By Macklin Caruso
Publication Date: 2026-09-22 02:55:00
HERMANTOWN — Google is promising to limit noise, mitigate damage to trout streams and wetlands, and even donate $2.5 million to local nonprofits as the technology company tries to quell concerns about its proposed data center.
On Monday, Liz Schwab, who works in market development at Google, presented a list of community and environmental promises
after the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources shared environmental concerns
earlier this month.
In a letter to Hermantown Community Development Director Eric Johnson, DNR Ecological and Water Resources Division Director Melissa Kuskie outlined concerns about the potential impacts of the 1.66 million-square-foot data center on wetlands and cold-water trout streams.
Schwab said Google has revised its site plan to reduce wetland impacts by 37% compared with the originally proposed plan. Additionally, she said that Google will collect data on surface and groundwater in order…
