At the request of Nodaway County commissioners, the director of the health department researched the impact data centers might have on air quality and noise.
Click the LISTEN button to hear comments from the August 18, 2026 Nodaway County commission meeting.
Findings from Tom Patterson that he shared Tuesday's commission meeting (August 18) included multiple human and environmental factors affect air quality. His examples included emissions from neighbors generated by how they heat their homes or "maybe they have a welding shop."
Responding to a question about health risks from a landowner who lives a mile from the Scale Microgrids site, Patterson said "obviously just like anything if you're closer to something you're more exposed to it than someone is on the other end of the county. But there's so many environmental and human factors, there's no one that can tell you there's a direct cause (and) effect on any kind of entity."
Regarding noise levels, Patterson compared a study that showed some livestock operations including pigs, horses, and dairy cattle had noise levels over a maximum in his opinion of 70 decibels.
Patterson also discovered in his research that another power plant could be built, describing it as a 600-megawatt facility "being co-located but separate from the data center."
The only reaction from commissioners to Patterson's research, was his discovery that according to the Environmental Protection Agency, kindergarten through high school students miss an average of ten school days a year.
