Requiring a water study ensures, at a minimum, a baseline understanding of local water resources and dynamics near proposed data centers. That’s something the state of Iowa generally lacks, said Cara Matteson, a former geologist and the sustainability director for Linn County.

DNR staff told Matteson that water data gathered in Linn County by qualified researchers on behalf of a data center applicant would be incorporated in state-level permitting and enforcement decisions.

The department confirmed in an email to Inside Climate News that it would use the additional local water data.

If a data center’s application is approved, developers would then enter into an agreement with Linn County, outlining terms for water-use monitoring and reporting to both the county and the DNR. The agreement could also include contingency plans for droughts.

Still, the county has limited ability to act on the water monitoring data it’s seeking. The DNR doesn’t just issue water-use permits; it also issues penalties for permit violations.

Linn County’s zoning rule underwent several modifications in response to questions raised by attendees at the first two public readings, Nichols said.

From its first reading to final adoption, the ordinance has expanded to include language setting light pollution standards, requiring a waste management plan, including the Iowa DNR in the water-use agreement to address potential well interference issues, and requiring an applicant-led public meeting before any zoning commission meetings.

“I am very confident that no ordinance for data centers in Iowa is asking for more information or asking for more requirements to be met than our ordinance right now,” said Nichols at the final reading.

The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance has said that it strongly supports current and future data center development in the area. The new ordinance is not an effective moratorium, Nichols said. He said he “strongly believes” that a data center can be built within the adopted framework.

Google spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.

New rules may prompt data centers to develop elsewhere, acknowledged Brandy Meisheid, a supervisor whose district includes many of Linn County’s smaller communities. But the ordinance sets out to protect residents, not developers, Meisheid said. “If it’s too high a price for them to pay, they don’t have to come.”

Anika Jane Beamer covers the environment and climate change in Iowa, with a particular focus on water, soil, and CAFOs. A lifelong Midwesterner, she writes about changing ecosystems from one of the most transformed landscapes on the continent. She holds a master’s degree in science writing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as a bachelor’s degree in biology and Spanish from Grinnell College. She is a former Outrider Fellow at Inside Climate News and was named a Taylor-Blakeslee Graduate Fellow by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.

This story originally appeared on Inside Climate News.