Take Action – Data Centers in Montgomery County

The debate over data centers in Montgomery County is entering a critical period. If you want to be informed and/or weigh-in on this issue, now’s the time to gear up.

On Tuesday, June 16, the County Council will hold a public hearing on two data center bills—one would impose a 6-month moratorium on data center approvals. The other would impose a 2-year moratorium.

The hearing is being held as the Council continues to craft a zoning ordinance and companion legislation that would create rules and regulations around where data centers can be built, how they operate, and their environmental impact.

Click Take Action below for background information and details on how to sign up to testify, submit written comments, or call in. Courtesy of Montgomery Countryside Alliance (MCA), this web page also has links to a recording and slides from a May 22 webinar on data centers sponsored by the Climate Coalition Montgomery County.

More detailed background can be found on SCA’s website.

Our Position

Please see SCA’s full updated position statement here.

Summary: The County Council should craft a compromise bill that imposes a moratorium until the Council completes (and the County Executive signs into law) a data center zoning ordinance (ZTA) and companion bill with a comprehensive regulatory framework.

That framework must fully address the impacts of data centers—on infrastructure, natural resources, power and water supply, county finances, and other site and operational elements.

If the Council chooses to (or legally must) assign a timeframe to the moratorium, we support a period of one year combined with a provision to extend the moratorium if the Council’s task is not complete at the one-year mark. A definition of what would trigger such an extension should be in the moratorium legislation.

We further recommend the moratorium bill state clearly that all county processing (at the agency level) of any data center proposal be suspended immediately until the Council has completed its work on the ZTA and companion legislation and both have become law.

No approvals. No permits. Period.

We applaud the County Executive’s action today to impose such a pause for the agencies in the executive branch. The Council must still approve its own moratorium.

We would oppose any measure from the Council that would exempt Atmosphere Data Centers from any aspect of the regulations the Council is drafting. Atmosphere is the company proposing the Dickerson facility.

We urge Council members and residents of Montgomery County to recognize that the complexity and scale/scope of the data center proposal demands more information, time, and careful deliberation than was contemplated just a few months ago. Numerous issues and risks have surfaced that have not been fully addressed.

Absent additional information and facts, the Council is at a disadvantage in drafting regulations since most Council members and their staffs (as well as County residents) are just getting started on the steep learning curve of data center challenges—social, economic, environmental, energy supply and costs, water use, and other highly technical issues.

Early Voting is June 11-18
Election Day is Tues, June 23
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