Bonner Data Center
Project overview
A property owner in Bonner has submitted a preliminary application to Missoula County Planning, Development and Sustainability for a proposal to lease the planer building at the Old Bonner Mill to a company planning to establish a data center. The site, generally located at 9314 Bonner Mill Road in the Bonner Mill Industrial Park, is zoned Industrial Center, Heavy. A data center would be an allowed use on the property.
Missoula County has additional zoning regulations that apply to data centers and cryptocurrency operations throughout the county. These include:
All power for the operation must come from a new renewable energy source (meaning it has not been on the market yet)
The operation must recycle all electronic waste
Because it is located within 500 feet of a residential area, the proposal must go through a special exception review to ensure impacts to nearby properties are addressed, including traffic, noise, lighting, landscaping, and screening and buffering
Project process
The project would be subject to approval by the Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board, not the county commissioners. While the land use board at times only has authority to make recommendations to the commissioners, the board does have final decision-making authority in some cases, including zoning variances, zoning special exceptions and administrative action appeals.
The land use board has authority to approve or deny a proposal to locate a data center within 500 feet of residential use, but the applicant must still secure a zoning compliance permit from the County ensuring they meet the requirements to recycle e-waste and supply the operation with new renewable energy, as required by the cryptocurrency zoning. The board may consider this project in early May at the earliest. The project would also need to get other County permits to operate, such as building and other trade permits. These are subject to administrative review and do not involve a public process.
What is a special exception?
A special exception is defined as an allowed use that meets the intent of the zoning in an area, but which, because of location, scale, required infrastructure or other potential impacts, requires a special degree of consideration and control to ensure it is consistent and compatible with the overall community character.
State law and local regulations require the Board of Adjustment to be the reviewing and approving authority for special exception requests. (The Consolidated Land Board serves as the Board of Adjustment for Missoula County.)
What’s next?
The project is still in its initial stages, and Missoula County has not received a formal application yet, which is typically the point when public engagement starts. Due to heightened public interest though, residents are invited to ask questions and submit comments using the tools below.
County staff attended, but did not organize, a community meeting Friends of 2 Rivers hosted on March 20 in Bonner. If a formal application is received, the public will have a chance to weigh in on this project at a public meeting of the land board. Follow this project page to be notified when a meeting is set.
Who's Listening
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Phone 406-258-4946 -
Climate Action Program Manager
Missoula County Planning, Development and Sustainability
Phone (406) 258-3442
This seems like a ludicrous idea to even consider this idea. Yes the area could use some industry but destroying our precious ecosystem in that area and disrupting the Blackfoot River seems like a huge mistake. Please don’t let this happen!!!
Absolutely not. No other community is seeing any positive benefits from these data centers. Our natural resources and environment are too precious to gamble on a corporation doing the right thing. Please deny this project!
I have a lot of concerns about this project and the impacts on the residents and environment. Montana has a long history of environmental damage at the hands of a few wealthy people trying to get wealthier. At a time when regulations and simple data collection is being defunded and undermined, how are working people supposed to trust this development to be a responsible neighbor? I'm hoping the council demands receipts and proceeds with a healthy dose of skepticism.
This would be truly disastrous for the community in so many ways. There is no way this should even be considered.
No, this data center will not benefit our community in any way.
There is a clear trend of exploitative industry in Montana. This Data Center is no exception. Allowing this project to go forward would be in direct contrast to residents desire and public benefit. Please send a clear message that predatory businesses are not welcome in Missoula County.
I am not advocating for this project. It will take more from the community than it provides. That said, I can answer some questions :
1. It should not impact the wastewater system as the water used is closed loop.
2. Further they capture most (90%?) of the heat that is generated for reuse. The idea being heating greenhouses or aquaponics .
From a environmental perspective, considering what these two companies are doing to bring the bitcoining mining/ai data center to Bonner is not terrible.
From a business perspective it will not help Bonner. This includes income generation for local residents.
No! No! No! Other than the few who profit from this, the whole community suffers. The environment suffers. And we all know that regulations and rules don't mean anything to those in power. Those running AI are the new copper kings. We in MT know where that got us the first time. We don't need more AI. We need to keep this planet human-powered, respecting it and one another. No profits over people. No profits over our MT way of life.
I worry that the water use and disposal has not been addressed. How much water will be consumed? How will it strain our wastewater treatment facilities? How will it impact future development plans?
Another factor is noise…noise in a mountain valley. We need an absolute guarantee that the noise this center will make will not negatively impact our community for the years to come. Cumulative stress from constant noise (and light, etc) is a health hazard, impacting sleep and everyday life.
I appreciate that the center would use all renewable energy sources. Does that mean they’d cover all development and future payments associated with the renewable project?
Sadly, in our current system, recycling all e-waste is not reality. How will they guarantee all e-waste actually gets recycled? I do not want the waste just sitting around somewhere. That’s not recycling, that’s disposal.
Thank you for your consideration.
This is a horrible idea. I strongly disapprove of a data center. Do not allow this to be built. There is no benefit.
There is no upside to this project that is worth the costs it will have on the community. Please do not proceed.
This is against our state’s constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment. AI bubble is about to burst, and even if it wasn’t, it’s a morally corrupt and useless endeavor. If this project proceeds, it will be against the will of the people who live here.
I'm deeply concerned about the prospect of an AI data center being built within Missoula county for a variety of reasons. This technology is too new to fully understand its impacts. I don't believe that any of the regulations proposed would suffice to reduce or eliminate the risk. The economic benefit to our community seems very minimal. There has been report after report of the negative impacts of data centers that have been hastily constructed throughout the country that are just now coming to light. Any potential benefit for this specific instruction is far outweighed by the known or unknown risks. I'm not a properly law expert but it appears that there is an avenue too legitimately deny the request for a special exception here. I was strongly urge the Consolidated Land Board to deny this proposal.
As a Missoula resident, I am FIRMLY against this project.
I'm worried about noise pollution. I've read that other data centers generate noise that impacts a 2 mile radius.
I am quite concerned about any data center coming into Montana due to their high use of water. The jobs promised are temporary and what will happen when they are no longer needed because technology has advanced to the point of no longer requiring huge quantities of space? We'll be left with rusting out warehouses and used up resources. I fear that our utilities will sky rocket as well. Please do not let this project proceed.
A.I. has not shown enough accuracy and consistent content to warrant building data centers to this degree. The river in out area is still recovering from mining damage and this will just make the pollution worse. Also, using river water to cool facilities means warm water will be put back in, even if they try to cool it down. This will be a huge blow to our aquatic life, which alsonis already at risk. Lastly, how much river access will be shut off in the name of security? I'd rather have recreational access than an A.I. center that does a half-a$$ed job. I doubt it will bring enough jobs or tax revenue to juatify the damage it will cause.
One of the biggest draws to Missoula is the access to nature and wildlife. I think it is risky and stupid to build a AI data center, there is no real way to know if they will maintain the limitations proposed. We have seen from other towns how AI data centers can negatively affect the surrounding environment and water. Montana is a beautiful place and is rich with landscapes, sunrises, and wildlife. Why taint that with a capitalistic venture that will ruin the environment, ruin the allure (and tourism) of Montana, and potentially ruin the city’s electricity, employment, etc.?
The priorities for this community are preserving the beautiful nature we are surrounded with, not with corporate earnings and greed brought about by AI.
The town hall at the church was biased, slimy, and censored. How dare you tell us to sit quietly and listen to a moderator twist our words while business men dodge our concerns with vague responses. We were given no information regarding health impacts of the community as well as false answers regarding resource consumption. Hold another town hall and allow us to speak openly against this disrespectful company and their harmful proposal. We do not support them. We do not support any data centers. How stupid can you be to think this will do anything but harm us in every possible way.