Missoula County commissioners this week pressed pause on data center development. They voted unanimously for a one-year moratorium on proposals.
The decision to freeze data center projects in Missoula County was met with loud applause and cheers at the county commission’s July meeting. It’s the first policy of its kind by any county in Montana.
More than two dozen people had urged the commission to adopt the pause to give the county more time to scrutinize the power and water-hungry data centers.
Commissioner Josh Slotnick celebrated the moratorium, but said the “fight wasn’t over.”
“You all are going to have to exert the same pressure on the Legislature, on our delegation, and go to Helena, and write letters, and speak your mind, and do all the organizing that you’ve done today,” Slotnick said. “You’re going to have to do it again.”
Slotnick foresees a tug-of-war during the next Montana Legislative Session over data center regulation. The National Association of State Legislatures reports some states are reconsidering tax incentives they’d put in place to attract data centers as public concern grows.
Missoula County’s only data center proposal stalled late last month. The property manager of the old Bonner lumber mill site pulled his support for the project.
There are no current data centers proposed in Missoula County. But they’re moving ahead elsewhere, including Yellowstone County. That’s where AI firm Quantica is seeking to build a colossal facility near the small community of Broadview.
