ST. PAUL — Lawmakers are moving to require big technology companies to provide more information to the public when they plan to build data centers in Minnesota communities.
One measure would prohibit local governments from entering into nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, with private companies, while the other would require at least two public hearings and disclosure of key details including the company behind the project, size and potential impacts, such as energy use.
A Senate committee approved the bills on March 17 on an 8-2 vote. The bills now head to the Senate Judiciary Committee. A similar House measure banning NDAs advanced to the floor after unanimous committee approval.
Across the country, tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon are building data centers to power artificial intelligence and cloud computing. In Minnesota, there are already more than 60 data centers in operation, according to the nonprofit Clean Water Action. And some have been proposed under NDAs and code names, such as “Project Loon” in Hermantown and “Project Deacon” in North Mankato.
Though about a dozen have been proposed, only one in Rosemount, dubbed “Project Bigfoot,” is currently under construction. The development was not publicly linked to Meta Platforms until after the Rosemount City Council approved it, said Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, the author of the Senate bills.
Testifiers at the Senate hearing cited concerns about noise and light pollution, rising electricity costs and declining property values. Data centers’ heavy water use has also been linked to reduced water pressure.
Aubree Derkesen, a Pine Island resident, said a data center known as “Project Skyway” is planned on a 482-acre site within a mile of her home.
Derkesen said residents were given just four months’ notice last September before plans were approved, despite the city and developer planning the project for more than two years under an NDA. The end user, Google, was not publicly confirmed until after approval was granted.
“I know what it is to be kept in the dark,” Derkesen said. “The democratic process where my voice is supposed to matter has been hijacked by big tech.”
The project falls within the Senate district of Sen. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, who said he learned of the approval one day before it was announced publicly.
“Democracy is dying in the dark in these communities,” Drazkowski said.
Eleanor Dolan, a Duluth resident, said she learned of a data center proposed 7 miles from her home through a news article, just 10 days before a city land rezoning vote. She knocked on nearly 400 doors to inform neighbors.
“The majority of folks we talked to had not even heard of this project,” Dolan said.
Fewer than five residents supported the project, she said.
In Monticello, resident Jenna Van Den Boom said her community has mobilized to form a growing group of about 1,100 residents in response to two proposed hyperscale data centers.
Van Den Boom said most residents were unaware of the project until more than a year into the planning process. Only about 150 residents, out of roughly 16,000, received formal notice because they lived within 350 feet of the center, Van Den Boom said.
“With something as dramatic as a data center that will literally impact every aspect of the city of Monticello, we deserve to be part of the whole process,” she said.
Lawmakers’ views on data centers varied, though most expressed support for increased transparency. Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch, said it is an issue between local government and residents.
Sen. Andrew Mathews, R-Princeton, said there is a need for economic development and bringing in higher local tax revenue. Both senators opposed the bills.
Data centers will continue to be developed, Maye Quade said, but lawmakers face a central question: How much will communities know about them before they arrive?
“This isn’t about how we feel about data centers,” Maye Quade said. “It's about government transparency. Minnesotans have a right to know what their elected officials are doing. We cannot let code names, aliases and NDAs become the norm in Minnesota.”
Report for Minnesota is a project of the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to support local news across the state.
