Missoula County leaders hosted a public question-and-answer session after approving a one-year moratorium on new data center construction and releasing an impact study.

County officials were required under state law to establish that an emergency order was necessary. Svein Newman, the county’s Climate Action Program manager, said the study supported the moratorium.

Residents submitted questions and recommendations during the meeting. One Missoula resident with previous experience in data center construction recommended banning evaporative cooling entirely.

Further action will depend on discussions in the Montana Legislature’s upcoming session. State Rep. Bob Carter said lawmakers are already discussing the issue and cautioned that state action could take about a year to take effect.

“We’re probably a year away from anything actually going into effect,” Carter said, adding that local governments need authority to address the issue in the meantime.

Upcoming County Meetings

The Missoula County Consolidated Land Use Board is scheduled to meet Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. in the Sophie Moiese Room of the County Courthouse.

The Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to meet in the same room Nov. 12 at 2 p.m.