Data centers may be built only in the Industrial District and require a conditional use permit. Data Centers require a conditional use permit in the Industrial District.

The conditional-use application is not complete until extensive site, ownership, zoning, infrastructure, traffic, building, drainage, utility, water, wastewater, landscaping, and phasing information has been submitted. The conditional use permit application is not deemed complete.

Applicants must submit studies including noise, soil, and visual-impact analyses; a traffic study is required when daily trips exceed 500 or peak-hour trips exceed 100. Large data centers also require environmental review, employment and tax-revenue estimates, and archaeological consultation and potentially a survey. Traffic impact study if daily trips exceed 500.

Applicants must conduct a biological-resources survey, in consultation with federal and state wildlife agencies, and submit its results at least 60 days before construction. The results of the survey shall be submitted.

The applicant must mail certified notices to property owners within five miles, pay the mailing cost, and submit proof, a property-owner list, and a notarized certification at least 30 days before the public hearing. At least 30 days prior to the scheduled public hearing.

A data center must maintain a 2,640-foot setback from the applicable noise source to the exterior wall of the closest sensitive-receptor building, with a larger setback required if needed for noise compliance. The affected landowner may waive the setback in a written agreement. Required ½ mile (2,640’) setback.

Projects must comply with applicable North Dakota setbacks from wellheads and waters of the state. Applicable State of North Dakota setbacks from all wellheads and waters of the state.

The owner or operator must maintain all-weather access, and the facility must have a continuous paved connection to a paved county or state road. Road improvements must be addressed through a Road Improvement Agreement with the County. Payment for improvements shall be addressed in a Road Improvement Agreement.

All data-processing and storage operations must be housed in permanent structures complying with the International Building Code and International Fire Code. Constructed in compliance with the International Building Code and the International Fire Code.

Project equipment and structures must use nonreflective finishes and landscape-compatible colors, and lighting must be fully shielded. Lighting must be fully shielded.

Applicants must reseed disturbed topsoil, maintain grass cover, and control noxious weeds for the life of the project in consultation with the Mercer County Soil Conservation District. Maintain grass cover and control noxious weeds for the life of the project.

Facilities that may generate radio-frequency or electromagnetic interference must submit a 1.5-mile impact assessment, use mitigation measures, and correct harmful interference within 60 days of notice. Corrective action within 60 days of notification.

Hazardous chemicals must be stored under OSHA requirements; batteries must be safely ventilated, inspected, and recycled or replaced under EPA standards; battery disposal must follow RCRA; and e-waste must go to North Dakota-listed recycling facilities. Backup batteries must be stored in safe, properly ventilated areas.

Facilities must comply with state water-discharge requirements and implement spill controls, including an SPCC plan and secondary containment. A Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan must be implemented.

Permanent emergency standby generators must comply with applicable state and federal emissions standards, and backup systems, fuel storage, and emissions must meet environmental and safety requirements. All data center permanent emergency standby generators must comply.

The applicant must demonstrate either on-site generation or utility service supported by a utility officer's certification that capacity is committed for the full planned buildout and that rates recover the related capacity and infrastructure costs. A binding agreement is in place dedicating electrical capacity.

Applicants must incorporate water-conservation and energy-efficiency measures, including advanced cooling, renewable-energy integration, and sustainable design practices. The applicant shall incorporate water conservation and energy-efficient measures.

The permittee is responsible for facility-caused damage, must repair, restore, or compensate for verified off-site damage within 120 days, maintain sufficient insurance, and indemnify the County. Within 120 days of the date the damage is verified.

A facility not in use for 12 consecutive months must be decommissioned unless an action plan is submitted showing how it will return to operation within 12 months. The owner must fund site restoration, remove structures and foundations, restore soil and vegetation, and provide a bond or other financial assurance. The data center shall be decommissioned.

Noncompliance may result in fines, required corrective measures, and suspension of operations by the County if corrective measures are not completed. Failure to adhere to these regulations will result in penalties.

After operations begin, the owner or operator must submit annual reports on phasing, expansion, electrical use, and cooling technology. Conditional-use amendments are required for phasing changes, project-boundary expansions, expansions exceeding 5% of an approved structure's gross floor area or increasing the number of structures, demand above the approved maximum, or cooling changes that increase maximum water or electrical demand. An amendment to the conditional use permit must be approved.

Under the separately approved Industrial Use Standards, site preparation may not begin until the property is properly zoned and the conditional use permit has been completed; basic surveying is the only stated exception. No site preparation shall be permitted until the land is properly zoned.

Data centers are allowed through a conditional use permit in the Industrial District, creating a specific permitting pathway for development.

All components and phases located on the data-center parcel, including associated onsite infrastructure regardless of ownership, are treated as one project for unified review and permitting.

The applicant may satisfy electrical-service requirements through either onsite generation or utility-supplied service under applicable tariffs, rates, or large-load programs.

A written certification from the serving utility confirming committed capacity and cost-recovering service is conclusive evidence that the utility-service option is satisfied.

The County is expressly barred from reviewing, approving, modifying, or regulating the serving utility’s rates, tariffs, cost-of-service methods, or cost-allocation arrangements.

Applicants and utilities may designate electrical-service certifications and supporting materials as confidential, subject to applicable law and notice and an opportunity to object before disclosure.

The required one-half-mile setback from applicable noise sources may be waived through a written agreement between the affected landowner and the project applicant or developer.

The owner/operator may satisfy access requirements through a Road Improvement Agreement with the County addressing payment for improvements needed to connect the site to an adequate paved road.

An expansion within an approved phasing plan does not require the separate expansion amendment that is required for certain expansions outside the approved plan.

Expansion outside the approved phasing plan requires a conditional-use-permit amendment only when it exceeds 5 percent of an approved structure’s gross floor area or increases the number of structures; any expansion of the approved project boundary still requires an amendment.

A change that increases maximum water demand or maximum electrical demand because of changed cooling technology requires an amendment, while cooling-technology changes that do not produce those increases are not expressly subject to that amendment requirement.

A data center that is unused for 12 consecutive months may avoid decommissioning by submitting an action plan demonstrating that it will return to operation within 12 months; the County may also allow a longer non-use period when a reasonable reuse, reactivation, or redevelopment plan is demonstrated.

The County Commission voted to lift the data-center moratorium, contingent on final adoption and publication of the ordinance.

A one-year moratorium prohibits permitting data centers in Mercer County. The commission voted to put a 1-year moratorium on data centers being permitted.

The proposed zoning amendment would classify data centers as a conditional use in industrial districts, requiring additional conditional-use approval before construction or operation. The vote on this provision tied and was moved to the April 1, 2026 agenda. Data Center listed as a conditional use.

The zoning amendment would list a data center as a conditional use in the Industrial District, creating a specific permitting pathway rather than prohibiting data centers. The provision was not yet approved because the March 18 vote ended in a tie and was moved to the April 1 agenda. Data Center listed as a conditional use

Basin Electric's large load commercial program allows large-load customers such as a hyperscale data center to receive service while paying the infrastructure costs needed for their demand, with existing cooperative members insulated from higher electric bills. customers are responsible for the costs associated with infrastructure needed to serve their needs

The utility entities and NextEra entered into a memorandum of understanding to evaluate serving a potential multi-gigawatt hyperscale data-center campus, including the need to construct a new power plant because of the project's electricity demand. entered into an MOU