Natrona County weighs local review instead of state process for massive AI complex

Natrona County officials are drafting conditions for a proposed 1,250-megawatt AI computing complex east of Casper while considering a route around Wyoming’s centralized industrial review. The industrial-park exemption would put the county in charge of that review, according to WyoFile. Commissioners say no applications are before them; environmental watchdogs warn local negotiations may deliver less comprehensive scrutiny.

A different route through permitting

Industrial developments of sufficient scale typically need a permit under Wyoming’s Industrial Siting Act. That process brings roughly 19 state and federal agencies into the assessment. The industrial-park exemption offers another path: a developer can ask a county with robust zoning to take on the review, if county officials are willing.

Commissioner Dave North sees that route as a way to set requirements around Natrona County’s needs. He told WyoFile that county officials could still consider project-specific reviews from state and federal agencies. He also said the project would need reviews to comply with wildlife, water and other applicable state laws.

North argues the county has staff and a development department suited to the work. He says elected commissioners also offer direct accountability to constituents, unlike the appointed Industrial Siting Council. Local negotiations could include requests for community investments beyond regulatory obligations, such as contributions to parks and services. Those are opportunities he describes, not commitments Prometheus has made for this project.

They have to consider that they need to cover every possible eventuality on their own. So, in theory, these counties could have far fewer regulations than the [Industrial Siting Act requirements], or they could also have far more.

Jocelyn Wulf, Wyoming Outdoor Council data center campaign manager, speaking to WyoFile

Keeping laws does not settle the scrutiny question

The Wyoming Outdoor Council’s concern is about how thoroughly those requirements get examined, not simply whether state laws still apply. Wulf told WyoFile that the detailed agency reviews required by the state process do not necessarily carry over in full to developer-county negotiations. County officials would need to press for specifics to secure comparable depth.

Her colleague John Burrows, the council’s energy and climate policy director, warned that counties differ in their ability to negotiate with well-funded developers. He favors a stronger state role to reduce the risk of counties competing through weaker oversight. North, by contrast, says the county route would expedite the process without letting Prometheus escape its obligations.

The demands behind the county’s conditions

Prometheus founder Trenton Thornock has described an initial investment of about $500 million, with room to expand. The proposed design uses closed-loop cooling to limit water consumption and natural-gas generators to supply electricity separately from the public grid. Injection wells are intended to store the generators’ carbon dioxide emissions underground. These are planned systems, not measured operating results.

Commissioners are developing potential conditions around three practical questions:

• Water and electricity: what assurances would protect residents from the complex’s resource demands?
• Noise and light: what measures would keep pollution from affecting the surrounding community?
• Community benefit: would the project leave the county better off overall?

Residents would have opportunities to question officials and the company, but would not directly decide the county’s review and negotiations, North said. Commissioners have promised public forums. Prometheus chief of staff Abby Pick separately told WyoFile that the company plans meetings once it has more concrete information to share. Commission Chairman Jim Milne described the process as only beginning, with substantial time still needed for discussion and adjustments.