County: No new action taken on data centers

No new action was taken last week on a draft ordinance aimed at better regulating potential data center development in Adair County.

The Board of Supervisors met Wednesday morning, and Supervisor Jodie Hoadley updated the board on the latest version of the ordinance. Similar ordinances from eastern Iowa counties, along with input from artificial intelligence, helped her shape the current draft.

Hoadley said she recently spoke with officials in Madison and Union counties. Union County was expected to enact a moratorium on data centers — and possibly battery storage facilities — as soon as last week. Madison County officials suggested Adair County consider adjusting allowable sound decibel limits for data centers as part of its draft ordinance.

Adair County’s legal counsel still must review the draft, and supervisors indicated additional revisions are probable. Hoadley encouraged the board to continue reviewing the working document.

“This should save a lot of legal review time,” Hoadley said. “We still have to have it looked at for legal purposes.”

Data centers — large facilities filled with computers that store and transmit information — support services such as websites, email, streaming video, online shopping and artificial intelligence.

Hoadley said one concern is the amount of water and electricity data centers consume. A large-scale transmission line proposed by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator is scheduled for approval in May. If approved, it would run through eastern Adair County and carry 745 kilovolts of power — more than 6,000 times the output of a standard household outlet.

At their March 18 meeting, the supervisors enacted a temporary moratorium on data centers, which would hold off any new development of data centers in the county until the moratorium is repealed.

Highlights of other action included acceptance of Becky Luers’ resignation as Grand River Township trustee and appointment of Jayne Mazurkiewicz to the same position