News and Project Information
RoughRider Ethanol Production Facility
Morton County has received a request for a rezoning from Agricultural to Industrial for the RoughRider Ag Energy Project, east of the City of Glen Ullin. The complete application materials, submitted by the applicant can be viewed here. The application will be reviewed by the Planning & Zoning Commission at the September 23, 2026 regular meeting.
Flat Rock Wind Energy Facility
Morton County has received a request for a special use permit for the Flat Rock Wind Project. The complete application materials are here. The application will be reviewed by the Planning & Zoning Commission at the September 23, 2026 regular meeting.
Permitting Fee Scam
If you have recently submitted a planning & zoning application, please be aware of the following. Scammers may send you an email, claiming to be from the Morton County Planning & Zoning Director. The scam email will instruct you to wire additional funds for permitting fees. Please be aware that Morton County will never ask you to wire funds of any kind for a permit. If you receive such an email, do not interact with it. Just delete it. You don't need to notify the county that you received it. We are aware of the issue. And there is, unfortunately, nothing the County can do to stop scammers from sending emails.
Data Center and Cryptocurrency Standards in Morton County
In September, 2024 Morton County adopted a moratorium on data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities. This means that none of these facilities may be permitted in the County until the County develops and adopts siting and performance standards for these facilities. A moratorium cannot continue indefinitely. A Data Center Model Ordinance Working Group, completed a model ordinance for the state in January 2026. That working group consisted of representation from the ND League of Cities, ND Association of Counties, ND Planning Association, utility interests, and data center industry advocates/Applied Digital.
Morton County Planning & Zoning staff presented drafts of data center specific use standards at the February 25, March 25, April 22, May 27, and July 22, 2026 regular Planning & Zoning Commission meetings. At the May 27, 2026 regular meeting, the Planning & Zoning Commission formed a subcommittee to make final edits to a draft Amendment to the Morton County Land Use Code Data Center Specific Use Standards. The subcommittee met on June 9, June 23, July 7 and August 18, 2026. The Planning & Zoning Commission reviewed the draft at their August 26, 2026 regular meeting and recommended approval of the draft. The County Commission passed a resolution to adopt the draft with minor changes at their September 10, 2026 regular meeting. The final draft of the Data Center standards section has been incorporated into the Morton County Land Use Code. A copy of the final draft is available here.
Rural Industrial Ag Development Site Analysis
In December 2024, the Lewis & Clark Regional Development Council (LCRDC) was awarded a Regional Livestock Planning Grant through the Department of Agriculture. That same month, LCRDC contracted with First District Association of Local Governments (South Dakota) to perform an analysis to develop an inventory of suitable sites where feeding operations would best be located, based on available infrastructure and other conditions necessary to support such operations. Participating counties within the LCRDC planning area were Emmons, Kidder, Mercer, Morton, Oliver, Sheridan and Sioux Counties. A copy of the site analysis report is available here. The supporting power point presentation is available here.