Micah Drew

(Daily Montanan) Montana residents are seeking oversight of data center construction by putting voter initiatives on the ballot this year.

In Yellowstone and Butte-Silver Bow counties, groups are gathering signatures for initiatives that would require approval from two-thirds of registered voters before construction or expansion of data centers.

Last week, Broadview resident Kassi Solberg told the Daily Montanan that the Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office had approved the citizens’ petition she submitted on behalf of the group “Yellowstone County Voices.”

On Thursday, Solberg held the first training for volunteers in Billings to help collect the 16,650 valid signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot, and she said the support has already been huge.

“I love to see people standing up and saying they can do this,” she told the Daily Montanan in an interview. “Whether you’re for or against data centers, you should sign this so that you can have the vote. When those companies fill out applications to put data centers here, it’s we, the people, who get to decide whether it’s the right fit.”

But Quantica Infrastructure, the corporation building a data center campus near Broadview, called the initiative “misguided” and would harm employees of existing businesses if they have to shut down while voters make a decision allowing them to reopen.

Northwestern Energy, the state’s largest monopoly utility, has said it’s in discussion with at least 11 developers about opening data centers in Montana, but many details about these conversations are unavailable to the public.

A similar grassroots  initiative led by the group 406 People First in Butte-Silver Bow County would establish a new provision in municipal code to prohibit “any necessary authorization to construct or expand any data center within the city-county” without approval from voters.

Sabey Corporation had previously proposed a billion-dollar data center project near Butte, but the company terminated an agreement to purchase land earlier this year.

The organization announced earlier this month it had collected more than 600 signatures in its first week following approval from the county election administrator and needs 3,652 signatures by the end of August.

“A local ballot initiative is the most direct way to protect our wallets, water and way of life,” said Denise Kelley, a member of 406 People First, in a statement. “We’ve watched the news and heard about real life impacts from data centers across the country causing people’s electricity bills to go through the roof and draining water supplies.”

The ballot language in Butte was drafted by John Meyer, an attorney with Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, and was used as a model for the Yellowstone County initiative.

Helena attorney Brian Miller, a Democratic candidate for the state’s eastern U.S. House seat, revised the language for Yellowstone County.

He said in a post on social media that he made sure the definition of “data center” combined all existing definitions in state and local laws, and that it would include the Quantica data center. He also said he wanted to make sure there wasn’t a loophole for smaller data centers, to ensure companies didn’t break up projects into small pieces to avoid oversight.

“This is uncharted legal water here,” Miller said. “So could this get challenged after passage? Absolutely … But these issues have to be brought up and dealt with sooner or later, so that’s just the risk you take. One battle at a time.”

Data centers have increasingly become an issue political parties are getting involved in, and the state Democratic Party at its June 20 convention voted to support a two-year moratorium on data center projects as a plank of the party.

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Solberg said she first became aware of the data center issue in Yellowstone County from a post on social media, and then went to an informational meeting held at Rocky Mountain College by Quantica Infrastructure, a company seeking to build a large-scale data center on roughly 5,000 acres of land near Broadview.

“I have asked a lot of questions, and I didn’t really receive any answers,” Solberg said.

Quantica announced in a press release last month it had filed applications with Northwestern Energy, Montana’s monopoly utility company, to expand power generation for the data center campus, with a total of 7,235 megawatts of capacity requested through the interconnection — roughly 10 times the power load Northwestern provides for all of Montana.

“Quantica will pay for the additional power capacity for the Big Sky Digital Infrastructure Campus in Montana. NorthWestern Energy’s ratepayers will not be responsible for the cost of the power. As a Billings resident, I appreciate this approach and it’s important to me that my neighbors don’t foot the bill for our project,” Charlie Baker, chief accounting officer of Quantica Infrastructure, said in a statement.

The applications include “renewable and firming generation, plus battery storage,” according to the company, and The Billings Gazette has reported that plans also include building two gas-fired power plants. While energy watchdogs want to be sure residential customers won’t be paying and are pressing the Public Service Commission to exert oversight, some union and trade organizations are supportive of data center projects.

Quantica recently announced an agreement with a local AFL-CIO affiliated federation – Southeastern Montana Building and Construction Trades Council — establishing a “cooperative framework focused on union-backed workforce development, apprenticeship and training pathways, and project stability for the Big Sky Campus.”

In a statement to the Daily Montanan, a Quantica spokesperson said the Big Sky Campus will be “both a short-term and long-term win for Broadview, Yellowstone County and the State of Montana,” by growing tax revenue, creating jobs, and by paying for its own power.

“We’re committed to being a good neighbor in Broadview and Yellowstone County now and through the long-term,” Quantica said. “… With our team’s deep personal and professional roots in Montana, our approach is grounded in four core commitments: protecting our Montana way of life, including being good stewards of our land and resources; paying our own way for power to protect Montana ratepayers; creating good Montana jobs; and investing in our communities. ”

But some residents, like Solberg, have a lot of questions about the data center construction and how all the new energy needs will affect local residents.

She said her first course of action was to send a petition to the Yellowstone County Commissioners seeking “transparency, accountability and protection regarding data centers,” but didn’t get much of a response.

Solberg said the commissioners instead sent her on a “wild goose chase,” by proposing an interim zoning ordinance that would put a moratorium on data center construction within the district. But when she submitted the signatures from adjoining landowners near the Quantica campus, she said the commissioners did not act on the issue.

“That brought me to my next move with the citizens’ initiative,” Solberg said. “The people deserve to have a say. This affects them, this affects where they live. Because our elected officials and county commissioners have ignored us, we are taking that power into our own hands.”

Two of the three Yellowstone County Commissioners – all Republicans – did not respond to questions from the Daily Montanan, while Commissioner Chris White said he was out of town and unable to answer questions.

In a statement to MTN news, Commissioner Mike Waters, said he appreciates “the citizens’ participation in the local initiative process and respects the effort that goes into preparing and submitting a proposal.”

Quantica told the Daily Montanan that the company plans to follow the “robust existing guardrails under numerous laws, regulations, and permitting requirements” throughout the state.

“This misguided initiative scheme is a wet blanket on business, community investment and job creation,” Quantica told the Daily Montanan. “We will continue working with the Broadview community and Yellowstone County, being honest and transparent, and following all applicable laws, and Montanans expect opponents of the project to honor those same commitments.”

This story has been updated on July 1 with responses from Quantica.