Bonner Data Center

I’m my opinion adding a data center to any part of Montana would go against every fiber of what makes Montana what it is. With our wide open fields of grass, canola, forests and countless other species of plants that would be affected by a data center. You also got to look at the disturbance of the water near any area we would be putting any data centers. These data centers will start by taking more water from those areas than we can afford, most the state is always considered in drought season and with the lessening of snowfall throughout the years we don’t have water in excess anyways. Adding data centers will also impact native fish species and their natural spawning areas that these fish rely on to survive. As I conclude this I have one more thing to say. Why don’t you go door to door as someone wanting this data center to be built and ask some of the locals what they think of the idea, I bet that those true Montanas, the ones not selling out their land for money, would oppose the idea of a data center.

It would be shameful to allow a data center at this site. A data center will provide zero new jobs while negatively impacting the surrounding community. It will use a staggering account of water and electricity, and ratepayers will see our utility bills rise as a direct result. It will create an annoying noise, like an air conditioner running 24/7, that nearby residents will be unable to escape. It will negatively impact wildlife and deplete water resources. I can't think of one single benefit this data center can offer our community. This site has so much potential to attract industry that would create jobs and benefit the surrounding community, and we lose all of that economic potential by allowing a data center to fill it with machines instead of people. And a data center will hurt surrounding businesses - the noise alone will negatively impact the ampitheater, because the data center's hum will be 24/7. I don't see all these issues being addressed, and I doubt that it is even possible for a data center to exist without serious environmental harm, pollution, damage to water resources, utility hikes to ratepayers, and a constant noise that drives people batty and lowers nearby property values, all while bringing zero full-time jobs to Bonner. Simply look at every other data center that already exists for a blueprint of the damage that will come to our community if a data center is allowed in here.

A data center would poison our rivers, raise energy costs that are already too high, and do untold damage to our area. It should be stopped at all costs.

i’m gonna be as clear as I can. if you build it, I will burn it down.

Hello members, it is a general consensus that most people don’t want the AI centers. The way it is designed and impacts people’s lives and our environment is devastating, the proof is in other established AI center areas. Water has been a topic for many conversations about drought and our water tables shrinking rapidly. AI centers in other states have shown proof of draining water and power from people making it unaffordable or not accessible. If the water goes people die. If our plants and animals go people will die. This is so much bigger than money for technology that is new and damaging. Don’t allow it in push the creators to do better if they want it to exist. Montana gold is the water.

Hello Members. I strongly oppose the Bonner Data Center. I have friends that live directly across the proposed project and they have informed me of major issues. The top issue being environmental issues that will hurt our local rivers. We worked so hard to get the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers back to their natural flowing state. Why would risk endangering these special rivers and species that inhabit them, again? Also, it seems this project would not supply many jobs for the community once it’s up and running. It’s clear this project is not in our community’s best interest.

I am writing to express significant concern and fear regarding the negative impacts of the proposed data center in bonner. I am begging you to reject the proposal so that we can preserve our water and community. We will commit our selves to ruin and death if the data center is allowed. Please. I do not want my daughter to live in a place where we can't drink or use the water and where the wild life has been lost and the river run dry. I am a 4th generation montanan and do not want to have to leave for safety reasons.

As someone who attended the first meeting and witnessed Steven Wood (Krambu CEO) dodge questions and change information he'd already given- this company does NOT care about anything but lining their pockets. No care for the environment, nor the people here. My child goes to school 100 feet away from where they want to operate this data center, yet they got annoyed with questions about noise, safety, clean water, and electricity. Please, keep our state local. Don't sell it out any further. Do your research, educate yourself on Krambu, and AI in general.

NO DATA CENTER IN BONNER!!!

I wanted to share my input that I also strongly oppose the proposed data center being allowed to construct in Bonner.
The concerns I have are how it will affect the surrounding areas, the water quality, energy usage and cost, and the residents of the area.
How are they going to address those concerns? How can they prove - beyond doubt - that our concerns are invalid?
I do not care how much money is promised because the data centers that have popped up elsewhere have harmed the communities that surround them with lower quality water, light pollution, and makes acres of land unusable.
They are planning to have minimal staffing at this center while taking up our water, electric, and land resources. While they may bring in temporary jobs during the center's construction (if they do not outsource the work to out-of-state construction companies), they are not bringing us much benefits -- only noise, pollution, and needless headaches.
Please do not support the data center in Bonner.

Please, for the love of all that is natural, good, healthy, and beautiful, do NOT allow this atrocity in our community. It will undoubtedly destroy our local ecosystems and our own health and wellness with it. The rich and privileged may not notice, but the majority of us will suffer.

I strongly oppose this data center and all AI data centers. We don’t need AI. We need clean water and air. We need to maintain the fish populations that are already endangered and protected in the Blackfoot. No good will come from this center being placed anywhere in Montana.

Hello Members, I am writing as a very concerned Montana resident who very strongly opposes the new Data Center being proposed for Bonnor. Some major concerns I have are for the people who live in Bonner, the children who are attending school just across the street. The constant noise, and light pollution. We are not in California! I am also highly concerned about the pollution to our water ways, to our rivers, all of the waste that comes from these AI data centers is horrible, what is that going to do to our cutthroat, how about our endangered bull trout? What about the joy it brings our fishermen, our guides? The negative impact thats going to have on our economy from people not recreating is a huge mistake. As for the water being used to power the data center, is it actually the water from the fire suppression wells? Can you make that make sense? What is the back up plan for when fire season hits? Where will the water be coming from to fight fires? This all around sounds like a terrible public disaster. Money in the pocket of wealthy people is not more valuable than the lives of our fellow working Montanans, their Children, or the people who come to enjoy and appreciate this beautiful place. Let's put Montana first! The land, the Water, the Families!!!!We dont need AI !!!! We need to all get outside more! Get our feet wet, and play in the grass.

Please dont approve this data center!

Removed by moderator.

I am writing to express opposition to the data center proposal. I live in Bonner across the street from the proposed center. I live with my spouse and children. This proposal concerns me as someone who lives so close to the site. Additionally, does the public know there is a daycare operating across the street from the site as well (in addition to the school)? Our family and the daycare use well water. I attended the data panel conversation at the university in May, and the concerns over the polluted water waste, excessive amount of water used, harmful chemicals in the wastewater, and lack of knowledge on future effects is highly concerning for those of us who need this water to survive! There was also strong concern and evidence provided about power costs being passed along to the community members. This data center has no place across the street from my house. We are hardworking residents of this town and we love it here, and we do not deserve to be poisoned out of our own house and community with water, power, noise, light, and financial waste. Bonner School is already decreasing in enrollment without this added hellhole across the street. We would likely strive to be one less family in the area if this facility came to town. If we even had a choice considering how detrimental it could be to our quality of life! Please do what’s safe for the people who live here and do not approve this center. Thank you.

I would like to express my concern with and opposition to the proposed AI data center project in Missoula county. The environmental impact--especially on water quality would be devastating, as it has been in many other places across the country. The increase in cost of public resources like power and water would also place immense strain on Missoula residents in an already economically challenging time. The increase in jobs that could be initially provided by the construction of a data center would quickly go away as they are minimally manned, meaning this would not significantly add to the local economy or job market. As a young Montanan I'm scared of what the future will look like if we allow corporate greed to pollute and destroy our home.

I strongly oppose an AI data center at this proposed site. We have seen the negative impacts on the environment and the people these a.i. data centers have had in other states. Not only that we have seen how a.i. is already being abused by those in power it may be a useful tool but it is not in the right hands. An a.i. data center is not something we need in Missoula county or anywhere for that matter. A.i. does not create jobs it makes already existing jobs redundant.

I am writing today to voice my extreme concern about Krambu's proposed data center at Bonner. It has been shown time and again that these data centers strain a power grid's capacity, which will only increase NWE's already shocking rates. Montana DNRC makes the claim that we are in our sixth year of drought onset. Allowing this data center to consume millions of gallons of water annually will only exacerbate the declining water levels we've seen in our local basins. I'm incredibly skeptical that this data center will abide by Missoula County's noise ordinance, as well--their generators and HVAC systems are known to run over 95 decibels, and there are residences right across the highway from the proposed site, not to mention the school just down the road. Approving this abomination would be a crime against humanity and an affront to God.

I strongly oppose an AI data center at this proposed site. As we have seen with other similar builds in other areas of the country, AI data centers have an adverse I impact on water and environmental quality, as well as overall quality of life. The location submitted in this proposal is especially egregious, on the banks of the iconic Blackfoot River. This isn’t some out of the way location no one cares about - this is some of the most prized outdoor recreation areas left IN THE NATION. There’s a literal academy award winning film set there. It is unconscionable and irresponsible for our children and our children’s children to allow this project to proceed. It MUST be stopped.

To the Members of the Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board:

I am writing to express my STRONG opposition to the special exception permit request by Krambu for a Data Center in the Bonner Mill Industrial Park. I am a Missoula native, an outdoor enthusiast and a parent/aunt to elementary aged children growing up in both Missoula and Bonner.

My heaviest concern is related to the environmental impact of this proposed data center. Even in closed-loop systems, it has been shown again and again that water usage is significant, water and ground temperature increases are measurable and chemical wastewater from blowdown is rampant. The Blackfoot River is one of the most iconic rivers in the Northwest and to allow this company minimally-regulated access to these waters would be a significant disregard for the overall cleanliness of the water, the well-being of the aquatic life and the health of the overall ecosystem. Secondary impacts on recreational activities and the fishing/floating industry are also to be considered. Additionally, the energy demands of these data centers are well-proven and eventually that cost falls on the shoulders of the locals in the area. This has been shown to happen time and time again and I do not see a scenario in which it will be different with this data center.

Secondly, this data center is proposed to be built a stone’s throw from AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. The constant, unrelenting noise created by the cooling systems will create stress, learning loss, anxiety and distraction among the children, as well as a miserable work environment for our teachers and administration. Allowing this permitting to pass through would be a complete disregard for these populations.

My final major concern (though I have many others), is the minimal benefit economically. Yes, this outside company and its non-Montana investors will benefit hugely from this data mine, however the local job creation once the construction is done will be minimal. It very much feels like a pillage and plunder of the beautiful environment we have at the Blackfoot confluence, with local Montanan’s coming out the losers.

I am asking the Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board DENY the special exception request from Krambu, and do right by Montana.

I am in favor of the Krambu data center. Missoula County desperately needs decent private sector jobs and an increased tax base to perhaps provide some property tax relief.
Data centers are exploding in SE Mesa AZ. Meta just finished constructing one that covers a 360 acre campus. It uses a closed-loop water system and SRP (the NorthWestern Energy of Arizona) has not increased residential electricity rates because of it. In addition, the US needs to keep up with the CCP in the AI race. Although I understand some of the concerns, the good outweighs the bad in my opinion. Thank you.