The Custer County Planning Commission continued work Wednesday afternoon on proposed regulations for data center development, with a public hearing now scheduled for the commission’s next meeting.
The public hearing will be held Wednesday, September 23, and will provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the proposed data center regulations.
During Wednesday’s meeting, commissioners focused on revisions intended to clarify several portions of the draft, including language addressing cooling systems and water conservation, abandonment of data center facilities, and emergency action plans.
The commission’s work comes as the county’s current moratorium on data center development is scheduled to expire at the end of September.
Following discussion of the data center regulations, the commission moved to place a 12-month moratorium on battery energy storage development.
Commissioners also discussed the need to update the county’s comprehensive plan, noting that the existing plan is old and outdated with limited copies available.
The commission additionally received an update regarding the Prairie Hills Wind Farm. Commissioners discussed the project beginning to work with mud mats and looking into starting construction in the near future.
