Harford County Executive proposes legislation to permanently ban data centers

Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly has formally submitted legislation to permanently ban data centers throughout Harford County, Maryland. This move follows an earlier bid to convert the Mountain Branch Golf Course in Joppa into a data center site, which sparked discussions for a 90-day moratorium on new data center developments by the County Council. Cassilly stated that there is no need for moratoriums and that the county should simply reject data center proposals outright, citing concerns about their significant energy and water consumption, potential noise, and environmental impacts. He noted that a multidisciplinary team sent to Northern Virginia reported "really serious challenges" presented by data centers, especially regarding energy demands. According to Cassilly, at least three other major property owners have approached his administration about selling their land for data center development. While acknowledging property owners' desire to maximize profit, he emphasized that such developments would "seriously impede all of your neighbors and the value of their land and their convenience, their lifestyle." Local opposition has coalesced into a group called "Our Land, Our Home, Our Harford," which is circulating a petition opposing data center facilities. The petition has already garnered over 3,600 signatures.