Members of the Shawano County Board on June 24 adopted a 12-month moratorium on the siting, construction, establishment and operation of data centers in the unincorporated towns in Shawano County that have approved the county’s zoning authority.
It does not affect any cities, villages or the towns of Almon, Bartelme, Belle Plaine, Hartland, Hutchins, Lessor, Pella, Richmond and Wescott, all of which have their own zoning laws.
Shawano resident Nancy Cramer expressed concerns about potential environmental problems as well as nationwide societal issues.
She touched on issues such as water shortages, pollution, heated water discharged back into lakes and rivers, noise pollution affecting people and wildlife, decreases in property values and increases in electric rates.
“I do not feel that we can let them come to Shawano County and destroy our water, our hunting and fishing land, our tourism,” Cramer said.
She suggested the proposed one-year moratorium be extended to five years. Board Chairman Tom Kautza told her state law limits the length of a moratorium to one year.
Fellow city resident Shirley Hinze said big tech companies are suing communities that adopt moratoriums.
“These corporations like Microsoft have billions of dollars to come back after smaller communities like ours to force their issue,” she said.
Hinze said Shawano County also needs to concerned about what could happen in nearby Langlade County.
“If you do a data center to the north, it will deplete the water that then comes down through us,” she said. “As this water is restricted, it heads down to Lake Butte des Morts, where, of course, the sturgeon come out of to head north to Shawano dam to spawn.”
Hinze said Shawano County may not have the resources for a mega data center, but residents still need to aware of the issues and be concerned about what others might do.
“I am totally against these data centers, because I do know what the impact will be on the environment,” she said.
Supervisor Kathy Luebke urged residents in the cities, villages and other towns in Shawano County to push their local officials to adopt a similar moratorium.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
While there are no current plans for a data center in Shawano County, officials adopted a one-year moratorium on the development of any such facilities. The Port Washington data center, at 672 acres, is the equivalent of about 509 professional football fields. (Kevin Passon | NEW Media)
