Sioux County supervisors have voted to lift a data center moratorium and have approved new rules for data centers.
Carl Vande Weerd was one of the four supervisors who voted for these moves. “Once these rules are put in place, then data companies can apply,” Vande Weerd said, “and comply with our rules.”
Shane Walter, the county’s Zoning Director, said there are safeguards for water, electricity, and noise. “The county would hold the certificate of occupancy while all of those thresholds are met and studies are conducted,” Walter said.
Supervisor Dan Altena said Sioux County residents still have concerns. He was the lone vote against repealing the moratorium and approving the data center ordinance. “I personally would have liked to wait longer, keep working on the rules, keep having discussions like this, informational meetings — more of ’em,” he said, “keep the moratorium in place, go a little longer.”
The moratorium had been in place since June. “PathOne Data Centers” has announced it is considering a data center project near Hull, a city of about 23-hundred people in north central Sioux County.
