Joplin MO data center regulations (2026)

City of Joplin, Mo. (Jasper County) — data center regulation ordinance adopted 5-4 by the City Council at its Monday meeting in August 2026; NAY VOTES: Councilmembers Cowles, Bard, Jackson and Price. SUBJECT MATTER: noise, water use, wastewater, emissions, generators and other potential effects of large facilities. QUANTIFIED AND PROCEDURAL STANDARDS: (1) NOISE LIMIT OF 45 DECIBELS at property lines adjoining residential uses — THE STRICTEST DECIBEL CAP IN THIS DATASET, ten decibels below Portage, Indiana's 55 dB, and on a logarithmic scale a substantial difference; (2) MANDATORY PRE-CONSTRUCTION SOUND TESTING to document EXISTING sound levels. THE BASELINE REQUIREMENT IS THE MOST TRANSFERABLE PROVISION HERE: a decibel cap without a documented pre-existing baseline is close to unenforceable, because a later complaint cannot be attributed to the facility as against ambient conditions. Almost no other municipal instrument located in this triage requires one. (3) WASTEWATER PRETREATMENT obligation; (4) POLLUTANT SCANS to be submitted; (5) compliance with state and federal emissions standards; (6) SETBACKS EXPANDED FROM 300 FEET TO 600 FEET for centers near residential and certain public properties, by floor amendment from MAYOR ROB O'BRIEN before the final vote. PROCEDURAL HISTORY: the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended tabling case 019-26; in early July 2026 the council publicly sought STRONGER SAFEGUARDS before approving any data center rules and set a public meeting on the proposal; the ordinance finally adopted is materially tighter than the version first presented. CONTESTED STATUS: the 5-4 margin and subsequent reporting of 'new questions' following the vote indicate the framework is not politically settled. A SOURCE NUANCE recorded rather than resolved: some coverage describes the substantive standards as having been approved unanimously while the ordinance as a whole passed 5-4, which most likely reflects separate votes on components and on final passage.