A company called QTS is considering the eastern Iowa town of Clinton for a $10-billion, hyperscale data center campus, though many residents want strict standards in place first.
About a hundred people showed up at a Clinton planning commission meeting, requesting language concerning water quality, noise pollution, and air quality.
After listening to hours of comments, commissioner David Brown echoed one of the main suggestions: “This is so much to absorb, wouldn’t it be better off to just table the meeting and discuss at the next meeting?” bringing applause.
Clinton resident Carol McGuire asked for stricter standards for things like setbacks, and repeated worries over water and noise.
“A data center is not good for Clinton and nothing in this ordinance changes that,” McGuire says. “It puts the wealth of a few over the health of many.”
Planning commissioners unanimously voted to continue the public hearing until next month to give them time to consider the public’s suggestions.
(Eliza Billingham, Iowa Public Radio)
