Montana legislator proposes statewide ban on data centers
A Montana State Senator is proposing legislation for the 2027 session to enact a statewide ban on large-scale data centers, citing concerns over land, water, and power usage. This initiative follows successful community opposition to a data center project in Bonner and is driven by the belief that Montana's resources are too valuable to be sacrificed for external profit. The legislator frames the issue as one of environmental justice and aims to make Montana the first state to implement such a ban.
Ellie Boldman, a Montana State Senator, is planning to introduce legislation in the upcoming 2027 session that would establish a statewide ban on large-scale data centers. Boldman, entering her final legislative session, argues that Montana's valuable land, water, and power resources should not be exploited by extractive industries and that the state should avoid becoming "America's server closet."
Highlighting growing nationwide bipartisan opposition to data centers, Boldman points to concerns over electricity demand, water consumption, noise, and land use. She notes that in the first quarter of 2026, 75 proposed data center projects faced organized opposition across the country, and that even states like Texas have paused data center expansion to develop new regulations.
The legislator also cites a successful local effort in Montana, where nearly 50,000 people signed a petition against a proposed data center along the Blackfoot River in Bonner. This widespread public concern over environmental impacts ultimately led the property owner to withdraw from the project. Boldman emphasizes that for Montana, the economic bargain is poor, with enormous resource consumption and few permanent jobs, primarily benefiting out-of-state entities.
Advocating for environmental justice, Boldman states that Montana should prioritize its natural heritage over the demands of the "AI arms race" and wealthy corporations. She expresses a desire for Montana to be the first state to unequivocally ban data centers, asserting that the state's land and water are worth more than the electricity and water they could supply to these facilities.