Carlton County Land Stewards is a grassroots group of families, farmers, landowners, and individuals. We originally came together in response to a proposed tar sands oil pipeline that was being routed through member’s lands in 2013. The group became well versed in the intricacies of state agency rules and the permitting process at the county, state and federal level. Although the process took years and thousands of hours of volunteer time, CCLS was very pleased when it won a court of appeals decision upholding that the process for pipeline approval being used by Enbridge Pipeline and the Minnesota Public Utility Commission was illegal under state environmental laws.

Our members have continued to meet since our victory as friends and neighbors but we have recently regrouped with purpose towards protecting our most treasured assets – our water, our farmland, our human community, and our natural environment against unplanned and unmonitored encroachment by outside industry.

CCLS is now focusing its hard won expertise on the question of possible development of data centers in Carlton County. The thought process relative to data center development is at its core the same as for pipeline development. All development requires balancing the needs of the community. When development promises huge benefits there is potential for huge unintended consequences.

Hyperscale Data centers are a new type of industry and we don’t yet know how or if they should be in our community. First we should explore if large data centers would be compatible with the Carlton County community. If they are, then we must determine how that new industry will be approached to everyone’s greatest benefit. Answers to these and other questions will take study and time. That is why CCLS is asking for a one year moratorium on negotiations, rezoning, permitting, siting, and development of data centers in our county. In the long run this approach will minimize delays and yield a better result for our community as a whole.