Carlton County approves 1-year data center moratorium

CARLTON — The Carlton County Board room erupted in applause as commissioners approved a one-year moratorium on data centers.

Carlton County’s new ordinance as of Monday, Aug. 24, will prohibit approvals of new data center developments in any of the county’s townships. Legal staff advised the board that cities within the county would not be affected by the moratorium.

District 4 Commissioner Susan Zmyslony offered the motion. She said she didn’t have much to add to the discussion that wasn’t already expressed by Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax.

“This interim use ordinance is important for our generational farms, our tourism, our lakes, our forests, and I think it’s a smart way to move,” she said.

Carlton County’s discussion on moratoriums began this summer, when the grassroots group The Land Stewards requested it at a meeting in early June. Carlton County is also in the midst of updating its comprehensive plan.

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The data center proposed in Hermantown — and the nondisclosure agreements that went with it — have localized the nationwide discussion around data centers. Carlton County joins a growing list of Minnesota communities that have adopted moratoriums on data centers, as state and federal regulation lag.

There is a growing demand among tech companies for these large complexes due to the needs of artificial intelligence. They can have enormous impacts on local water and electric infrastructure, among other concerns.

Bemidji is also considering a one-year data center moratorium.

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