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Long public comment on proposed data-center ordinance spotlights water, PFAS and power concerns
Summary
Supervisors continued work on a proposed data-center ordinance and heard sustained public comment urging caution over water use, PFAS contamination, electricity demands, and public-health questions; the board pledged further research and possible moratorium language.
The Crawford County Board of Supervisors resumed discussion of a draft data-center ordinance and heard extended public comment from residents raising environmental and health concerns, urging the board to tighten permitting rules or consider a moratorium until state and technical issues are resolved.
A public commenter summarized worries about chemical contamination from closed-loop cooling systems: "This PFAS is not a very good chemical at all... It doesn't break down whatsoever," the commenter said while urging the board to protect local water supplies. Other residents warned about electricity demand, potential impacts on livestock and pacemakers, and the need for independent technical study on water disposal and transmission infrastructure.
Board members and staff said the draft ordinance and a county checklist already address many topics (power capacity, substations, traffic, permitting), but members acknowledged gaps and the need for more technical briefs. Supervisors discussed coordinating with ISAC and state-level actors to ensure the county’s approach is defensible if the state later enacts its own rules.
The board did not adopt ordinance language at this meeting. Instead members asked staff to continue ordinance revisions, schedule technical presentations (including a requested briefing on how the regional electric grid works), and return with options for a moratorium or temporary protections while research continues.
