HERMANTOWN, Minn. — A new obstacle confronting potential plans to bring a data center to the rural southwest corner of this community emerged in the form of a lawsuit Wednesday, Nov. 5.
Opponents challenge whether the sprawling proposed data center — which could reach 1.8 million square feet in size when fully developed — has undergone adequate environmental review.
The case was brought by two plaintiffs: the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) and a group of concerned citizens who united to form a nonprofit called Stop the Hermantown Data Center, or SHDC for short.
The suit against Hermantown is the fifth case involving data centers proposed across the state that MCEA has now joined.
“The reason we have multiple lawsuits on this is because of this troubling trend of secrecy we’re seeing across the state, and not just in Minnesota but nationally, as well, in the way that data center proposals are brought forward,” said MCEA CEO Kathryn Hoffman.
The complaint alleges that Hermantown has known since at least September 2024 that the site’s would-be developer hoped to construct a data center facility. Yet the type of operation proposed for the property was not publicly disclosed and confirmed until October.
Likewise, the suit contends that the Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) conducted to identify potential environmental impacts was inadequate because it “avoids studying known and anticipated environmental impacts of a large data center.”
For instance, Hoffman questioned whether water consumption estimates for the proposed development could be trusted. The AUAR predicts the fully developed data center site would use no more than 50,000 gallons of water per day, which Hermantown officials say is roughly comparable to the daily water consumption of 160 homes.
She also noted the lack of specific information regarding the power that will be required to operate the data center, the impact it will have on carbon emissions and whether the additional load could drive energy rates higher for area residents.
Joe Wicklund, Hermantown’s assistant city administrator and communications director, declined to comment on the merits of the suit, except to acknowledge the city had received the complaint and was reviewing it at present. He stressed that Hermantown officials “will follow the legal process,” whatever shape that may take.
The suit brought Wednesday is separate and distinct from another effort to slow the issuance of permits for the project. Concerned citizens recently also brought forward a petition to the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, prompting Hermantown to put plans for the data center on hold until it could determine whether additional environmental review beyond what was conducted under the initial AUAR should be required. If so, an environmental assessment worksheet or an even more rigorous environmental impact study could be mandated before permits could be issued.
Jonathan Thornton, a member of SHDC who lives about 1 1/2 miles from the site of the proposed data center, said the lawsuit was “not a knee-jerk reaction.” He said it was a bit of a last resort when other efforts to persuade the city to slow down the project failed.
Among other things, Thornton questions a change to Hermantown’s comprehensive land use plan that led to a quiet rezoning of the Adolph area for future development uses such as a data center.
Characterizing the questionable procedure used to bring the project forward, Thornton said: “They’re building this project on a foundation that’s fundamentally flawed.”
Hoffman acknowledged that the developers of data centers have been prone to operate in secret out of their concern of putting clients at a competitive disadvantage compared with rival companies. Just who stands to benefit from the proposed new Hermantown facility has yet to be disclosed. But big players in this arena include Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon.
She said the privacy desires of the developer must be balanced against the public’s right to know what is being proposed for the site, as well as how it may impact the area.
“From our perspective, our environmental review laws mandate transparency. And that’s a value that’s reflected in our Minnesota law that outweighs that interest in secrecy,” Hoffman said.
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