Sioux County, Iowa Votes 4-1 to End Data Center Moratorium, Adopt Rules

Sioux County, Iowa, supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday, Oct. 27, to lift the county's data center moratorium and approve a new ordinance governing data centers in unincorporated areas, according to Radio Iowa and KTIV.

Supervisor Carl Vande Weerd, one of the four yes votes, told Radio Iowa that data companies can now apply and must comply with the county's rules. Supervisor Dan Altena cast the only no vote. He said he would have kept the moratorium longer to continue the rules discussion and hold more informational meetings. The moratorium had been in place since June, Radio Iowa reported.

What the Sioux County Data Center Rules Require

KTIV reported the final vote as the third reading of an amendment to County Ordinance One. When the board approved the first reading on Sept. 29, the proposal put a 25-megawatt limit on data centers, required closed-loop water cooling and barred private wells for cooling, according to KTIV. It also set standards that make building on prime farmland very hard, and it added noise and light protections and a decommissioning plan for an abandoned or obsolete site.

KTIV's report on the final vote describes the same themes: limits on size, standards on where data centers can be built, water use, noise, light and decommissioning. It does not repeat the figures.

Zoning Director Shane Walter told Radio Iowa the rules include safeguards for water, electricity and noise. In his words, the county would hold the certificate of occupancy while those thresholds are met and studies are conducted.

Why a 25 MW Cap Matters for Developers

A 25 MW ceiling keeps Sioux County to small and mid-size sites. That is far below the multi-hundred-megawatt campuses that Voltgrid has tracked elsewhere, such as the 200 MW to 1 GW Alton Steel proposal. The closed-loop cooling rule and the ban on private wells also remove the largest water draw that opponents usually raise.

Counties facing the same pressure have mostly paused rather than written rules. Voltgrid reported on the Mountain Home, Idaho moratorium, and on Arbol's insurance product for moratorium risk. Sioux County has chosen to replace its pause with standards that an applicant can check against.

What Is Not Confirmed Yet

KTIV and Radio Iowa both stress that the vote changed the ordinance and did not approve any data center. PathOne Data Centers has said it is considering a project near Hull, a city of about 2,300 people in north central Sioux County, Radio Iowa reported. No application or approval has been reported.

The 25 MW cap, the cooling and well rules and the farmland standard come from KTIV's description of the September proposal. The final ordinance text and the schedule of fines for violations were not available when this was written, so any change between the first and third readings is unconfirmed.