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<\/figure>\nThis story originally appeared in Prism<\/a> on June 29, 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Across the country, politicians are starting to heed the public\u2019s concerns about data centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Almost 75% of Americans across the political spectrum oppose constructing data centers near their homes, according to a recent Gallup poll. A majority\u201463%\u2014are concerned by federal regulatory agencies\u2019 practice of approving projects without first evaluating environmental and public health concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n These numbers not only paint a stark picture of the massive backlash to the rapid and rapacious buildout of data processing facilities (some of which consume\u00a0enough energy to power a midsize city<\/a>), but they\u2019re also an indicator that the public feels very differently than the corporations pushing for their construction. The country has\u00a0never been more divided<\/a>, but on data centers, residents agree: It\u2019s time to pump the brakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Communities that are already forced to contend with the consequences of data centers warn of their near-constant noise pollution,\u00a0voracious consumption of water<\/a>, and discharge of pollutants into local ecosystems. However, it\u2019s not just environmental concerns that undergird the community-led protests against data center development. Many are also concerned about how data centers come to fruition\u2014often through violations of democratic processes in the form of shadowy backroom deals and\u00a0nondisclosure agreements<\/a>. There\u2019s also the continued rise in utility rates at a time when nearly half (49%) of American households don\u2019t make enough money to cover expenses. Americans contend with issues of drought, fossil fuel dependence, and habitat loss. Generational farmland is being gobbled up to prop up acres of data warehouses. The list goes on.\u00a0<\/p>\n Three years after OpenAI\u2019s artificial intelligence (AI) tool Chat GPT forever changed the world\u2019s orientation to computing, governments are responding to community needs for more information by implementing temporary moratoria on the construction of potentially harmful facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI would say this is the fastest I\u2019ve ever seen [the legislature] move,\u201d Pricey Harrison, a North Carolina state representative, said about her state\u2019s approach to data-center regulation. \u201cThe reaction has been, I think, fast enough to do something about it. Thirty North Carolina municipalities\u2014and counting\u2014have\u00a0considered or approved<\/a>\u00a0data center regulations and moratoria.\u00a0<\/p>\n Where do other moratoria stand? Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n Fourteen states have either introduced, passed, or rejected data center moratoria legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. A bill introduced in South Dakota would prevent new construction or expansion of hyperscale data centers for one year. Another in Oklahoma would pause data center construction until November 2029 to allow the legislative body to study impacts. Pennsylvania\u2019s legislature is currently considering a three-year moratorium on new hyperscale centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Harrison introduced North Carolina\u2019s legislation on a moratorium, though it didn\u2019t get traction. \u201cMy hope was that it was about putting a stop to them until we had the guardrails in place,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n No moratorium has been signed into law at the state level, though one in New York, which would halt data center construction for three years, is sitting on the governor\u2019s desk. Another in Maine was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in April.\u00a0<\/p>\n In March, Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, introduced federal legislation aimed at curbing the supercharged expansion of data centers, which the officials argue are a threat to millions of jobs and planetary health. Last year, Sanders presented a report to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that artificial intelligence and automation could replace nearly 100 million jobs in the U.S. over the next decade. For perspective, there are approximately 170 million employed people in the country, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.\u00a0<\/p>\n The greatest success in passing moratoria has been found at the local level.\u00a0<\/p>\n A moratorium on data center construction and expansion is not a ban. An outright ban has only been achieved in one place in the country: Monterey Park, California. In the June election, 86.3% of voters approved a ban on data centers. \u201cWe hope that other communities will use the model set by residents here in Monterey Park as inspiration to stop datacenters from encroaching in their backyard,\u201d Monterey Park city councilmember Jose Sanchez\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0The Guardian.<\/p>\n As Prism\u00a0previously reported<\/a>, corporations benefit enormously when they can build data centers as quickly as possible because it diminishes the risk of public pushback. Companies lobby for environmental agencies to reduce the regulatory review process for construction of destructive facilities, support state legislation that hampers a local government\u2019s ability to implement cautionary legislation, and prevent public officials from discussing ongoing negotiations for permits. By the time the public finds out about a planned facility, cement is already in the ground.<\/p>\n Mitch Jones, managing director of policy and litigation at the government accountability organization Food & Water Watch, told Prism that what\u2019s needed is more information. Construction and operations of data centers have been a black box, and residents need to know what\u2019s happening to their local resources in order to protect themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe stronger moratoria are the ones that, one, last longer and thus give time; and two, require real detailed studies of the various impacts that data centers have in communities and states,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe don\u2019t believe that these studies can be hurried, or we\u2019re going to get the policy wrong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n After Mills, Maine\u2019s governor, vetoed the country\u2019s first bipartisan bill on a data center moratorium to favor the construction of a data center in the town of Jay, the company behind the facility pulled out, and cities got to work passing their own moratoria.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bill Pluecker, a local representative in Maine, told Prism that in May, his town of Warren proposed its own moratorium in response to Mills\u2019 veto. A special town meeting is\u00a0now scheduled<\/a>\u00a0for July 8 to determine whether to enact the moratorium.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think she wasn\u2019t nuanced or wasn\u2019t looking at the way that AI and data center development is different than a Walmart going in, or different from what we all really want in Maine,\u201d Pluecker said.<\/p>\n According to Pluecker, this moment of data-center expansion requires more political discernment and a shift in approach to economic stimuli. \u201cDevelopment in any form is preferable over regulation\u201d is the kind of perspective that \u201cholds us back,\u201d Pluecker added, noting that if Mills\u2019 reaction to data centers was any indication, representatives can be easily swayed by the promise of jobs\u2014even when there are no long-term jobs to be found.\u00a0<\/p>\nStates catching up with local government\u00a0<\/h2>\n
The benefit of a moratorium\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Pushing back against industry talking points<\/h2>\n