Hurlock imposes three-year data center moratorium
The Town of Hurlock, Maryland, approved a three-year moratorium on data centers to allow the local government time to research their potential impacts. This decision aims to ensure the community can make informed decisions based on comprehensive information.
The Town of Hurlock, Maryland, has enacted a three-year moratorium on data center development, approved at its August 10 council meeting. Introduced by Council President Russell Murphy, the measure aims to provide the town with sufficient time to gather comprehensive, factual information regarding the potential community impacts of data centers. Mayor Earl Murphy emphasized the importance of this three-year period for educating residents and fostering informed decision-making, rather than relying on incomplete or biased perspectives.
This action by Hurlock is considered more stringent than many other jurisdictions on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot counties, along with the towns of Cambridge and Easton, have mostly implemented one-year pauses. However, Federalsburg, which faced significant resident opposition to a proposed data center this summer, also passed a three-year moratorium and has even discussed a complete ban. Mayor Murphy explained that the three-year duration was chosen to prevent the need for extensions, allowing for a thorough study of infrastructure implications, potential partnerships, and monitoring of county-level progress before making a final determination on data center policy.