Montgomery County Council Unanimously Approves 18-Month Data Center Freeze

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — An 18-month pause on data center permits was approved Tuesday by the Montgomery County Council.

The moratorium decision was unanimous and now provides councilmembers with additional time to analyze the effects of data centers on both the local environment and existing infrastructure.

One project directly impacted by the decision is that of Atmosphere Data Centers, which was in the process of permitting the site of the former coal-burning plant in Dickerson.

The company told WUSA9 in a statement that it was "disappointed" in the decision, and that it would "fully evaluate the Council's action and determine what it means for the Dickerson project."

Advocacy Group Praises Pause

Members of the Food & Water Watch advocacy group were present during Tuesday's vote, holding signs opposing the creation of data centers in the county.

"As an AI data center invasion threatens our homes, we applaud the Montgomery County Council for taking this much needed action to curb the rushed buildout of hyperscale data centers in places like Dickerson," Jorge Aguilar, who serves as the southern regional director for the group, said in a statement.

"This victory belongs to the growing data center opposition movement — and we aren’t stopping here."

The moratorium's approval comes after County Executive Marc Elrich signed an executive order in June for a six-month permit pause for data centers.

The passage also marks a compromise after Councilmembers Evan Glass and Will Jawando each presented similar data center legislation that called for a halt for six months and two years, respectively.