Worcester County, Maryland, adopted a data-center moratorium on July 7, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is pending.
The record reads: "365-day data-center moratorium, adopted 2026-07-07, adoption pending or unconfirmed (Moratorium Nation)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moratorium | restriction | pending | July 7, 2026 | county-wide | Moratorium Nation (ALEA Institute) |
Jurisdiction type: county. County: Worcester County. Dataset: moratorium nation. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Maryland context
Maryland has 18 documented local actions across 14 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted).
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.