The next Montana Legislative session is six months away, and there is no guarantee that the Legislature will take action to protect Montanans' water resources, energy bills, health, and quality of life from data centers' impacts.
Communities are taking matters into their own hands before it's too late, turning to democratic processes - like county level ballot initiatives - to regain control when it comes to data centers. If our government refuses to work for us, we must roll up our sleeves and do the work ourselves. Sustained public engagement can create protections and public benefits. Read on and learn how you can get involved.
Great Falls folks, scroll to #4 for information about a Data Center Task Force meeting on Monday, July 6. |
The proposed data center campus in Broadview is an enormous 5,000 acres, as this aerial outline demonstrates. Photo by Chris Boyer, with aerial support from Lighthawk. |
1. Yellowstone County residents pursue data center approval ballot initiative with Aug. 8 deadline. |
As the citizen organizers' website states, "The Yellowstone County Data Center Voter Approval Initiative is a citizen-led ballot measure that would require any new or expanded data center in Yellowstone County to receive explicit voter approval before construction begins. If passed, no data center project could break ground without first winning the support of at least two-thirds of Yellowstone County voters in a special election. This measure does not ban data centers. It ensures that decisions with lasting consequences for local water, energy infrastructure, and taxpayers are made transparently -- by the public -- rather than quietly by a small number of elected officials or unelected administrators."
Current Status:
The initiative was formally submitted to Yellowstone County on June 15, 2026. It was approved by the County Attorney on June 23rd, 2026. Now, volunteers will begin the herculean task of collecting enough signatures to place the measure on the November 2026 ballot. Approximately 19,000 valid signatures from Yellowstone County voters are needed by August 8, 2026, to place the initiative on the November ballot. To learn more, review the petition, or connect with organizers, visit: https://www.ycv1.org/. Email NoDCinYC@gmail.com to get involved. |
2. Butte-Silver Bow Ballot Initiative is halfway to signature goal ahead of Aug. 14 deadline. |
The goal of the Butte-Silver Bow City-County ballot initiative, as described by the citizen organizers' website, "is to give you a voice to vote on data centers in your backyard. Regardless if you are for or against data centers in Montana, their presence should be put to a vote rather than dictated by unilateral agreements. The Butte Data Center Initiative will establish new provisions in the Butte-Silver Bow Municipal Code to prohibit, after November 3, 2026, any necessary authorization to construct or expand any Data Center within the city-county without prior approval via an election in which 2/3 of all registered voters approve."
Current Status:
Momentum is building, and volunteers collected 1,800 signatures from Butte-Silver Bow City-County voters in the past few weeks. More volunteers are needed. The deadline for signature submissions is August 14, 2026. A minimum of 3,652 signatures are required, but volunteers are aiming to collect 4000.
Residents can learn more about the initiative, connect with organizers, review the full petition, and find opportunities to sign here: https://www.406first.com/initiatives/responsible-a4pxz-j5ryd-hgkka-h8sfa. Use the "Contact Us" page or email 406peoplefirst@gmail.com to get involved.
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3. Missoula County to consider interim zoning for data centers at July 9 meeting. |
On July 9 at 2 PM, the Missoula County Commissioners will consider adopting interim zoning regulations that would temporarily pause new or expanded data center development while the county studies potential impacts and develops updated zoning standards. The proposed interim zoning is intended to help protect public health, safety, natural resources, and quality of life by addressing concerns such as energy and water use, noise, heat, and air quality before additional large-scale projects move forward.
County officials have suggested that the potential administrative pause would exclude the 7 MW data center project planned for the Bonner mill site. Since the developer initiated the application process prior to the proposed interim zoning, the project would proceed as a special exception. This specific proposal remains subject to evaluation by the Missoula Consolidated Land Use Board, independent of the broader temporary pause on new development. You can participate in the July 9 (2 pm) meeting in-person or online: In-person location: Sophie Moiese Room
Missoula County Courthouse Annex (200 W. Broadway) Virtual option:
Residents can attend the meeting via Microsoft Teams. To join the call on your phone, call 406-272-4824, Conference ID 467 457 758#. To join the meeting on your device, follow the links on the agenda that will be published at http://missoula.co/bccmeetings.
Learn more and submit public comments here: https://missoulacountyvoice.com/data-center-interim-zoning. |
4. Great Falls Development Alliance (GFDA) still thinks Great Falls needs data centers and will host a Data Center Task Force meeting Monday, July 6. |
GFDA wants to recruit data centers to Great Falls despite two-thirds or more of Montanans saying "data centers would have a negative impact on the availability of water, the reliability of the electric grid and the price they pay for electricity." It will host a fourth Data Center Task Force meeting Monday, July 6 from 5:00 - 6:30 PM at the Great Falls College MSU - Heritage Hall.
This meeting will feature Betsey Hale, CEO of Cheyenne LEADS, a specialist in "data center recruitment." Cheyenne, Wyoming, is seeing enormous data center buildouts. It's already home to about a dozen data centers, and there are proposals for many more that "could require double or triple the volume of electricity consumed by the entire state," and will require the creation of 5,600 person "man camp." In Cheyenne, the characteristics of an unhealthy boom and bust economic cycle are clearly taking shape, and residents are worried.
Great Falls residents must speak up and reject this flawed vision of their community's future.
You can participate in the July 6 (5 pm) meeting in-person or online:
In-person location: Heritage Hall Great Falls College MSU (2100 16th Ave S)
Virtual option:
You can register to join the meeting via Zoom at this link. |
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Montana decision-makers have a responsibility to protect Montanans, our waters, and our communities: |
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County Commissions should protect water resources, community infrastructure and services by enacting zoning. They could also enact a temporary moratorium on new data center projects until county approval processes and/or state-level regulations are adopted.
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Legislators should listen to constituents who are demanding action to protect the state from data centers and develop and support new laws that will protect water resources, air quality, communities, and existing Montanans' electricity bills. (Find your legislators and their contact information at legmt.gov or send a message through MEIC's website.)
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Gov. Gianforte should stop making promises to Big Tech companies looking to make Montana a sacrifice zone for data centers and instead protect Montanans who have to suffer the consequences of unregulated data center growth across the state and in their communities. Send the Governor a message on MEIC's website.
The Public Service Commission should protect ratepayers from subsidizing the short and long term costs of providing electricity to new data centers and any infrastructure needed to power them. Contact the PSC through email (pschelp@mt.gov) or phone (406-444-6150)
The State of Montana should not permit expensive new power plants that threaten water resources, local and statewide air quality, and local communities.
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Upcoming Events - Speak Up! |
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When Gov. Gianforte launched the Governor's Energy Task Force in September 2025, he promised that the group would "identify barriers and build strategies to deliver affordable, dependable energy for Montana families and businesses." Unfortunately - but not unsurprisingly - that task force seems focused on how to provide low-cost electricity for energy-hungry, water-consuming data centers, not Montana families.
The Task Force meets on July 8, and it's a great opportunity for you to show up and let the Governor and his hand-picked pro-data center Task Force members know what is actually important to Montana families and small businesses - lower cost electricity bills and protection of communities and individual water rights. Instead of catering to Big Tech, this Task Force should be analyzing the most affordable energy generation and ways to increase affordability for Montana families and small businesses.
The meeting agenda has not been posted on DEQ's website. You can find it here when it is posted in the next week. The last Task Force meeting allowed public comment before the lunch hour, at mid-afternoon, and at the end of the day. We will update MEIC's website to let you know when the agenda is posted and when public comment will be allowed.
Here is some more information about the Task Force meeting and what you can say. |
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