Sioux County Supervisors passes ordinance to regulate data center
The Sioux County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance regulating future data centers and lifted the county’s existing moratorium in a 4-1 vote. The rules restrict sites to nonproductive farmland, cap facilities at 25 megawatts, require decommissioning plans and closed-loop cooling, and prohibit private wells for cooling.
The Sioux County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance establishing requirements for any future data centers in the Iowa county, then lifted a moratorium adopted earlier this year. The measure passed 4-1 and addresses electrical demand, water use and disposal, noise and light pollution, facility locations, and decommissioning.
The ordinance prohibits data centers from using productive farmland, limits facilities to 25 megawatts, requires closed-loop water cooling and bars the use of private wells for cooling. Supervisor Carl Vande Weerd said the rules are intended to protect water and electricity supplies, agriculture, and local control, while allowing companies to build if they comply. Sioux County is the first county in the Siouxland region to adopt data-center-specific regulations, and officials expect neighboring counties to consider similar measures.