Bonner Data Center

Dear MCCLUB- I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposed data center at the Bonner Mill site and to urge our local government to take a firm stand against resource-intensive tech developments in Missoula County. While we are all looking for ways to revitalize our local economy following mill closures and job losses, industrial data centers are the wrong fit for our community and pose significant threats to our environment, our quality of life, and our wallets.First, the environmental cost is simply too high. Facilities of this scale are notorious for draining precious water resources. Just one data center can consume millions of gallons of water per day for cooling. Placing such an enormous draw on our local water table—especially in close proximity to the Blackfoot River and Clark Fork—risks the very river systems that took decades to restore and that are vital to our local ecology and outdoor recreation economy.Second, the energy demands of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers are staggering. Proposals circulating throughout Montana threaten to strain the grid, and everyday residential ratepayers will likely be forced to foot the bill for necessary transmission upgrades. In a time when families and small businesses in Missoula are already dealing with a high cost of living, we cannot afford to subsidize the energy needs of out-of-state tech corporations.Furthermore, data centers are notoriously bad at job creation. After the initial construction phase is complete, these facilities operate almost entirely hands-off. Trading our community's natural resources and affordable energy for a handful of permanent tech jobs is a net loss for Missoula. Furthermore, the 24/7 nature of these operations brings intolerable light and noise pollution, including low-frequency vibrations that harm neighboring residents and local wildlife.We should be fostering sustainable, community-driven economic development rather than handing over our resources to massive data corporations. I urge the Planning Board and County Commissioners to rigorously apply local zoning requirements, deny special exceptions, and demand absolute accountability to protect our valley.Thank you for your time, leadership, and commitment to preserving the Missoula we all love.Sincerely,
Kari Nimlos
Owner of GEM jewelers
317 SW HIGGINS Farviews / Pattee Canyon]

I strongly oppose the proposed approval of the special exception for the Krambu Data Center. As I and many others have seen recently, data centers have caused significant damage to the quality of life of nearby residents to the centers, and to precious ecosystems. Constant noise, light, and poor water quality/levels, are all very real concerns to residents surrounding data centers, e.g., the situation in Georgia. The residents near this center in Georgia have undrinkable water that comes out brown from their tap. The constant noise and light from the center is drastically harming health and wellbeing. I fear that if a special exception is approved, the fate of residents near the historic Bonner Mill site will be the same.
Thank you for your consideration.

I am incredibly worried about the potential environmental impacts that a data center will have on our rivers. I am especially worried about the potentially adverse impacts increased water temperatures and decreased flow/volume will have on our native bull trout, protected by our endangered species act. Montanans care about our water and our environment, please act with the people you serve in mind. There are also concerns about economic impacts that increased loads would have on our electrical infrastructure. Who will pay for the distribution systems and for the increased burden on our infrastructure? We cannot use more energy until the energy we use is clean. Please think of the water you drink and the air you breathe first.

Dear Esteemed Members of the Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board,
I am a proud Montana resident and I am avidly against any data centers being built in this state. Much of what is great about our state is the fresh waters, access to quiet, and appreciation for the land around us - all things that would be in jeopardy by the construction of a data center. The noise pollution, energy use, and water use are just the tip of the iceberg as to why this is a bad idea. In addition, I am concerned about the heat and degradation of clean water that the surrounding areas would get because of these data centers. We are facing a climate crisis and the last thing we need is more energy and fresh water being used for an industry that has yet to prove its worth. The residents of the Bonner area that you serve do not deserve to have their community and natural environment destroyed by this industry that billionaires are pushing upon us. Do not be like the Utah leaders that have ignored their community for a potential payout. Listen to your community members who will live through this issue not the corporate industry tycoons who will leave once they have destroyed our community. Please do what you know is best for Bonner and the surrounding communities, for the cutthroat and bull trout, and for the future of our world.

I am concerned about any projects that add to the heat of surrounding communities and watersheds, especially as it concerns the native west slope cutthroat and bull trout. The world does not need data centers. Listen to your community members. Your job is to do what’s best for community members, not corporations.

As a Montana kid born and raised this data center goes against all the values I’ve picked up throughout my life and learned from my family and friends. The west of Montana allready struggles with low snow pack and we’re seeing stage 1 fire restrictions in some regions of our state not far from where the proposed data center will be located. We’ve had a hot winter and spring and it makes me sad and worried for the state of our streams as is. The impact this center will have on stream flows and residents water will be far from positive and the Clark fork and Blackfoot are one of few places that hold bull trout and that should be well over enough to say no, we gotta keep them suckers around we’ve allready hurt their population enough

I am a montana resident and I am avidly against any data centers being built in this state. The noise pollution, energy use, and water use are a huge factor in why this is a terrible idea. We are facing a climate crisis and the last thing we need is more energy and fresh water being used. The residents of the Bonner area do not deserve to have their community and natural environment destroyed by this horrible machine.

I will voice along with many others that a data center will bring NO benefit to our community. The impact on our surrounding waterways alone would be castrophic for people and wildlife. It has been documented that people will loose access to water, wildlife ecyostems will collapse, and here in Montana it seems like a very bad idea to use our fire suppression supply. With climate change in full swing, fire season is no joke in Montana. Every Missoulian and Montanan knows that - fires are already burning in May - and we have know for years how precious our water is. No data center is worth jeopardizing that. AI does not have to be our future. It is more harmful than good and most of humanity agrees. This data center will hurt Montanans while benefiting extreme corporate greed that only cares about short term gains. Saying no will protect current and future Montanans. For the love of our treasure state, the environment, and humanity, have some good sense and do not support this data center. Again, future generations, like my 9 month old son is counting on us to do the right thing. Please NO data center!

Dear Members of the Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board, I am writing as a local resident and as a former professional city planner to formally request that the board DENY the Special Exception permit for the proposed Krambu AI data center at the former Bonner Mill site. Given my professional background in land-use planning, I understand the high legal threshold an applicant must meet to earn a Special Exception. An applicant must definitively prove complete operational compatibility with nearby residential properties and natural resources. This application fundamentally fails to meet that planning standard, posing direct and unmitigated risks to our local infrastructure, utility rate stability, and a fragile, newly restored ecosystem.I urge the board to deny this permit based on the following critical impacts: 1. Electrical Grid Strain and Cost Shifts to RatepayersWhile the developer claims that purchasing power from the grid will not inflate local consumer rates, the sheer scale of the project suggests otherwise. The initial phase demands 7 megawatts (MW), scaling rapidly to 29 MW, with long-term engineering projections pointing to a massive 100 MW draw. This exponential load heavily risks triggering expensive grid infrastructure upgrades and peak-demand strain from NorthWestern Energy. Under current frameworks, these multi-million dollar stabilization costs are routinely passed down to everyday Montana families and small businesses. We should not subsidize the immense power demands of an outside tech firm.; 2. High-Volume Water Consumption and Aquifer DepletionData centers are notoriously resource-intensive. Krambu's application outlines a cooling infrastructure consisting of a combination of adiabatic and evaporative cooling towers using an estimated 50,000 gallons of water per month drawn from an on-site well. Drawing thousands of gallons of water out of the shared water table risks impacting the domestic wells that surrounding residential properties rely on. Furthermore, the plan includes discharging roughly 5,000 gallons of wastewater monthly into localized treatment facilities. The temperature, chemical treatments, and contaminant load of this discharge pose unmitigated risks to our localized water systems and the neighboring Blackfoot River ecosystem.; 3. Incompatible Noise and Vibration ProximityThe proposed facility features up to 10 massive evaporative cooling towers located within 500 feet of residential property boundaries. The applicant's estimate of a 55 dB noise footprint is highly idealized and fails to account for continuous, 24/7 low-frequency hums and infrasonic vibrations. Constant low-frequency vibrations are known to cause structural resonance and severe sleep disruption for nearby residents. A continuous, industrial cooling complex of this scale is entirely incompatible with the historic character and peaceful quality of life in the Bonner-Milltown community.; 4. Undoing Decades of Blackfoot River Restoration: The Bonner-Milltown community has spent decades remediating historic industrial pollution from old mill operations and cooling ponds to successfully restore the Blackfoot River ecosystem. Introducing a heavy industrial data center within 500 feet of this sensitive watershed threatens to reverse this hard-won progress. The threat of thermal pollution from wastewater discharge risks raising river temperatures and devastating native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout. Furthermore, the chemical anti-scaling additives required to run these cooling towers risk leaching into our shallow gravel aquifer. The board must protect our millions of dollars in public restoration investments and reject this ecological threat. ConclusionFrom a sound planning perspective, the economic and public trade-offs of this project are entirely unjust. For a massive 7 MW facility that heavily exploits our local power grid and watershed, the developer is only proposing a meager 20 to 35 permanent jobs. This leaves our community with virtually no long-term employment or economic benefits while externalizing all of the severe ecological and financial risks onto the taxpayers of Missoula County. Because the applicant has failed to prove that these severe impacts can be successfully avoided, mitigated, or compatible with the surrounding neighborhood, the criteria for a Special Exception have not been met.I respectfully ask that the Land Use Board prioritize local residents, respect proper zoning intent, and reject the Krambu data center application.Thank you for your time, service, and consideration of the public record.

Dear Members of the Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board, I am writing as a local resident and as a former professional city planner to formally request that the board DENY the Special Exception permit for the proposed Krambu AI data center at the former Bonner Mill site. Given my professional background in land-use planning, I understand the high legal threshold an applicant must meet to earn a Special Exception. An applicant must definitively prove complete operational compatibility with nearby residential properties and natural resources. This application fundamentally fails to meet that planning standard, posing direct and unmitigated risks to our local infrastructure, utility rate stability, and a fragile, newly restored ecosystem.I urge the board to deny this permit based on the following critical impacts: 1. Electrical Grid Strain and Cost Shifts to Ratepayers: While the developer claims that purchasing power from the grid will not inflate local consumer rates, the sheer scale of the project suggests otherwise. The initial phase demands 7 megawatts (MW), scaling rapidly to 29 MW, with long-term engineering projections pointing to a massive 100 MW draw. This exponential load heavily risks triggering expensive grid infrastructure upgrades and peak-demand strain from NorthWestern Energy. Under current frameworks, these multi-million dollar stabilization costs are routinely passed down to everyday Montana families and small businesses. We should not subsidize the immense power demands of an outside tech firm.; 2. High-Volume Water Consumption and Aquifer Depletion: Data centers are notoriously resource-intensive. Krambu's application outlines a cooling infrastructure consisting of a combination of adiabatic and evaporative cooling towers using an estimated 50,000 gallons of water per month drawn from an on-site well. Drawing thousands of gallons of water out of the shared water table risks impacting the domestic wells that surrounding residential properties rely on. Furthermore, the plan includes discharging roughly 5,000 gallons of wastewater monthly into localized treatment facilities. The temperature, chemical treatments, and contaminant load of this discharge pose unmitigated risks to our localized water systems and the neighboring Blackfoot River ecosystem.; 3. Incompatible Noise and Vibration Proximity: The proposed facility features up to 10 massive evaporative cooling towers located within 500 feet of residential property boundaries. The applicant's estimate of a 55 dB noise footprint is highly idealized and fails to account for continuous, 24/7 low-frequency hums and infrasonic vibrations. Constant low-frequency vibrations are known to cause structural resonance and severe sleep disruption for nearby residents. A continuous, industrial cooling complex of this scale is entirely incompatible with the historic character and peaceful quality of life in the Bonner-Milltown community.; 4. Undoing Decades of Blackfoot River Restoration: The Bonner-Milltown community has spent decades remediating historic industrial pollution from old mill operations and cooling ponds to successfully restore the Blackfoot River ecosystem. Introducing a heavy industrial data center within 500 feet of this sensitive watershed threatens to reverse this hard-won progress. The threat of thermal pollution from wastewater discharge risks raising river temperatures and devastating native bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout. Furthermore, the chemical anti-scaling additives required to run these cooling towers risk leaching into our shallow gravel aquifer. The board must protect our millions of dollars in public restoration investments and reject this ecological threat.ConclusionFrom a sound planning perspective, the economic and public trade-offs of this project are entirely unjust. For a massive 7 MW facility that heavily exploits our local power grid and watershed would amount to only 20 to 35 permanent jobs. This leaves our community with virtually no long-term employment or economic benefits while externalizing all of the severe ecological and financial risks onto the taxpayers of Missoula County. Because the applicant has failed to prove that these severe impacts can be successfully avoided, mitigated, or compatible with the surrounding neighborhood, the criteria for a Special Exception have not been met. I respectfully ask that the Land Use Board prioritize local residents, respect proper zoning intent, and reject the Krambu data center application.Thank you for your time, service, and consideration of the public record.

Every single data center is an absolute glutton for energy and resources. The companies that are building them constantly misrepresent and downplay the energy required to operate them and their effect on the surrounding environments. The last thing Montana needs is a giant data center, offering low range jobs, that sucks up our energy and resources. Non stop noise pollution and contaminating our water sources should be a non starter period. We are seeing wells and bodies of water being contaminated all over the nation and being exposed at public hearings on the federal level on a weekly basis. There is no need whatsoever for these centers in Montana. Montana should be left as is without slowly destroying it with these data centers. I strongly oppose any data centers within the state of Montana

There has not been sufficient evidence presented by the applicant to avoid potential substantial impacts to, not only the surrounding residents, but the environment and ecosystem surrounding this property. The proposed redevelopment of this brownfield property into an AI Data Center does not benefit the community in any way.
The unknown, highly likely, destructive impacts of the use, and contamination, of Montana water should be taken into account when deciding to approve or deny this project.
Noise and water contamination ARE a definite effect from existing Data Centers across the US. Don’t let fancy wording on a Special Exception Application fool you. The applicant is presenting a “lesser” impact statement on the application when it is certain this is only a gateway to expand and rape this neighborhood and river of everything that is truly special about Montana.
LISTEN to the common sense people of Montana. Say NO definitively to this proposed project.

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This can not happen. Data Centers will destroy Montana and all its natural beauty. The big tech companies keep pushing the message that we must adopt and get on board but that is not true. They are only pushing their agenda. We can say no! We can stand up against them. Data centers will bring massive water use, create huge power demand, create noise and light pollution, and put a strain on local infrastructure — there is no benefit to our local communities - big tech companies just want profit while locals deal with higher utility pressure and environmental impacts. Keep Missoula safe! We want clean rivers, open land, wildlife, and quality of life. We do not want or need industrial-scale server warehouses consuming enormous amounts of energy 24/7. This must be stopped! Don’t let them take the ‘last best place’

This project would hurt our community with no benefits. Everyone should be saying no to this blatant attack on the sustainability of our community. If we do not understand the impacts to our waterways then we cannot approve a project. I do not see how this project will benefit my community. I do know that I will not see a better quality of life. Please consider the overwhelming public outcry towards this center. Thank you for your time

The answer to this needs to be an unequivocal NO! As a lifelong Montanan and a Missoula resident for many years, there has been a noticeable and rapid trend of winters being warmer and drier every year. Rarely do we see snow anymore. Missoula and Bonner are at high risk during fire season, and the depletion and degradation of the water supply a data center would result in would make this problem worse. This data center provides NO benefits to the surrounding community and would only harm this environment and the people living in it. I have yet to hear from a single Missoula or Bonner resident who is in support of this data center being built. Montana is one of the few remaining places where people live in nature rather than replacing it. Our clean air, water, and land is not something we should take for granted, and building a data center here is a sure way to destroy it. Please DO NOT let this data center become a blight on our beautiful state.

Well Erin Brockovich is now taking on the data centers. Missoula County Commisioners slow the roll and wait because you’re going to find out how bad these data centers are. Don’t be behind the 8 ball. They are bad.

Absolutely Not!
Once this goes in no matter what terrible things happen we can't undo it! We have a moral obligation to protect the Blackfoot River and the water quality for future generations. This Data Center will not produce jobs immprove infrastructure or benefit anyone in the local community. The risk of its negative impacts on the quality of life and the environment are just to great. Let's not value the profits and greed of a handful of individuals over being good stewards of the home we are leaving for future generations.
The only way to minimize the disaster this will bring is to not allow it in the first place. Stop the Bonner Data Center now!

I’ve lived in MT my entire life. Every year, a very obvious change in the climate has been presenting itself. It may not be obvious unless you’ve lived here for multiple years in a row, but our moisture is dwindling every season. It’s no secret that AI data centers use water more than citizens in towns combined. To allow something like this to be in a drought state that is already in a water crisis is a reckless for the citizens of Montana. This can NOT happen.

No. Data centers are proven to be detrimental for the health of the people and the land. The amount of water they use is disgusting. Our snowpack is already decreasing each year. This plan does not support the community. AI takes jobs from the people. We are already facing a recession, life is unaffordable. Furthermore, this is sacred land to the tribes. All in all, this is a terrible proposal. No data center! Please!