Harford County becomes first in Maryland to outright ban data centers
Harford County has made history by becoming Maryland's first county to outright ban data centers.
Dozens of residents spoke at a County Council meeting Tuesday night in support of the emergency bill that was proposed last month by Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly.
Many spoke about water usage, temperature spikes, increased electricity bills, environmental concerns, and other potential negative impacts that data centers could bring.
Bill 26-011 passed Tuesday night unanimously and was signed by Cassilly, making the law go into effect immediately.
Support for data center ban
Steven Overbay with the Harford County Office of Community and Economic Development said allowing data centers would not be in the county's best interest.
"A single hyperscale data center can consume enough electricity to power more than 100,000 homes, approximately the number of households in Harford County today," said Overbay. "In practical terms, one facility could double the county's residential electricity demand, sending our residents' and commercial community energy bills even higher."
There are still concerns with the bill going forward.
One Havre De Grace resident, Jimmy Paquette, said he is happy with the restrictions, but brought up that there is already a data center in Harford County on Carson's Run Road that only processes telecommunications data. He said that has not been a problem, and what we need to be wary of is the hyperscale data centers.
Paquette is concerned that the language in the bill does not differentiate between the different types of centers.
"When a developer challenges this in court, and they're going to," said Paquette. "A judge will ask Harford County to define what a data center is. And this bill will not have an answer, and that is a vulnerability."
Opposition to data center ban
The Maryland Tech Council released a statement saying that data centers are critical infrastructure projects that support local jobs, and this bill exposes the county to potential litigation.
"Bill 26-011 is vague, legally dubious, and forecloses a generational economic opportunity rather than regulating an industry on reasonable terms set by the count," part of the statement says. "Further, the legislative process consistently ignored facts demonstrating that many concerns about data centers are misunderstood or vastly overstated."
During public comment at Tuesday night's meeting, resident Anne Blocker noted the claim that a data center would create new jobs. She referenced that the owner of Mountain Branch Golf Course in Joppa is supportive of a plan to build a data center there. She said Harford County is not struggling economically.
"With no data centers spoiling our land, our homes, and our county, young families will continue to buy homes here, start businesses here, spend their money here, educate their children here."
