This story was originally published by Montana Free Press.
The data center proposed for Bonner, east of Missoula, has stalled after the property owner withdrew support for the project this week, according to a notice provided to county officials Monday.
Mike Heisey, general manager of the Bonner Mill Industrial Park, said in a message to the county that he decided to withdraw his signature on Krambu’s application after hearing the public’s concerns about the proposed facility’s potential impacts on the environment. The message was referenced at a Missoula County commissioner meeting Monday and shared on the project’s webpage.
“We appreciate the public’s feedback and will continue to actively pursue clients for the mill site,” Heisey said.
The county had been reviewing the application submitted by Krambu, an Idaho-based data center company, for a proposed facility in the former UFP Edge building at the industrial park. The industrial park is site of the former Stimson Mill, which closed in 2008, and includes several manufacturing businesses.
The proposal has received pushback from local residents concerned about its environmental impact, including water use, noise and potential pollution of the nearby Blackfoot River. Krambu did not respond to a request for comment from Montana Free Press about Bonner Mill Industrial Park’s decision to withdraw from the project.
“I don’t think I’ve ever got so much positive email” —Missoula County Commissioner Josh Slotnick
The Krambu facility was expected to use about 7 megawatts of power initially but indicated it could use up to 100 megawatts, according to the company’s application. Krambu’s application indicated it planned to use a closed loop cooling system, but did not specify how much water that would require.
The Missoula County commissioners on Thursday are set to vote on an interim zoning proposal introduced by county staff that would temporarily pause the development of new or expanding data centers while the county updates its regulations aimed at mitigating potential impacts to public health, safety and natural resources.
The moratorium would not have affected the Bonner proposal because the application had already been submitted, according to the county. But county planners have said that the moratorium proposal partially stemmed from the number of issues staff discovered while reviewing Krambu’s application, many of which were brought forward by the public.
The county’s current regulations on cryptocurrency mines and data centers were adopted in 2021 in response to energy use and noise problems with a cryptocurrency mine that operated at the Bonner Industrial Park from 2017 to 2020.
The existing rules limit the facilities to “industrial zones” as opposed to residential or commercial. The county also requires a special exemption for facilities that are directly next to residential areas, a verification that electronic waste will be recycled and a guarantee that sites use new renewable energy that would not have otherwise been brought onto the electrical grid.
But the county’s existing rules do not address potential impacts to water quality and quantity, air quality, heat, noise and vibration, said Karen Hughes, director of Missoula County’s Planning, Development and Sustainability Department, during a meeting with county commissioners Monday.
Jennie Dixon, a county planner, said during the meeting that modern data centers fueling artificial intelligence systems are different than earlier facilities used for similar purposes. Hughes, the planning director, said that the county wants to make sure its regulations are keeping up with the times.
“We want to be making public policy that’s in the public interest,” she said.
If the commissioners approve the moratorium, the county must initiate a study within 30 days to verify an emergency exists and to determine the course of action to mitigate it. The interim zoning would be in place for up to a year and could be extended for another year if necessary, Hughes said.
During the Monday meeting, Commissioner Josh Slotnick said he had received a surge of approving feedback after the proposed moratorium was first announced last week.
“I don’t think I’ve ever got so much positive email,” Slotnick said.
The Missoula County commissioners will consider the moratorium during their meeting at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Sophie Moiese Room of the Missoula County Courthouse. The public can also join the meeting online.
