Click play to listen to this article.

South Dakota lawmakers will soon consider a bill which would offer companies tax incentives for data center development. Locally, rural residents worry such projects could drastically change the identity of their small communities.

The bill in the Legislature follows a push by state and municipal leaders around the U.S. to court tech firms building these large facilities storing and processing digital information. Supporters cited economic benefits, including construction jobs but a patchwork of opposition is building in many communities.

Image

Erik Oftedahl, a resident of Toronto in Deuel County, worries about an emerging project there and how his town of about 200 people would handle a sudden burst of industrial-scale activity.

"Everything around it is, you know, narrow gravel, township roads that we take our tractors down," Oftedahl pointed out. "They're not a main thoroughfare, I guess you'd say."

It is not just infrastructure. Oftedahl, a volunteer firefighter, said their emergency response crews are already stretched thin. The project is led by Applied Digital, which said the upper Midwest is an ideal location because the colder climate limits the need for water to keep data centers cool. Massive water consumption is a common criticism of these large buildings.

Industry trackers said just under 40 states have made policy moves to incentivize developers to choose them for projects, prompting South Dakota to consider joining the mix.

Liz Tiger, community organizer for the group Dakota Rural Action, is assisting local residents in a pair of communities, including Toronto. She said they are not opposed to data centers but want standards adhered to. Gathering input from residents is one of them.

"In Deuel County, for instance, the people who live closest to the site were unable to attend meetings because it was in the middle of harvest," Tiger explained. "For agriculture folks, you don't just put harvest off for a day. That's just not how it works."

She is referring to meetings hosted by Applied Digital last year. Tiger and other coordinators feel their organizing is paying off, noting local leaders appear more mindful of their concerns, especially with other infrastructure projects overlapping with the data center plans.