A state-commissioned study on data centers' environmental and economic impacts, due to Gov. Wes Moore and the General Assembly by Sept. 1, could determine whether Montgomery County's 18-month moratorium on new data center permits is extended, tightened or replaced with permanent regulations.

The stakes are concrete for Potomac-area residents: as we reported Aug. 10, the moratorium halts a proposed 360-megawatt, five-building data center campus in Dickerson that would draw cooling water from the Potomac River, which supplies more than 75% of the region's drinking water.

Montgomery County is now one of 13 Maryland counties that have enacted data center restrictions, Bethesda Magazine reported Aug. 11. Two counties voted on moratoriums the week of Aug. 4. Harford County went further in June, becoming the first Maryland county to ban data centers outright. Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater signed an order July 1 pausing new data center approvals through the end of 2026.

How the 18-month compromise came together

The Montgomery County Council voted 11-0 on July 28 to approve the moratorium, replacing a six-month executive order that County Executive Marc Elrich signed in June. The 18-month timeline was a negotiated compromise: Councilmember Evan Glass had proposed a six-month pause, while Councilmembers Will Jawando and Kristin Mink pushed for two years.

The vote was unanimous.

"The worst thing you can do is try to rush because once it's built and all these things are in place, you can't go back," Jawando told Bethesda Magazine in its Aug. 11 report.

Jawando, who is also the Democratic nominee for county executive, has specifically cited Potomac River water usage, noise and tax rates as issues the council will examine during the pause. Council President Natali Fani-González cited the pending state study when voting for the moratorium, saying the county needs "more information, especially from the state."

The council also approved ZTA 26-01, a zoning text amendment introduced by Councilmember Andrew Friedson that creates the county's first legal definition of a data center, closing loopholes that could let projects bypass new rules.

The Dickerson site

The proposed campus, developed by California-based Atmosphere Data Centers on the site of a decommissioned coal-fired power plant, sits in the county's agricultural reserve about 110 feet from the C&O Canal towpath. The canal draws roughly 1 million visitors annually and generates an estimated $96 million in economic impact, according to the West Montgomery County Citizens Association.

Atmosphere's chief platform and sustainability officer, Chris Baughman, told WTOP after the July 28 vote that it "does not look like we can proceed at this moment" and warned that power transformer lead times of 12 to 36 months mean the delays have "real consequences."

Atmosphere had filed an appeal of Elrich's original executive order with the county's Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings. The status of that appeal after the council's broader moratorium vote is unclear.

Statewide pushback and industry response

The Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Energy Administration and the University of Maryland School of Business are jointly conducting the state impact analysis. The Maryland Department of Legislative Services will deliver the final report by Sept. 1.

The Maryland Tech Council warned in a statement that concerns about data centers are "misunderstood or vastly overstated" and that rushing to enact broad policies "before the facts are fully examined" risks "foreclosing on a generational economic opportunity."

Angie McCarthy, clean energy campaign manager at Nature Forward and founding chair of Marylanders for Data Center Reform, a coalition of 62 environmental and community organizations, called the wave of moratoriums a "natural reaction" to community concerns about environmental impact, noise and public health.

What's next

The County Council is in August recess through Labor Day. The Sept. 1 state impact analysis is the next milestone that could inform whether the moratorium is modified or used as a basis for permanent regulations. No council hearing date tied to the report has been announced.