Graham Data Center Meeting Makes Five Requests to Elected Officials

The Graham Town Hall Meeting on data centers that was held Tuesday, September 29^th encouraged citizens to make five requests to elected officials:

--Ask for impact studies. These are different from feasibility studies.

--Ask the Maryville City Council to not sell effluent to the Nodaway County Rural Water District.

--Ask commissioners to extend the moratorium.

--Ask commissioners to adopt a comprehensive plan that is legally binding and accurate.

--Ask for a state moratorium on data centers.

Many opponents of the proposed data center south of Maryville also opposed the county doing Chapter 100 bonds, feeling that if it is a done deal, the data center should have to pay its full share of taxes like everyone else. One person, Joe Baumli, said, “Please do not give out Chapter 100 bonds. If they do come, make them pay a just price.”

Over 100 people attended the meeting Tuesday, including some supporters of the proposed data center.

Susie Strauch spoke first. She lives within ½ a mile from the proposed location and raised concerns about air pollution, light pollution, and the loss of water if the facility were to tap into the groundwater. Ms. Strauch, like many people who live in the area, is not hooked up to Rural Water, but uses well water. She also talked about the heat dome that could occur. “My great-grandson plans to raise cattle here,” she said, expressing concerns about the impact that the noise from data centers would have on cattle. “Our roads are going to be impacted,” she said, citing the ongoing J-turn construction project that currently limits Route 71 traffic going both ways to one lane.

People had expressed concerns about speeding traffic going through the construction zone. Recently, speed limit signs were put up limiting traffic driving through the zone to 55 mph. Fines for speeding through a construction zone in Missouri are much higher than for a normal speeding ticket. There are signs warning of increased penalties for speeding through a construction zone.

Tim Schafer talked about the impact he feared the proposed data center would have on his livestock operation. He said that his cattle operation produced 95% of his revenue. “Many people can just go to town and work. This is my livelihood,” Mr. Schafer said. “This will hurt my bottom line.” He said that his daughter teaches at King City and that some days, she wants to come back. He cited the effects that low-level sounds have on cattle, noting that his operation is 1 to 1¼ miles away from the proposed site. “It’s very concerning to me that we haven’t gotten the answers we have been seeking,” Mr. Schafer said. “If this goes through, there is nothing to stop them from doing what they want. The EPA is turning their heads.”

Sam Schafer said that he had originally supported the wind farms, but that they had not done what they said they were going to do, and that he was sorry he supported the project. And his opposition to the wind farm has extended to the data center. “First, they were going to do 1 million gallons a day, then 70,000,” he said. “You’re hearing different stories from different people. The tax dollars they promise sound great, but they will be bad for us in the long run.” He said that the taxpayer dollars promised would not compensate for the harm he says they could do to the environment, the water, the livestock, and the wildlife. “We have the most wildlife here of any part of the county,” he noted.

Nina Wiederholt showed a heat dome with a six-mile radius from the proposed facility. It would affect everywhere from the southern edge of Maryville to the southern edge of Nodaway County and come close to Graham, where the meeting was held.

Scott Wilson gave some background on where the proposed facility is at. Scale Microgrids, the developer for the project, has an option to purchase 900 acres of land that they have five years to exercise. There will be two separate entities, White Cloud Generating and White Cloud Acres. White Cloud Generating will operate a 600-megawatt generating facility that will sell power into the grid, while White Cloud Acres will operate the data center. The latter operation will be sold or leased to an end user, since Scale has never built a data center, but specializes in generating electricity. Wastewater would be sold from Maryville through the Rural Water District to the data center and then trucked off to an approved facility. Currently, Maryville is doing an impact study on selling wastewater. The Rural Water District’s position is that since they are a public utility and not a private business, they cannot deny service to a data center. White Cloud Generating and White Cloud Acres are both separate from an Evergy substation that is being built next door. Evergy is getting its water from Savannah via Andrew County Rural Water District #3.

Mr. Wilson expressed the fear that if the state were to reclassify data centers as public utilities, they would be able to exercise eminent domain. It would also mean that the state would assess them, not the local assessor, and revenues would be distributed statewide instead of to local taxing entities like the South Nodaway School District. One of the main selling points for the data center at the June town hall meeting was the revenue that the school would receive.

Jeff From talked about his background. He served for 25 years in the Army before coming back to Nodaway County, where he has lived the last 20 years. He has pushed the county commission to do its due diligence during the moratorium period, which the commission passed on July 21^st. He laid out ten areas that he wanted the commission to research and that he wanted to see answers for. They include:

--Program management;

--Due diligence;

--Infrastructure impact;

--Water resources;

--Public health and environmental reviews;

--Emergency services;

--Economic impact;

--Public engagement;

--Regulatory framework;

--Final decision.

Mr. From said that in his recent two-hour conversation with Dan Scheffler of Scale Microgrids, he heard a lot of the right things from him, but that it had to be put into writing. He noted that it was a national security issue, noting that data centers are often targets in war. The US is currently fighting a war with Iran. He noted that the developer had not given any answers to the project that would create any kind of a baseline for the county to do its due diligence.

Commissioner Scott Walk, who was present at the meeting, said that the commission is running Mr. From’s ideas through the attorney, and that they were taking everything he brought up into consideration. “He has put in a lot of work into this,” said Mr. Walk. “We will work with him and the whole group.”

Scott Wilson said that since Scale Microgrids has never built a data center, they don’t know a lot of the answers. “They could have bought up the whole county if they had wanted to,” he noted. “Hopefully, zoning will have an impact.”

Susie Strauch pointed to a map of the proposed project, noting that much of it is currently used for corn, one section was CRP land, and a lot of the land is used for livestock, noting that if the project goes through, it will take a lot of farmlands out of production.

Tim Lance of White Cloud Township gave a talk about the proposed zoning measure that will be on the November ballot for White Cloud Township. “We want to know who is coming so that people will know,” said Mr. Lance. He told the Express afterwards that it wasn’t the board trying to push this measure, but that some people had asked them to put a measure on the ballot, and that they had agreed.

Mr. Lance said that he had gotten two recent calls from people. They wouldn’t say who they were or who they were working for, but they asked if his township had zoning. He said that if the township had, they would have hung up the phone. “When they found out we had no zoning, they were like kids in a candy store,” he said.

A “Yes” vote means that the Township will appoint a zoning board to implement zoning for the township. It would supersede any zoning that the county would do; the county is looking into its own zoning plan. It would be a different board than the Township Board. He said his personal preference would be to zone everything as “Agricultural,” and go from there, but that any zoning would be up to the board. It would be composed of five members.

Some of the biggest pushback of the night came from the zoning measure. Bruce Skoglund, a supporter of the proposed data center, expressed concern about property rights. Mr. Lance said that it was a matter of transparency. “Hopefully, we will know what people are up to,” he said. “So what if I build a garage? Do I need special approval?” asked Mr. Skoglund. “Things can be rezoned. There is no guarantee that things will stay in place. You’re asking us to trust you guys.” “I don’t want to live next to an industrial park,” replied Mr. Lance. “Missouri is very much a pro-Ag state. We put this measure on the ballot to generate discussion about what we should and shouldn’t do.”

Joe Baumli said that in this case, the zoning board would consist of friends and neighbors. Mr. Baumli said that it was a matter of protecting agriculture and that if they kept it simple, it would work. If a seed company, for instance, wanted to locate in White Cloud Township, as an example Mr. Baumli gave, the zoning board could allow it. “It’s not rocket science,” he said.

Mr. Lance said that it was a matter of trying to bring people together. “Why don’t these data centers go to Kansas City or St. Joseph? Because of land values,” he said. “Try buying land down there by the square foot.” He said that proposed zoning rules could be voted on by the people.

Duane Lester, another supporter of the proposed data center, said that he owned land in Madison County (IA), which has zoning, and that they micromanage every aspect of his operation every time he wanted to build a new building there. “We don’t know who is going to be on these boards,” said Mr. Lester. “I’m hoping people will show up and speak up,” replied Mr. Lance.

Mr. Lance said that he didn’t want to give any false hope, and that zoning can’t stop a project that has already started or an existing project, but that it could limit expansion. “So why are we putting this measure on the ballot,” asked Mr. Skoglund.

Rob Duval said that zoning was not a cure-all, but that if you interfere enough with such projects, it was a useful component in keeping them out.

Polk Township used to have zoning before it was rescinded recently. Mr. Baumli, who was involved in that, said that it had gotten too complex. “It has to be based on common sense and easy to comply with,” he said.

Mr. Lester challenged everyone in the room to name one government program that did not get out of control at some point. “It can start out based on common sense,” he said. “It never stays that way.”

Scott Wilson talked about his background. He owns a repair shop in Bolckow, but even before the data center story broke last spring, he wanted to do more for the community. He promised if elected, he would give straight answers. Mr. Wilson is running for Nodaway County Presiding Commissioner as an Independent. “I live by the 102, and there are times when it drops to a trickle in the fall,” he said. He noted that after he and his wife built their house, a gigantic power line was built next to their property. “I didn’t want to look across at 1,500 acres of solar panels,” he added. He said that he wasn’t in it to make money, but he was there to, “Keep rural areas rural.” He noted that 300 water customers of Bolckow could be affected if the data center is built. “When you think about how it affects people, don’t just think of the Eveready plant,” added Rob Duval.

Dustin Skoglund, Superintendent at South Nodaway, took a question about state assessment. He said there had been discussion about making data centers state assessed and public utilities. “We’re talking about a large amount of money,” he said, saying that he had already contacted legislators Jeff Farnan and Rusty Black to register his opposition. He said that South Nodaway taxpayers already pay a high tax rate for the school, and that taxpayers would be footing the bill if the state were to make such a move. He said that if data centers were made into public utilities, that meant they would be able to exercise eminent domain.

Wayne Beattie said, “They’re going to turn my land into crap,” citing concerns about PFAS, or “Forever Chemicals,” which are difficult or impossible to clean up and that do not degrade over time. He noted that it took 40 years of groundwork to get the Mozingo Lake. There were a lot of setbacks along the way, including a massive defeat at the county-wide level in the 1980’s before subsequent efforts finally got it built. He noted that the projects in Montgomery County were hit with a massive lawsuit that a judge recently ruled could move forward. “I’m not going to roll over and play dead, and neither should anyone else,” said Mr. Beattie. “We were told the lottery would pay for our schools, and that never happened. We’ve got generations to come, and they’re going to live with what we do.”

Commissioner Walk said that the county was still looking for members for an advisory committee they are forming for zoning. They are looking for members throughout the county. Contact any commissioner if interested.

Another town hall meeting is being planned for Monday, October 12^th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm at the Maryville Community Center. It is free and open to the public. Representatives from the Nodaway County Commission, Nodaway County Economic Development, the City of Maryville, and the Rural Water District have been invited to participate.