Data Center Interim Zoning

I do not support data centers. They are detrimental to the environment and the communities they are built in.

I am totally against this Data center as it is too close to a city and will have environmental impacts. There are health/medical impacts as well. Missoula and Bonner have been doing fine without this data center and we do it need it.
AND….. why did we spend millions of dollars to clean up that portion of the river to allow it to be used by a data center!

This is sad when a community is being sold out by commissioners in control who are trying to pacify community members saying they are going pause on data centers but continue approval process for Bonner Data Center it seems they already gave approval. At the cost of are Water, Air , are peace of Montana and electrical service and our wildlife.
But once the process has gone thru there will be no going back.
It's too bad these Commissioners can't be smart enough to learn from all the other states Data Centers that they have regrets they let thru But it is too late. Sad.

I strongly support Missoula County adopting interim zoning to place a temporary pause on data center development while updated regulations are developed. The county's own materials acknowledge that current zoning was written for cryptocurrency mining operations and has significant remaining gaps when applied to modern AI data centers, including water use, backup generation, noise, heat, and air quality. That is a clear and reasonable basis for a pause.

I am asking the commissioners to include the proposed Bonner Mill data center within the scope of this interim zoning.

The stated rationale for excluding Bonner is that the developer, Krambu, has already started the application process. But starting a process is not the same as demonstrating compliance. Krambu has submitted five Special Exception applications. The most recent, Application Number 5, was deemed incomplete by the county on June 12, 2026, with 29 separate deficiencies identified, including internal contradictions in the application's own water use figures, an undisclosed evaporative backstop system, an incorrect claim that Legionella risk management is not required, and a request to defer backup generator details until after approval. No lease has been signed between Krambu and the property owner. No power purchase agreement or renewable energy plan has been secured.

If the county believes an emergency exists that justifies pausing new data center development countywide in order to protect water, air quality, and public health, that same emergency exists at the Bonner Mill site. The Blackfoot River, the residential neighborhood, the elementary school approximately 200 yards away, and the KettleHouse Amphitheater and Brewing are not protected simply because an incomplete application happened to be filed first.

Excluding Bonner from this moratorium sends the message that being first in line matters more than being right. I am asking the commissioners to apply the same precautionary standard to Bonner that this interim zoning is meant to establish for the rest of the county.

Thank you for considering this comment.

As a lifelong Montanan, I am sickened by the changes happening in our state. What was once seen as sacred and beautiful is being stripped down to dollars. If this interim zoning is not passed, a door will be opened to anyone who wants to plunder our resources. Data Centers have no place in MT.

Missoula County is becoming to crowded to consider projects that have know hazards to people. You should use every tool you have to avoid allowing data centers. These centers should be in an area with little or no people and unlimited soar power (the desert Southwest).

As a taxpaying Montana native, I strongly support the interim zoning and will also add (like many others have) that the Bonner Mill should also be rejected on the grounds it violates our state constitutional rights. By setting this precedent with interim zoning laws, we can ensure companies trying to follow in the footsteps of Krambu to destroy our beautiful state and natural resources, won't be able to.

Krambu also needs to be included because of multiple reasons others have posted below, but to reiterate what groundswell wrote, "If the county believes an emergency exists that justifies pausing new data center development countywide in order to protect water, air quality, and public health, that same emergency exists at the Bonner Mill site. The Blackfoot River, the residential neighborhood, the elementary school approximately 200 yards away, and the KettleHouse Amphitheater and Brewing are not protected simply because an incomplete application happened to be filed first."

ADOPT INTERIM ZONING AND INCLUDE KRAMBU'S BONNER MILL SINCE IT VIOLATES OUR CONSTITUION AMONGST NUMEROUS OTHER CONCERNS.

In a state already in a wildfire and impending fresh water crisis and one that depends so heavily upon wildlife and nature for tourism, it would be (at a minimum) a poor business decision to allow any business (AI Data Center or otherwise) to potentially ruin our natural resources/sources of continual profit and benefit to Missoula County in general.

This land is sacred (and stolen), the people here are special, and there’s no amount of tax revenue that’s worth polluting this beautiful place.

Hello:

My name is Charlie McPherson; I am a resident of Missoula County, a taxpayer, an educator, and an organizer. I would like to state full-throated support the interim zoning and would like to ask that it be specifically extended to Bonner Mill.

My reasoning for this extension of interim zoning for Bonner Mill is as follow:

1. More than 100 communities in 38 states have enacted similar moratoria;
2. Krambu's five applications to date have been riddled with 29 unresolved deficiencies and contradictory figures for projected water use for this data center, including an unaddressed risk of Legionnaire's disease; they have shown themselves not be a trustworthy broker, and;
3. a single 37 MW data center uses roughly the same electricity as all households in Missoula combined, a significant draw on our power supply and an all-but certain source of environmental damage and rate increases.

For the interest of the safety of the community, the safety of our rivers, and the health of our community and the generations to come, I believe the interim zoning proposed should extend to Bonner Mill in order to prevent these and other damages to our land by Krambu. I further propose the public comment period be extended to 23 July 2026 in order to give the community ample time to make their voices heard.

Thank you,
Charlie McPherson

I support Missoula County adopting interim zoning. The Bonner proposal should be included.

Our own Montana state constitutional rights stand in direct opposition to data centers.

Article II, Section 3 guarantees a clean and healthy environment as an inalienable right.

Article XI, Section 1 declares that “the state and each person shall maintain and improve” the environment.”

Article IX, Section 3 states “waters within the boundaries of the state are the property of the state for the use of its people.”

This right protects our access to public rivers and streams in Montana.

In short, it safeguards Montana’s air, water, public lands, and our access to public lands and waters for generations to come.

Translation: stop these data centers or you’re violating our constitutional rights. (Info source: Montana conservation voters).

Yes, please adopt interim zoning that will pause data centers development and expansion. The data center proposed in Bonner should not be allowed to proceed.

Missoula County should NEVER consider Missoula a home to data centers. Forget a temporary ban, make it a permanent ban. We don’t want these energy sucking data centers ruining our beautiful landscape.

As a Montanan and as someone who grew up here enjoying the beautiful and abundant nature here, I am vehemently opposed and disgusted by even the questioning of whether there should be and a wanting of a data center like this in Montana. This would have horrific impacts on natural resources that are irreplaceable and that we should protect for current and future generations of flora, fauna, and people. Living in Montana is already expensive and this would also hurt the locals like me that work hard to help the public but still struggle with expensive electricity and other bills. Please think about the horrific ripple effects that this would lead to. There are so many problems that come with data centers like this, that we can just avoid altogether by not having it here. Please don’t do this for the sake of nature and the lives that this would impact above all else. You folks making this decision must listen to the words of the people that you were elected to represent and I will say that to vote in favor of this data center being in Bonner would be deeply wrong and irresponsible. Please. Do. Not. Do. This.

I applaud you for considering the adoption of interim zoning to place a temporary pause on the development or expansion of data centers while the County develops updated zoning regulations to mitigate potential impacts to health, safety and natural resources. I support your efforts and am following this issue closely regarding the Bonner mill site.

I strongly support the pause on data center development. Data centers tax the energy grid, waste water during drought, bring up people's power bills, and cause noise and light pollution. AI is being used as a justification for mass unemployment and is using fossil fuel energy in a time of acute climate crisis. I support this pause and I think it should absolutely apply to the Bonner Data center.

I very much support the interim zoning but I think the only "clearer, more robust regulations" Missoula County should develop are no AI Data Centers in Missoula County anywhere. And a big, fat NO to the AI Data Center in Bonner! For all of the reasons people have so eloquently listed already on this page and also on the public comment page for the proposed AI Data Center in Bonner.

I agree with an interim zoning proposal for data centers. However, I am not certain of the efficacy of this proposal given that, as stated within the aforementioned notice, exceptions will be made. If a special exemption is made for the proposed data center at the Bonner mill site, what is to prevent similar applications from others? What if entities amend prior applications to include data center upgrades? Much more study and precise policy measures should be enacted. May I recommend a moratorium on all applications, including ones that have already begun?

It's a great idea made into a performative act by the fact that it's not being applied to the Data Center proposed in Bonner. To say that we are concerned about the risks of these being built inside of the city limits but aren't concerned of them being built across from a school outside of the city limits seems spineless to me. And I don't personally care if Krambu "Already began the application process". We should have a vote on whether or not anyone cares. They're not building a data center to help Montanans, they want to take our resources and leave us with the trash.

We totally support Missoula County enacting interim zoning to protect the public from data center development ensuring well defined public safeguards in place for water and power usage/supply as well as community impacts from noise.