About Idaho Data Center Reform

We are a nonpartisan, grassroots coalition of Idahoans — farmers, scientists, lawyers, parents, privacy advocates, and outdoor enthusiasts — united by a shared belief that unchecked AI expansion must be met with rigorous accountability.

How We Started

In early 2025, residents near the Boise Foothills noticed construction activity on land that had been open high desert for decades. After digging through permit applications, a group of neighbors discovered that a 180MW AI data center had been approved — with minimal public notice — under outdated agricultural zoning codes.

The facility's projected water use: 1.8 billion gallons annually from an aquifer already under stress. Its power draw: equivalent to 120,000 Idaho homes. Its environmental impact statement: none required. Its data privacy obligations: none specified.

Idaho Data Center Reform formed to fill the gap between the speed of tech industry expansion and the pace of law, environmental protection, and human rights accountability. We are not anti-technology. We are pro-Idaho — and pro-people.

Our Values

Place-Based

We are rooted in Boise and the Treasure Valley. Our work is driven by people who live here, farm here, and whose families have called this place home for generations.

Policy-Focused

We believe the path to lasting change is through enforceable law and binding policy — not corporate voluntary commitments. We draft, advocate for, and defend real regulations.

People-Led

IDCR has no corporate funders. We are supported by individual members, local businesses, and allied organizations. Our positions are not for sale.

Science-Grounded

Every policy position we take is backed by peer-reviewed science, independent studies, and transparent data. We publish our sources and welcome scrutiny.

Rights-Protective

We believe AI reform is inseparable from privacy, human rights, and civil liberties. Technology that harms people — in their data, their bodies, or their communities — is not progress.

Radically Transparent

We publish our funding sources, methodology, and policy positions in full. We hold corporations and government to the same transparency we demand of ourselves.

Our Core Demands

The non-negotiable minimum protections we are fighting to codify into Idaho law.

1A 2-year moratorium on new hyperscale data center permitting pending comprehensive environmental and social review

2Mandatory environmental impact statements for any AI facility drawing more than 10MW

3Hard aquifer withdrawal caps tied to measured recharge rates, with annual public reporting

4100% renewable energy matching requirements for all new data center construction

5Community benefit agreements — including local jobs, infrastructure investment, and environmental offsets — as a condition of permitting

6Zero thermal discharge and full closed-loop cooling requirements to protect fisheries and watersheds

7Cumulative impact analysis before additional facilities are approved in any watershed, airshed, or region

8Comprehensive state privacy legislation with individual rights to access, correct, and delete personal data

9Prohibition on automated final decision-making in housing, employment, healthcare, and public benefits without human review and appeal

10Mandatory algorithmic impact assessments for all high-stakes AI systems deployed in Idaho

11Third-party independent environmental and social monitoring at all operational facilities

12An explicit 'hyperscale compute facility' land use category with specific, protective siting standards

Ready to Join Us?

Sign the pledge, join the forum, and help build the coalition that sets the standard for responsible AI in Idaho and beyond.

Sign the Pledge