Custer County NE proposed data center regulations (2026)

Planning Commission (Broken Bow) unanimously approved amended data center zoning regulations and recommended them to the Board of Supervisors at a public hearing on Wed. Sept. 23, 2026 (Rural Radio Network; Sandhills Express, both published Sept. 23 'Wednesday'). Provisions reported: apply only to rural (unincorporated) areas; community benefits agreements covering road/infrastructure improvements, emergency response funding, public safety training, utility impacts, water/wastewater and environmental monitoring, decommissioning; per both outlets, Nebraska LB 1010 requires a CBA for data centers with peak demand of 10 MW or more, and per Sandhills Express the county could also require one below 10 MW; abandonment after 12 consecutive months without data processing operations, with decommissioning; Custer Public Power may suspend, interrupt or reduce electrical service (irrigation priority during load control per Sandhills Express); closed-loop cooling emphasized to protect the Ogallala Aquifer; setbacks and noise standards (distances not reported). Supervisors' public hearing Tues. Sept. 29, 2026 (Sandhills Express: 'Tuesday morning', published Sept. 29): no public comment, no vote; RRN: voting planned for the board's next meeting; Sandhills Express: resolution at an upcoming meeting. RRN: a six-month county data center moratorium expires at the end of September 2026 (adoption date not verified here). Planning Commission also recommended a 12-month battery energy storage moratorium. NOT ESTABLISHED: exact setback/noise figures; vote date.