a no vote. The board and staff directed the county attorney and staff to finalize the road-use agreement, confirm that the sound study and reclamation language were on file, and return funding requests for emergency services (sheriff, fire, ambulance) after consultations scheduled for the next day.