An activist group, Yellowstone County Citizens, let commissioners know on Thursday morning what they think about the lawsuit that could keep a citizens' initiative regulating data centers off the November ballot.
“I am being sued by the Yellowstone County Commissioners using Yellowstone County residents' taxpayer dollars,” said Kassi Solberg, who is leading this grassroots movement to place data centers on the ballot, including the one proposed near Broadview.
Watch data center petition story here:
A lawsuit filed by the county on Wednesday says what this petition proposes, might not be legal.
The lawsuit states: “because the proposed initiative exceeds the county's statutory authority, it is invalid as a matter of law."
“We’re basically asking, in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling, is this an initiative that Yellowstone County can pursue? ” said Yellowstone County Commissioner Mark Morse.
Morse cited a recent Supreme Court case, Treasure County v. Edlund, which overturned a county initiative seeking to regulate wind-energy development. The ruling was similar to the data-center measure in Yellowstone County, he said.
“We're just asking the court to tell us which way to do it,” Morse said.
But other legal minds like Solberg's attorney, Brian Miller, who is also a defendant, disagree.
“Legally, the county has a tough road to hoe,” Miller said. “My initial analysis, I'm having a hard time seeing (the county) winning."
And the county has the support of Quantica Infrastructures, listed as a defendant in the suit.
Quantica is the company behind the 5,000 acre data center proposal near Broadview.
“Yellowstone County made the correct decision to challenge the proposed initiative's constitutionality,” said Travis Hall, Quantica spokesman. “It's clear the proposed initiative is both unconstitutional and otherwise invalid."
Solberg and her group have been gaining ground gathering signatures for a petition that would put the measure on the November ballot.
“I care deeply about our resources,” said Holly Harris, who signed the petition at the library. “And I'm very concerned about what the data center is going to do to them and how much it's going to affect the residents.”
The proposed initiative, if approved, would require a 2/3 approval by voters for a data center.
“I think data centers are a huge threat to all of us,” said Cheryl Jenni, who also signed the petition at the library. “And I wish we had better regulations in place.”
“If you look at data centers that exist in other parts of the country, you'll see statistically that all of these citizens have had utility increases,” said Kara Landry, who also signed the petition.
Morse said the Supreme Court ruling was the motivation for the lawsuit.
“Without the Supreme Court ruling, we would not have asked for the declaratory action,” Morse said.
And another Montana community, Butte-Silver Bow, is facing the same issue.
It also has a group with a similar petition for a ballot measure, but it’s not taking any legal action at this time.
Meanwhile, volunteers with Yellowstone County Citizens are not stopping and continue to work on gathering the more than 1,600 signatures needed to get the initiative on the ballot.
“I've heard a lot of people say, oh, that's reasonable for voters to have a choice,” said Erin Hall, a volunteer with Yellowstone County Citizens. “And then the other common thing I've been hearing is people worried about water and worried about energy.”
