Bonner, Mont. — A packed meeting at the KettleHouse Taproom in Bonner showed local opposition to a proposed data center from Idaho-based company Krambu.
Missoula Neighbors United organized the event and presented its case against the project. The group pointed to concerns about pollution, strain on the electric grid and what it described as inconsistencies in Krambu’s application.
Paul Barmore helped organize the meeting and said the response brought people together around the issue.
“We're unified in one goal. And that's to keep a specific kind of industry out that a lot of us see as, another form of mining. It's mining our data. There's so many unknowns that I think that scares a lot of people. What I have found is that the more information I gather, the more I realize we need to stand against this,” Barmore said.
Barmore said he hopes Missoula County adopts moratoriums on any new data center development. He also said the turnout at the Bonner meeting was an encouraging sign.
Final approval for the Bonner data center is set to go before the Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board. The board had not set a date for its next hearing on the proposal.