Data centers are permitted only in the Rural Industrial (RI) District and require a Conditional Use Permit.

Construction, installation, or modification of a lawfully existing data center beyond routine maintenance requires both a Conditional Use Permit and a Ward County building permit.

A data-center application must include a project narrative describing market demand, processing capacity, and anticipated water and electricity needs.

A data-center application must include an acoustical-engineer study estimating facility noise and proposed mitigation measures.

A data-center application must include a detailed site plan showing existing and proposed structures, screening, fencing, lighting, electrical connections, property lines, and roadway access.

A data-center application must include a map identifying specified sensitive uses, including residences, schools, religious institutions, and public parks, within two miles of the property.

Applicants must pay all applicable Conditional Use Permit and building-permit fees established by the Board of County Commissioners.

Applicants must provide documentation demonstrating compliance with applicable state and federal requirements, including North Dakota electrical laws and codes.

Applicants must provide a signed electrical power purchase agreement.

Applicants must provide financial security equal to 125% of the estimated cost to maintain the fully constructed and operational data center, subject to review and approval by the Ward County Engineer.

Applicants must provide separate financial security equal to 125% of the estimated cost to reclaim and restore the data center property, including removal of structures and utilities to a depth of four feet.

Required financial security must be provided before work begins and must be in an approved form, such as an irrevocable letter of credit, surety bond, or cash escrow, with annual renewals continuing until reclamation and restoration are complete.

A data center must be located at least two miles from the nearest property line of any single-family or multifamily dwelling, school, church, synagogue, similar religious institution, or public park.

All data-center buildings, structures, and appurtenances must comply with the height requirements of the Rural Industrial District.

All electrical wiring must be buried underground, except wiring brought together for interconnection to system components or the local utility grid, and all wiring must comply with North Dakota electrical requirements.

A secured chain-link, solid-wood, or masonry fence at least six feet high must be constructed and maintained around the entire facility perimeter.

Landscaped buffers are required around the entire data-center property perimeter, and existing trees, shrubs, and ground cover must be maintained to the maximum extent possible.

Exterior data-center lighting must be hooded and directed downward.

Accessory structures and appurtenances, including noise-mitigation structures, must complement the primary buildings and use non-obtrusive colors.

Adjacent exterior access roads must meet the ordinance's subdivision design standards and receive approval from the Ward County Highway Engineer or designee.

A road-maintenance agreement with the governmental entity responsible for adjacent exterior roads is required during construction or major modification.

Interior data-center roads are subject to review by the Ward County Fire Inspector for emergency-service access.

Data centers must comply with the ordinance's storm-drainage, erosion-control, grading, and drainage requirements.

The applicant and, where applicable, the property owner, occupant, lessee, and operator must sign a development agreement covering financial security, roads, stormwater, reclamation, restoration, and other approval conditions.

The applicant or other responsible parties must notify Ward County in writing at least six months before intending to abandon or cease data-center operations.

A data center that is not operated continuously for six months is automatically considered abandoned.

After abandonment, Ward County may require reclamation and restoration within 180 days after written notice, including removal of above-ground and underground structures and utilities to a depth of four feet.

If required reclamation is not completed within 180 days after notice, the County may perform or arrange the work and recover costs from responsible parties through financial security, liens, special assessments, or other lawful remedies.

Data centers located solely on oil and gas well sites or underground gathering-pipeline facilities under the exclusive jurisdiction of the North Dakota Industrial Commission are exempt from the data-center section.

Data centers, including cryptocurrency mining, are expressly defined as a recognized land use, allowing them to be evaluated under the ordinance rather than treated as an undefined use. This definition also includes cryptocurrency mining.

New data centers may be built in the Rural Industrial District through a Conditional Use Permit and a Ward County building permit. This creates an expressly identified permitting path, although approval is discretionary and limited to the Rural Industrial District. Data centers may only be permitted in the Rural Industrial (RI) District with a Conditional Use Permit.

A data center located solely on an oil or gas well site or underground gathering-pipeline facility is exempt from the data-center section when it is subject to the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s exclusive jurisdiction. Data centers which are solely located on an oil and gas well site.

A Conditional Use Permit runs with the lot, building, structure, or use and is not affected by a change of ownership, helping an approved data center continue operating after a sale or transfer. Run with the lot, building, structure, or use.

A granted Conditional Use Permit does not automatically terminate after six months if authorized activity has not begun when the approval conditions provide otherwise or the applicant demonstrates a continuous good-faith effort toward commencement, such as financing, permits, engineering, or design work. Continuous effort in good faith.

Complete land-use or development applications pending on the ordinance’s effective date are reviewed under the regulations in effect when the complete application was submitted, protecting qualifying projects from being evaluated under later rules. Applications for land use or development.

The ordinance preserves rights and liabilities accrued under prior zoning provisions unless specifically changed, which can protect previously approved or established data-center-related rights. Continue in force such existing provisions.