After voicing support last week for creating a one-year moratorium on data centers located on unincorporated county land, the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday discussed ways of carrying that out.
Back on June 12, chairman Mark Nelson first told Siouxland Public Media about the possibility of a county moratorium on data centers.
In the latest weekly Tuesday meeting, they began the process of passing a resolution to put the moratorium in place
All the supervisors agreed that the moratorium is an important step and people deserve a full vetted search into the pros and cons of data centers. A county memo said there “are concerns about their substantial energy and water concerns, noise, and potential incompatibility with rural land uses.”
The Woodbury County process being put in place will have county staff in the Community and Economic Development/Planning and Zoning Department review zoning definitions, environmental protections and infrastructure capacities.
To carry that out, the county will hold a series of public input sessions to be announced.
The supervisors voted five to zero on a resolution to establish the moratorium.
During the meeting, some county residents spoke against the potential data center in Salix.
However, one resident Dean Bradham, from Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 33, said he didn't understand why everyone is running scared, adding Woodbury County needs the opportunities data centers could provide. He asked the board to reconsider the moratorium.
Iowa State Senator Kevin Alons, said he asked Midamerican a few questions but the company “evaded the questions”. Alons added the moratorium does not hold the county back.
Nothing the county supervisors do concerning a county moratorium can halt what is happening in the small town of Salix. In a June 10 Salix City Council meeting, a MidAmerican Energy representative confirmed the company is involved with a proposed development of a data center.
Earlier this spring, the council approved the annexation of about 950 acres of ag land into Salix.
On June 15, more than 100 people gathered at the Salix Community Park to speak against data centers.
County Board Chairman Mark Nelson has referenced that the county in recent years set a similarly thorough process concerning solar and wind projects.
