Morton County Commission, October 8, 2026
Votes on First reading: lifting data center/crypto mining moratorium
How this board votes
The Morton County Commission approved 96% of 138 recorded land-use decisions this period. Most frequent dissent: Paul Tokach (1 of 42 recorded votes).
Parsed from the official meeting recordings. Verify against the official minutes.
See the full board record, member by memberWhat happened
Morton County Commission approved rezoning of approximately 708.31 acres in Section 33, T139N R88W and the NW quarter of Section 4, T138N R88W from agricultural to industrial for the Rough Rider Energy 240-million-gallon ethanol production facility (about $800 million, 80 jobs, C…
- Jurisdiction
- Bismarck, ND
- Date
- October 8, 2026
- Decisions
- 12 zoning decisions
- Outcome
- Voted
Free sample: decision 1 of 12
Rough Rider ethanol facility rezoning, AG to Industrial
Zoning map amendment from agricultural to industrial on approximately 708.31 acres (718 acres total, 10 already industrial) in Section 33, T139N R88W and the NW quarter of Section 4, T138N R88W, about one mile east of Glen Ullin. The project is a 240-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant with CO2 capture and a pipeline to sequestration about 15 miles north, a rail loop with two Highway 49 crossings, and a roughly 20 MW load from Mor-Gran-Sou. It is an estimated $800M project with 80 full-time jobs and a peak construction workforce of 450-500. Phase 1 grading would start this fall, Phase 2 construction around April 2027, with operations at the end of 2028. A proposed reclamation condition and a delayed effective date were discussed but not adopted. Roll call vote: Zachmeyer, Morrell, Tokach, Buckley and Bain all voted yes.
- conditions per attached condition schedule in Morton County Planning and Zoning report of 9-23-2026
- new placement of the substation as presented 10-8-2026
- revised condition one regarding traffic operations report/DOT (applies to phase two)
The other decisions are listed below by title. The full write-up, verbatim conditions, and the audio at each vote are in Pro.
Meeting Summary
Morton County Commission approved rezoning of approximately 708.31 acres in Section 33, T139N R88W and the NW quarter of Section 4, T138N R88W from agricultural to industrial for the Rough Rider Energy 240-million-gallon ethanol production facility (about $800 million, 80 jobs, C…
Key Decisions (12)
Rough Rider ethanol facility rezoning, AG to Industrial
Flat Rock Wind Project special use permit
Soil Conservation District rezoning, Montes Rancheros 5th
Setback variance, Lot 36 Zachmeyer Flats
First reading: lifting data center/crypto mining moratorium
Land Use Code Section 5-085 Energy Conversion Facility amendments
Fringe Area Road Master Plan update
Maintain burn ban
Abatement 7246
Abatement 7247
Abatements 7248 and 7249
Appoint Mark Dahl to Planning and Zoning Commission
Zoning Changes (2)
Development Activity (3)
Rough Rider Energy ethanol production facility
Industrial
Flat Rock Wind Project
Infrastructure
Soil Conservation District shop, Montes Rancheros 5th
Other
Market Signals (4)
Labor
Commissioners warn that overlapping large projects, including an Oliver County…
Sentiment
Commissioners noted growing 'wind farm fatigue' and possible future pushback…
Other
The county is lifting its data center moratorium now that…
Infrastructure
Mor-Gran-Sou plans additional service into the New Salem area, supported…
Who Spoke (16)
On the record: the chair, 4 commissioners, 3 staff members, 3 applicants, a witness, and 2 members of the public.
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