Climate
Privacy
Bob Dylan
Drones
Data Centers
AI Governance
2026 Maine Senate Race
Last Update: 08/01/2026 at 1:01 PM EST
Montana Data Centers Face Local Pushback
Coverage from KRTV News Great Falls, Daily Montanan, and others
Articles
28
Active Days
65
The Topic
Montana communities are placing new conditions on data center development as residents, county officials, and advocacy groups question projects’ effects on electricity demand, water, land, air quality, and public costs. Missoula County paused new and expanded facilities for up to a year, a proposed Bonner project was withdrawn after public opposition, and ballot initiatives in Yellowstone and Butte-Silver Bow counties seek stronger voter control. The debate is also shaping project timelines and legal strategies, while state and industry representatives argue that companies can bring jobs and investment if they pay for required power and infrastructure.
First Article: 05/14/26
Latest Article: 07/17/26
Summary
- Missoula County approved a moratorium of up to one year while it reviews water, air, heat, noise, wastewater, and power-infrastructure impacts.
- The proposed Krambu data center at Bonner Mill Industrial Park was withdrawn after an online petition drew nearly 50,000 signatures and residents raised water and power concerns.
- Groups in Yellowstone and Butte-Silver Bow counties are pursuing ballot measures that would require two-thirds voter approval for data center construction or expansion.
- Yellowstone County is challenging its proposed ballot measure in court, while Quantica Infrastructure supports the lawsuit over the planned Broadview campus.
- Quantica’s proposed Big Sky Digital Infrastructure Campus could cover about 5,000 acres and has sought 7,235 megawatts through interconnection applications.
- Montana’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge requires participating companies to cover energy and infrastructure needs rather than shifting those costs to consumers.
- Missouri examples show the same tension between economic-development arguments and local efforts to delay, restrict, or prohibit projects.
History
The story now places stronger emphasis on local political control and project timing, with the Bonner proposal specifically identified as withdrawn after a large petition campaign. It also broadens the comparison set to Missouri, while the core dispute over who pays for infrastructure costs remains unchanged.
The story has sharpened from general local resistance into a more explicit fight over how Montana data centers will pay for power and infrastructure. The Broadview/Quantica proposal is now framed as the central legal and regulatory battleground, alongside new county moratorium and ballot-approval actions.
Featured
07-17-2026
Great Falls residents and the Great Falls Development Alliance are organizing in July around the Ratepayer Protection Pledge as data center proposals emerge across Montana.
06-30-2026
Groups collecting signatures in Montana seek two thirds voter approval for data center construction in Yellowstone and Butte-Silver Bow amid power and water impact concerns.
06-24-2026
Gov. Mike Kehoe and Missouri S&T leaders discussed AI-driven data center growth in Rolla on June 18 as protesters and cities pushed water and land-use limits.
Timeline: 65 Days
Hover over any logo to see coverage summary, click for full article.
Additional Articles
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Missoula County commissioners approved a one-year moratorium on new or expanding data centers after concerns about environmental and public health impacts, with regulation updates and a 30-day study requirement.
Yellowstone County Citizens, led by Kassi Solberg, continued a data-center ballot initiative while Yellowstone County Commissioners filed a lawsuit, in Montana, over initiative authority.
Yellowstone County seeks a district court ruling on a voter-approval initiative for future data center construction after Missoula County adopted a one-year zoning moratorium.
Missoula County, Montana, holds a July 9 hearing on interim zoning to pause data center development while updated health and resource impact regulations are drafted.
Missoula County commissioners approved a one-year moratorium on data center construction, excluding Missoula city limits, pending a 30-day emergency impact study.
Yellowstone County commissioners filed a lawsuit in Montana in response to a Supreme Court ruling limiting citizens initiatives over county land use authority.
Denise Kelly-led petitions in Butte-Silver Bow and Yellowstone County, Montana, collect signatures for a November vote requiring two-thirds approval for data center construction or expansion.
Missoula County commissioners planned an interim zoning vote Thursday after Krambu's Bonner data center application support was withdrawn due to public environmental concerns.
Missoula County commissioners approved a up-to-one-year moratorium on new or expanded data centers, excluding Missoula city, while the county updates regulations.
Missoula County commissioners approved a one-year temporary moratorium on new or expanded data centers in Montana, excluding Missoula city limits, while staff study health and environmental impacts.
Missoula County commissioners approved a one-year moratorium on new AI data centers on Thursday to study impacts and develop regulations in Montana.
Yellowstone County seeks a court ruling on a voter-approval initiative for data centers as Missoula County enacts a one-year moratorium pending revised zoning.
Missoula County commissioners passed a year-long moratorium on new AI data centers in Montana on Thursday to allow impact studies and new local regulations.
Missoula County commissioners approved a year-long moratorium on new AI data centers in Montana after Bonner opposition prompted calls for stronger regulations.
Missoula County commissioners approved a temporary moratorium on new or expanded data centers, directing a 30-day emergency study to update health and environmental zoning rules.
⭐⭐⭐
Krambu halted a Bonner, Montana data center proposal after a Missoula-area online petition and community concerns over water, power, and contamination risk, according to Missoula County.
Missoula County requested additional information from Krambu for a Bonner Miller Road data center special exception, leaving the MCCLUB hearing date undetermined.
Missoula County commissioners hold a July 9 hearing to consider interim zoning that would pause data center development while updated health and environmental safeguards are developed.
Denise Kelly and 406 People First seek Montana ballot votes on data center approvals in Butte-Silver Bow and Yellowstone County amid water and utility-rate concerns.
Krambu seeks Missoula County approval for a Bonner Industrial Park data center using closed-loop evaporative and dry cooling under a July 1 special exception hearing.
Krambu filed with Missoula County to redevelop the Bonner mill site into a data center using closed-loop evaporative cooling with on-site well water and planned treatment-facility discharge.
Missoula County scheduled July 9 consideration of interim zoning for data centers to impose a temporary development and expansion pause while updated health and environmental rules are developed.
Missoula County, Montana, halted a proposed 29-megawatt Bonner AI data center when a property owner withdrew a signature from KRAMBU's special-exception application in response to public concerns.
Missouri debate over Amendment 5 cites data center tax exemptions created in 2015 under Senate Bill 149, with incentives tied to investment and high-wage job targets.
Montana Democrats in Billings advanced a two-year data center moratorium on June 20, citing power bills and cooling-water scarcity as AI demand accelerates.