Cass County, Nebraska adopts new data centers regulations after months of debate

CASS COUNTY, Neb. — Cass County has adopted new regulations governing potential data center development, establishing limits on where the facilities can be built, their size and how much electricity they can use.

The regulations approved by the Cass County Board of Commissioners include smaller size and electricity-use limits than earlier proposals considered by the county.

For some residents who have followed the debate, concerns about data centers remain.

“It just is not in the best interest of our community, of our county,” Cass County neighbor Jeanette Freel said.

Jeremy Fredricks / KMTV

Freel and her brother, Phil Lepert, grew up on their family's land in Cass County. Both have spoken out against data center development and worry about the effect it could have on the rural area they call home.

“It's not very big, but it's our farm,” Lepert said.

Jeremy Fredricks / KMTV

“We don't want it disturbed, as say, with that kind of stuff," Lepert said. That stuff is data centers.

Under the newly adopted regulations, data centers would only be allowed in areas zoned for industrial use. Those areas include land near Interstate 80 and 238th Street in western Cass County, as well as an area near Murrary in the eastern part.

The regulations do not mean data centers will necessarily be built in those locations. Rather, they establish where a future project could potentially be developed if one is proposed and meets the county's requirements. There are currently no data centers in Cass County.

Lepert said one of his concerns is the potential environmental impact associated with data center development.

“There's been too many concessions made from the government on these data centers,” he said.

Jeremy Fredricks / KMTV

For Lepert and Freel, the issue is also personal. Looking across the land where their family has deep roots, Freel said development could change more than the landscape.

“You lose part of the identity of who we are and what we are,” Freel said. “And we take that pretty personal because our great-grandparents fought to get here and fought to stay here.”

Cass County's moratorium on data center construction is set to expire in August 2027.

Jeremy Fredricks / KMTV

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