Civil lawsuit against Atlas Power to move forward

WILLISTON, N.D. (KUMV) - The court battle continues between a company running a data center west of Williston and its nearby residents who are complaining about excessive noise.

It’s been nearly seven months since the courts heard arguments to dismiss parts of a lawsuit filed against Atlas Power and Williams County.

Northwest District Court Judge Kirsten Sjue recently filed her court order on the matter.

The Atlas Power Data Center remains a controversial piece of the Williams County landscape. Despite building noise-canceling walls, residents in the Judson Township claim it has done little to reduce the noise.

Last year, 22 residents filed a civil lawsuit against Atlas for two counts of public nuisance, one count of trespass and to seek injunctive relief. The lawsuit also went after Williams County, claiming it did not enforce its own ordinances and improperly zoned the area. Atlas and Williams County both filed motions to dismiss most of the charges.

Sjue released her order, siding with Atlas on dismissing the trespass charge. Sjue wrote that the noise is not physical and does not cause any physical damage to the property.

Sjue also dismissed both charges against Williams County, citing the court cannot compel the county to take any action against Atlas, and there was no formal appeal against the zoning change in the first place.

With these decisions, Atlas will need to file a response soon to the public nuisance charges as well as the injunctive relief. Williams County has been removed from the lawsuit and will no longer be involved with the case.

Attorneys for both sides are scheduled to meet Monday to determine a trial date.