Polk County supervisors adopt temporary moratorium on data centers after hours of public testimony

Polk County supervisors on Aug. 18 adopted a temporary moratorium on data centers, pausing permitting and review of such facilities while the county studies environmental, infrastructure and regulatory impacts. The amended resolution (No. 2926) was approved in a roll-call vote of 14–1 after extensive public comment and an amendment clarifying that shoreland areas and all land regulated under County Chapter 42 are included.

The public hearing drew scores of residents from lakes and townships across the county who raised concerns about groundwater, electricity demand, noise, long-term site decommissioning and transparency. "Not one drop from our river," said October Yates, a kayak guide from Alden, invoking the value of the St. Croix River and telling supervisors the river supports roughly $50 million in annual tourism revenue across valley towns, citing a National Park report provided during testimony. Multiple speakers urged supervisors to require developers to disclose company identities, provide independent fiscal and environmental reviews, and prohibit non-disclosure agreements with local officials.

Some speakers framed the action as low risk: they characterized a moratorium as a temporary, study-driven pause that could protect the county’s water resources and rural character while staff and elected officials craft rules. Others warned that a broad moratorium could be read as "closed for business" and could deter investment. Supervisor Adam Jarko cast the lone dissenting vote, saying he opposed the moratorium; the final recorded votes were: Brad Olsen (yes), Doug Rowdy (yes), Jim Bethkkey (yes), Pam Garvey (yes), Scott Gilbertson (yes), Adam Jarko (no), Sharon Kelly (yes), Jeremy Hall (yes), Kim Okonnell (yes), Jay Luke (yes), Francis Duncinson (yes), Keith Carpinsky (yes), John Bonaprise (yes), and Russ Arand (yes).

Board members adopted an amendment requested by corporation counsel to make explicit that the moratorium applies to shoreland districts, general zoning districts and other areas regulated under Chapter 42, after an exchange on whether towns with their own zoning would be affected. Corporation counsel said the language was intended to avoid ambiguity about coverage. The moratorium now gives the county time to define a study scope, consider permitting and decommissioning rules, and seek public input before any data-center projects move forward.

What happens next: the moratorium is temporary by design and county staff indicated the expectation is to use the pause to craft zoning and permitting language. The resolution itself does not immediately ban every data-related facility in every circumstance; corporation counsel said whether a structure is regulated as a "data center" will turn on whether the structure "primarily contains computing and networking equipment," which could be decided case by case. The board did not set a firm end date in the adopted resolution; supervisors and staff said they expect follow-up work and ordinance changes in coming months.