Queen Anne's County joins 5 other Maryland counties fighting against data centers
Queen Anne's County is joining five other Maryland jurisdictions in fighting against data center development.
On Thursday, the Queen Anne's County Commissioners approved a temporary 12-month moratorium on the approval and processing of applications for data centers. The measure went into effect immediately.
The move is intended to give the county time to study the impacts of large-scale data centers and develop policies, performance standards, and zoning regulations to guide proposals.
"While interest in data center development has increased, our existing local zoning regulations were not specifically designed to address the potential impacts associated with these contemporary data center facilities," County Commissioner Phil Dumenil said in a statement.
Queen Anne's County pauses data center development
During the 12-month pause, the county will research and evaluate potential impacts that data centers could have on local infrastructure, land use, utilities and environmental resources. The county will also speak with residents, experts and stakeholders about the opportunities and challenges or allowing data centers. Finally, the county will review and consider updates to its zoning regulations.
"The moratorium is not intended to permanently prohibit data center development," County Commissioners said in a statement. "Rather, it is intended to allow the County adequate time to carefully study this emerging land use and determine how future proposals, if any, can be evaluated in a manner consistent with community goals and long-term planning objectives."
What is a data center?
Data centers are facilities that house computer systems, computer storage equipment or infrastructure associated with organizing, processing, storing and circulating large amounts of data.
There are various types and sizes of data centers. On average, a "typical" data center uses about 300,000 gallons of water per day, which is equivalent to the water use of about 1,000 households, according to a 2025 study by research company Brookings. Water is generally used for industrial cooling systems to keep servers and equipment from overheating.
Comparatively, a 2012 study from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows commercial buildings, like warehouses, use an average of 22,000 gallons of water per day.
Maryland counties push back on data centers
At least five other Maryland jurisdictions are considering or have passed legislation to restrict or ban data center development, including Baltimore City.
In Howard County, leaders are moving closer to passing a moratorium, or pause, on data centers. This week, the county council unanimously passed a measure to create a temporary ban on data centers. The legislation is now awaiting the County Executive's signature to become law.
Howard County's S.M.A.R.T. Siting Act would modernize the county code and allow for the county to review the impacts that data centers could have. The moratorium would block construction on new data centers and prevent the Planning and Zoning department from accepting applications for new development. The measure would also create a task force to study impacts.
The Baltimore County Council unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on data centers in February, allowing for the Planning Board to study potential impacts. The bill requires the Planning Board to submit a report by October 1 with an assessment about electricity and water use, potential tax revenue generation and economic benefits.
The measure also requires the board to submit recommendations for regulations to prevent increased demand for electricity and water, changes to zoning regulations and whether data centers should be eligible for loans and tax credits.
In February, Carroll County also passed a 12-month moratorium on data center development, allowing the county to study possible impacts.
Harford County leaders are moving forward with emergency legislation to permanently ban data centers after rejecting a proposed moratorium. The moratorium would have temporarily paused development while the county studies impacts. However, after a heated public meeting, the county council introduced a proposal for a permanent ban.
Baltimore City leaders are considering a pause on data center construction. The proposed measure, similar to other jurisdictions, would pause development for a year.
