Sioux County supervisors pass one-year data center moratorium

The Sioux County Board of Supervisors in Iowa unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on the construction of data centers and industrial battery storage facilities on June 16. The decision was made to allow the county more time to draft a comprehensive ordinance regulating these types of developments.

County zoning director Shane Walter highlighted the increasing presence of data centers in nearby counties, emphasizing the need for Sioux County to study and prepare for their potential arrival. Supervisors, including Carl Vande Weerd, voiced concerns about environmental impacts, specifically water contamination and the high water and power consumption of data centers, questioning whether the county's resources could handle such demands. They also raised doubts about the long-term job creation and economic benefits after initial construction phases.

The moratorium applies only to unincorporated areas of Sioux County, as county attorney Tom Kunstle clarified. This means facilities could still be developed within city limits, bypassing county regulations, a scenario observed previously in Linn County where Google shifted its data center plans to avoid county-level requirements.

Walter plans to draft an ordinance within the year, comparing it to existing regulations for commercial solar and wind projects. The proposed ordinance aims to protect farmland and include environmental protection criteria, limiting where data centers can be placed within the county. The goal is to have the regulatory language in place before the moratorium expires.