Hancock County officials are discussing a possible ordinance to regulate crypo mining, solar farms, battery storage facilities and data centers. Hancock County Supervisor Bud Jermeland said he visited the Des Moines suburb of Altoona to learn about the impact a data center is having there.
“Actually I went in through the security gate. There was people behind me, so the security guard had to let me in. There is no noise out of that facility. I said: ‘Is this normal?’ He said: “This is the way it is. There is no noise,'” Jermeland said. “These would basically the same buildings that would be in Hancock County that way I understand.”
Jermeland visited with neighbors of the facility, too. “I said: ‘Is the noise a problem?’ (They answered): ‘No,'” Jermeland said. “You know what they told me about the noise? They told me what we hear down there is the trucks backing up with their beeper. They also told me they hear employees coming in with loud stereos, with boom boxes.”
Jermeland made his comments in a Hancock County Board of Supervisors meeting room packeed with residents concerned by the prospect of a data center in their rural county. He told the crowd they’ve been reading opinions online, without investigating the facts. “You can read all the stuff on the internet, but unless you get your butt in a seat and go down to Altoona and do the research that I did, maybe then you’ll have a qualified opinion,” Jermaland said. “…I’m going to tell you that before it comes to this board, you’ll know the facts. I can tell you there’s a process in place, that nobody’s going to be hoodwinked.”
Hancock County Supervisor Gary Rayhons said the discussion about the ordinance shouldn’t be centered on data centers, since battery storage centers, solar fields and crypto mining facilities may be included. “It doesn’t matter what kind of a business comes in, we need to have open discussions on it, you know because let’s face it…We’re a rural county, guys. We’re agricultural. We’re declining in population. We need to keep growing the tax base. I’m not saying the data center’s it.”
Rayhons said having new industries or businesses of any type expand in Hancoch County is the way to reduce population loss in the area.
(By A.J. Taylor, KIOW, Forest City)