Elrich signs executive order pausing new data center permits for six months

Decision comes after months of back-and-forth about whether, how long to impose moratorium

June 12, 2026 5:15 p.m.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) speaks during a community forum on data centers at the Isiah “Ike” Leggett Executive Office Building in Rockville. Credit: Montgomery County, MD Flickr

For the next six months, Montgomery County’s permitting department will be barred from accepting, processing or considering permit applications for new data centers under an executive order signed by County Executive Marc Elrich (D) on Friday.

“It’s not a ban on data centers. It’s not a statement that data centers should never be built in Montgomery County, and it’s not a judgement about any specific proposal,” Elrich said of the executive order during a Friday press conference at the executive office building in Rockville.

“What this does is create time for Montgomery County to establish clear rules and expectations before applications begin moving through the permitting process.”

Elrich’s decision Friday follows months of back-and-forth about whether and for how long to impose a moratorium on data center development in the county as the County Council works to draft new regulations for the rapidly-growing industry.

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Elrich’s executive order will not prevent the Montgomery Planning Board from accepting, considering or approving plans for new data centers, such as the recently-amended conditional use application to develop a campus of five data centers at the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Dickerson.

“I can’t affect Park and Planning’s decision process,” Elrich said, referring to the bi-county Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission of which the Montgomery Planning Board is a part.

Still, Elrich said, the agency “ought to be cognizant of the fact that the council is working on regulations, and the owners should realize that ultimately, they’re going to be impacted.”

The Dickerson site is owned by the Florida-based company Terra Energy. The developer and contract purchaser of the site is Atmosphere Data Centers, based in California.

Legislation in the works

The County Council is considering three proposals related to data center development, including two that would temporarily pause it.

On Jan. 20, Council President Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6), Vice President Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2) and Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large) introduced a zoning text amendment aimed at limiting where data centers can be built.

Any data center project that is without a permit when the zoning text amendment takes effect would be subject to its provisions on noise, carbon emissions and water use, Balcombe said during Friday’s press conference. Her district includes Dickerson.

Also on Jan. 20, Councilmember Evan Glass (D-At-large) introduced legislation that would have created a task force to study the potential impacts of future data centers in the county.

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The bill was shot down in March in a joint vote by the council’s Economic Development and Transportation & Environment committees. During the joint committee meeting, Glass moved to recommend a six-monthmoratorium on data centers, but did not get a second.

Later, on May 6, Glass introduced another piece of legislation to prevent the county’s permitting department from accepting, reviewing or issuing building or grading permits for data centers projects for a period of six months.

Speaking about Glass’ proposal at a virtual media briefing that same week, Elrich said he thought the council had enough information to enact new data center regulations “without waiting six months.”

Asked during Friday’s press conference about the timing of his executive order, Elrich told reporters there was no point imposing a moratorium on data center development while the council deliberated on the county budget for fiscal year 2027.

“I felt like this is the best time to do it,” Elrich said, noting that the moratorium will last until the end of his term unless the data center issue is resolved earlier.

Data center politics

In a Friday statement from his office, Glass said he is glad Elrich and his council colleagues now support a six-month moratorium on data centers.

“I was the first member of the Council to sound the alarm on protecting our environment and keeping utility bills down,” the statement read. “I didn’t wait until days before an election to do what was right.”

Elrich is in the final months of his second four-year term as county executive. He cannot seek re-election this year due to term limits and is running for a council at-large seat in the June 23 Democratic primary.

Glass, along with fellow Councilmembers Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) and Will Jawando (D-At-large), is considered a top contender for the Democratic nomination for county executive. Elrich has endorsed Jawando as his successor.

Jawando said during Friday’s press conference that while he does not agree with Elrich on “every single issue related to the moratorium, the important thing is we do agree that we need time to make sure we get this right.”

“We need to put the appropriate regulations in place, because once a data center is built you can’t unbuild it,” Jawando said.

Elrich’s executive order is renewable, meaning the next county executive could opt to extend the moratorium once they take office.

Jawando, alongside Councilmember Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5), has introduced legislation to place a two-year pause on data center development, citing issues he wants to see addressed at the state level before projects in the county are allowed to proceed, such as energy costs and taxing authority.

Friedson has not expressed support for a moratorium and did not attend Friday’s press conference. He has said data centers in the county should bring their own clean energy sources, a position on which he is aligned with his main primary opponents.

Next steps

The County Council is scheduled to hold public hearings on both Jawando’s and Glass’ proposed moratorium bills on Tuesday.

The Planning Board on July 23 is scheduled to review a mandatory referral application from Atmosphere for a battery storage facility proposed for the data center campus, according to Montgomery Planning spokesperson Chris Peifer.

The board only reviews mandatory referrals on an advisory basis and does not have the authority to make decisions on such plans. The battery storage plans will go to the state Public Service Commission for approval.

The following week, on July 30, the board will review Atmosphere’s updated conditional use application for the Dickerson project, according to Peifer. During this meeting, members of the public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the development plan.

The county’s hearing examiner will make the final decision on Atmosophere’s conditional use application.

Bethesda Today reporter Elia Griffin contributed to this story.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine