Late on Friday, October 30, the Hermantown City Council voted unanimously to approve Google’s data center just outside Duluth: three buildings totaling about 1.66 million square feet on just over 200 acres of rural residential land.
Two days earlier, the Pine Island City Council approved a settlement in the lawsuit over Google’s “Project Skyway” near Rochester, which sends that project into a new state environmental review. [1][2][7]
Neither project is in our district, and nothing on that scale has been proposed in 54B. But both are being decided under the same state rules that would apply here.
The questions people in Hermantown and Pine Island have been asking about wells, wetlands, runoff, and who gets a say are the right questions for Prior Lake, Jordan, Shakopee, and our townships to ask now, before anything shows up on an agenda.
In September I wrote about the economics of data centers: who pays for the power, what the jobs really look like, and how the property tax should work. This piece is about the other half of the conversation, the water. It’s long, because the details matter, and every fact in it has a source listed at the bottom.
First, what are we talking about?
Every time you stream a show, store a photo, or use an AI tool, a computer in a data center somewhere does the work. The newest ones are built for artificial intelligence, and they’re enormous. People call them hyperscale data centers, AI-optimized data centers, or “AI factories.” The Hermantown project alone is expected to need about 500 megawatts of electricity, roughly what every home in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth and Rochester uses combined, according to the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota. [2]
All that computing makes heat, and the heat has to go somewhere. Some designs cool with sealed, closed-loop systems that use very little water. Others evaporate water to carry the heat away, and that’s where the big water numbers come from. Which design gets built is one of the most important questions a community can ask. [6][13]
Where AI data centers are proposed in Minnesota
Here’s where the major projects stand, based on the most recent public reporting I could find:
Rosemount (Dakota County): Meta, about 715,000 square feet. Under construction and the state’s first hyperscale data center. [4]
Farmington (Dakota County): Tract, about 2.5 million square feet. Approved in 2024. Two lawsuits were dismissed in September 2026, and no site plan or building permit has been filed yet. [5][6]
Cannon Falls: Tract, about 1.2 to 1.3 million square feet. Permits signed and moving ahead. [6]
Hermantown (near Duluth): Google, about 1.66 million square feet on just over 200 acres. Approved October 30. It still faces three lawsuits, and the Public Utilities Commission must approve its electric service agreement with Minnesota Power. [2][3]
Pine Island (near Rochester): Google’s “Project Skyway,” developed by Ryan Companies. The city approved a lawsuit settlement on October 28 that sends the project through a supplemental environmental assessment by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), followed by public comment. Ryan says construction likely won’t start until 2028. [1][7]
Monticello: Two proposals, one by Scannell and one by Frattalone, of up to 3 million square feet. The city faced a December 8 decision deadline, according to the latest tracker update. [6]
Faribault: Archer, about 500,000 square feet. Paused after the Minnesota Court of Appeals found its environmental review inadequate. [6]
Rejected, withdrawn or inactive: Elk River, Nobles County near Worthington, North Mankato, Apple Valley and Lakeville. [6][8]
The state’s economic development agency, DEED, counts a dozen more proposed hyperscale projects across Minnesota beyond those already underway. [4]
Closer to home, Shakopee has a small data center planned for an existing building in the Dean Lakes Industrial Park. It isn’t hyperscale. The city says it uses closed-loop air cooling with no cooling towers, and its water use is about what office building restrooms would need. Because the zoning already allows it, the city reviewed it administratively, without a council vote. [9] Next door, Elko New Market adopted a moratorium on new data centers in May 2026 that runs until May 13, 2027, while the city studies its zoning. [10]
What people are worried about, and why
The concerns raised around Minnesota fall into six groups. They’re worth taking one at a time, because some are serious and some depend entirely on how a project is designed.
1. Pulling down the groundwater
Tract estimated that its Farmington campus could use up to 2.35 million gallons of water a day. The whole city of Farmington uses about 2.14 million gallons a day right now, so one project could more than double the city’s water use. [11][12] In court, the Minnesota DNR said Farmington hadn’t shown how the project would affect groundwater or the nearby Vermillion River. [13]
2. Private wells running low or turning bad
The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy told legislators this spring that overpumping “can cause residential wells to run dry” and “draw contaminants like manganese and arsenic into well water.” [11] It’s telling that, as part of its Hermantown approval, Google agreed to monitor private wells near the site. [2][3] When the developer itself agrees to watch the neighbors’ wells, the concern is real.
3. Wetlands, runoff and streams
A project this size replaces fields and woods with roofs and pavement. In plans reviewed this summer, Hermantown’s hard surfaces would have grown from about 11 acres to 126 acres, with about 32 acres of wetland lost, in the headwaters of two trout streams. [14] (Google later cut the project from four buildings to three, so final figures may differ.) More pavement means more stormwater running off faster, carrying sediment into creeks.
4. Diesel generators, air and noise
Data centers maintain large fleets of diesel backup generators that require air permits from the MPCA. [15] At Pine Island, generators were a central issue in the settlement: Google and Ryan agreed to cap on-site generation at 50 megawatts. [7] Constant noise from cooling equipment is one of the most common complaints from neighbors, along with water use and property values. [1]
5. Farmland
Most of these projects are proposed on open or agricultural land at the edge of town. Nobles County went as far as banning data centers in its agricultural preservation districts. [6]
6. The water permit gap
Here’s the one most people haven’t heard about. A data center that buys its water from a city can ride on that city’s existing DNR water permit instead of getting its own. [11] Minnesota added special DNR conditions in 2025 for data centers that use more than 100 million gallons a year, including assessments of conservation, conflicts with existing water users, and possible aquifer testing. [16] But a 2026 bill to require large industrial users to obtain their own permits advanced in both the House and the Senate, then stalled before the end of session. [17][18]
The gap is still open.
What it could mean for 54B’s water, wetlands and farms
To be clear: with no large project proposed in our district, this section isn’t a prediction. It’s how the risks would work here if one came, based on what’s already known about our water.
Our water comes out of the ground
Most of Scott County gets its drinking water from groundwater, mainly the Prairie du Chien–Jordan aquifer, which generally flows toward the Minnesota River. [19] It’s the same aquifer system that city wells and the private wells on farms and homes across Jackson, Louisville, Sand Creek and Spring Lake Townships depend on. A big new water user doesn’t draw from a separate supply. It draws from ours.
It refills slowly in a lot of places
Across large parts of the county, thick glacial clay sits atop the aquifer and “restricts vertical recharge,” meaning that rain and snowmelt soak back down slowly. Where the Prairie du Chien limestone sits closer to the surface, it’s cracked and channeled, allowing pollution to move through it quickly. [20] Slow to refill in some places and quick to contaminate in others: that’s exactly the combination that calls for careful review before anyone pumps millions of gallons a day.
Our wetlands drink from the same aquifer
Some of our most valuable natural areas are fed by groundwater. A DNR pumping test showed that pumping from the Prairie du Chien can affect the Savage Fen, a rare groundwater-fed wetland just outside our district. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said that groundwater near Jordan feeds the Louisville Swamp unit of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, which lies within 54B. [21] Lower the water table enough, and these places dry out from below, which is very hard to undo.
Sand Creek is already stressed
Sand Creek, which runs through Jordan to the Minnesota River, is already on the state’s impaired waters list for turbidity, meaning too much sediment clouding the water. [22] Large construction sites and big new paved areas are exactly the kind of thing that sends more sediment into a creek like this one unless stormwater is managed carefully.
Farms and the outer-ring pattern
Freshwater’s research director has pointed out that groundwater depletion tends to show up in outer-ring suburbs that rely only on groundwater, “the same places” data centers are being planned. [23] That describes a lot of 54B: growing cities next to working farms, all on wells. For a farm, a well that drops or a water test that changes isn’t an inconvenience. It’s the business.
What I’d do about it
I’m not running to say no to everything, and I’m not running to say yes to anything with a job number attached to it. These are the commitments I’ve already made, applied to the water:
Test the aquifer before the permit, not after a complaint. Fund the DNR’s water review and make aquifer testing standard for the biggest projects, so a township finds out what the drawdown looks like while the answer can still change the outcome. I first laid this out in my data center piece.
Protect farmland and open space. I’ll scrutinize zoning changes that turn agricultural land or open space into high-impact development without strong justification, and oppose variances that lack a clear public interest. That’s straight from my environmental plan.
No blank checks. I’m skeptical of subsidy-driven deals that privatize profits and leave residents with the long-term costs, such as stormwater management and infrastructure. Hermantown’s project moved forward only after Google dropped its request for up to $80 million in tax breaks. [2] That’s the right direction.
End the gag orders. Local officials shouldn’t be asked to sign nondisclosure agreements about a project in their own community. A bill to ban them passed the Minnesota Senate with bipartisan support this year but was blocked in the tied House. [18] I’d vote for it.
Tax them like what they are. A facility that puts this kind of demand on water, power, and public infrastructure should be taxed at a higher rate than comparable commercial property. Class rates are set in state law, so that’s a job for the Legislature. [24]
They pay their own way on power. Very large customers should pay the full cost of serving them, with no cost-shifting onto households and small businesses. [24]
Close the water permit gap. Support requiring large industrial water users, including data centers, to get their own DNR permit instead of riding on a city’s permit (the 2026 bill that stalled). [17][18]]
Make well protection standard. Require monitoring of nearby private wells, as Google agreed to in Hermantown, as a condition for the largest water users, with a clear remedy if a neighbor’s well is harmed. [2]]
Getting it right before it’s on the agenda
In Shakopee, the city couldn’t deny its data center because the zoning already allowed it. [9] In Hermantown, residents protested and packed meeting after meeting, and the project still moved forward. [2] The lesson from both is the same: the real decisions get made early, in zoning ordinances and in state law, long before a developer files an application.
That’s why I want this conversation in 54B now, while there’s no project and no deadline. Our district is growing, and thoughtful land use that respects farmland and open space has been part of my vision from the start. Protecting the water under our feet isn’t a business position or an environmental position. Here, it’s the same position, and it’s what common-sense leadership looks like.
— Chris
-------------------Sources
[1] Tom’s Hardware, “Google data center wins approval in Minnesota after protests delay council vote twice,” Nov. 2, 2026. https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/google-data-center-wins-approval-in-minnesota-after-protests-delay-council-vote-twice-200-acre-project-moves-forward-despite-opposition-from-local-residents-tech-giant-scales-down-project-and-drops-usd80-million-tax-break-request
[2] MPR News, “Hermantown approves controversial Google data center during late-night meeting,” Oct. 31, 2026 (unanimous vote; 200+ acres; four buildings cut to three, 33-ft cap; private well monitoring; $80M tax break dropped; ~$3M/yr property tax; $210M decommissioning; 3 lawsuits; PUC electric service agreement; 500 MW per CUB). https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/10/31/hermantown-approves-controversial-google-data-center-during-late-night-meeting
[3] Same MPR story (months of public opposition; last major local approvals). https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/10/31/hermantown-approves-controversial-google-data-center-during-late-night-meeting
[4] Minnesota DEED, Data Center Fact Sheet (Meta Rosemount; additional proposed hyperscale projects). https://mn.gov/deed/assets/data-center-fact-sheet-acc_tcm1045-750721.pdf
[5] City of Farmington, Data Center / Farmington Technology Park page. https://www.farmingtonmn.gov/473/Data-Center-Farmington-Technology-Park
[6] Courier (MN), “Where are data centers being proposed in Minnesota? We are tracking them,” updated Sept. 15, 2026. https://couriermn.com/news/environment/where-are-data-centers-being-proposed-in-minnesota-we-are-tracking-them/
[7] Post Bulletin, “Pine Island City Council approves settlement in data center lawsuit,” Oct. 28, 2026 (4–0 vote; MPCA supplemental review; 50 MW generation cap; construction likely 2028). https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/pine-island-city-council-approves-settlement-in-data-center-lawsuit
[8] Minnesota Reformer, “Minnesota’s long-predicted data center boom is on shaky ground,” Apr. 27, 2026 (Nobles County 3–2 denial). https://minnesotareformer.com/
[9] City of Shakopee, data center at Dean Lakes news release and fact sheet. https://shakopeemn.gov/news_detail_T18_R96.php
[10] City of Elko New Market, Planning Commission packet May 26, 2026 (Interim Ordinance No. 345, adopted May 14, 2026, through May 13, 2027). http://elkonewmarketmn.gov/vertical/sites/%7B97941C7E-666C-4328-9370-1A15F984EEE3%7D/uploads/ENM_PC_Packet_5.26.26.pdf
[11] MPR News, Minnesota lawmakers push for water permits for data centers and other big industries, Apr. 6, 2026 (2.35M gal/day; MCEA testimony; municipal permit loophole). https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/04/06/minnesota-lawmakers-push-for-water-permits-for-data-centers-and-other-big-industries
[12] WCCO / CBS Minnesota, Farmington hyperscale data center pushback (city uses ~2.14M gal/day). https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/farmington-hyperscale-data-center-pushback/
[13] Star Tribune, Farmington data center lawsuit coverage (DNR on groundwater and Vermillion River). https://www.startribune.com/farmington-data-center-lawsuit-tract/601194541
[14] Minnesota Trout Unlimited, “As Hermantown data center plans move forward, here’s what’s changed,” Aug. 2026. https://mntu.org/2026/08/as-hermantown-data-center-plans-move-forward-heres-whats-changed-since-our-april-call-to-action/
[15] Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Data centers. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/data-centers
[16] League of Minnesota Cities, Agency Voices, Mar./Apr. 2026 (2025 DNR conditions above 100M gal/yr); Minnesota Laws 2025, 1st Spec. Sess. ch. 12, M.S. 103G.271. https://www.lmc.org/news-publications/magazine/mar-apr-2026/agency-voices-mar-2026/
[17] Minnesota Senate File 3852 (2026), requiring large groundwater users to get their own permit. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/94/2026/0/SF/3852/versions/0/pdf/
[18] Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, “MCEA’s 2026 Legislative Recap,” May 28, 2026 (permit bill didn’t pass; NDA ban passed Senate, blocked in tied House). https://www.mncenter.org/mceas-2026-legislative-recap
[19] Scott County 2019 Water Resources Plan (amended Aug. 2019). https://www.scottcountymn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12698/2019WaterResourcesPlan_FINAL_Amended_Aug2019
[20] University of Minnesota, Scott County hydrogeology report. http://purl.umn.edu/123378
[21] Scott County, Jordan Aggregate DEIS, Response to Comments (DNR Savage Fen pumping test; USFWS on Louisville Swamp). https://www.scottcountymn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/799/Jordan-Aggregate-DEIS-Response-to-Comments-PDF
[22] Scott County, Sand Creek TMDL, Volume 1 Diagnostic Study. https://www.scottcountymn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1252/Volume-1---Diagnostic-Study-PDF
[23] MPR News, “Water-guzzling data centers spark worries for Minnesota’s groundwater,” Feb. 11, 2025. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/02/11/water-guzzling-data-centers-spark-worries-for-minnesotas-groundwater
[24] Chris’s published positions: “Data Centers, Clean Energy & 54B’s Economic Future” (approved by Chris Sept. 20, 2026); M.S. 273.13 class rates. https://www.ck4mn.com/blog/data-centers-clean-energy-and-54bs-economic-future
