Montgomery County's 18-month ban on new data center permits is now in effect, placing the county among 13 across Maryland that have enacted restrictions on the fast-growing industry.

The moratorium, which the County Council approved 11-0 on July 28, bars the county from processing any new data center permits until early 2028. For Potomac-area residents who depend on the Potomac River for drinking water, the pause halts progress on the proposed Dickerson data center campus, a five-building, 360-megawatt facility that planned to draw river water for cooling.

Maryland Matters reported Aug. 10 that two more counties voted for moratoriums the prior week, bringing the statewide total to 13. Harford County has gone further, imposing an outright ban with no time limit. Nearly 77% of Maryland's population now lives under some form of data center restriction, according to the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

What the moratorium does

The Council passed two measures on July 28. The first, ZTA 26-01, defines a "large-load" data center as any facility drawing at least 25 megawatts of electricity per month and prohibits such facilities countywide during the moratorium. The second, Expedited Bill 19-26, suspends permit approvals for 18 months.

The moratorium does not affect data centers already operating in the county, as Councilmember Dawn Luedtke clarified during the vote.

The 18-month timeline was a compromise. Councilmember Evan Glass initially proposed six months; Councilmembers Will Jawando and Kristin Mink pushed for two years.

"We're not going to be twiddling our thumbs for the next 18 months," Jawando said at the July 28 meeting. He listed noise, water usage, the Potomac River and tax rates as the issues the Council plans to study during the pause.

The Dickerson project

California-based Atmosphere Data Centers wants to build the 360-megawatt campus at the site of a decommissioned coal-fired power plant along the Potomac River in Dickerson. Environmental advocates raised alarms about the facility's plan to use river water for cooling, its energy demand and noise.

The ban matters here. Atmosphere filed an appeal with the county Board of Appeals on July 10, arguing the Department of Permitting Services improperly changed its zoning interpretation of data centers after County Executive Marc Elrich's initial six-month executive order. As of July 28, no hearing date had been scheduled. The current status of that appeal is unclear.

After the Council vote, Atmosphere's chief platform and sustainability officer Chris Baughman told WTOP the company could not proceed for now. CEO Chuck McBride called the moratorium "disappointing" and said the company would evaluate what it means for the Dickerson project, according to Bethesda Magazine.

Statewide wave

Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly proposed his county's ban after concluding Harford lacked the electrical capacity to power hyperscale data centers. He told Maryland Matters that residents are already struggling with some of the highest energy costs in the country and that allowing data centers to inflate those prices further would be irresponsible.

The Maryland Tech Council cautioned that moratoriums risk shutting down a major economic opportunity before the facts are fully examined.

What comes next

The county's Office of Legislative Oversight is working on a separate data center report expected this fall. Brittany Baker, Maryland director at the CCAN Action Fund, told Maryland Matters the General Assembly is expected to consider statewide moratorium legislation during the 2027 session.

A state study on data center impacts, conducted by the Maryland Energy Administration, the Department of the Environment and the University of Maryland School of Business, is due to Gov. Wes Moore and the General Assembly by Sept. 1.