Guest commentary urges Maryland to ban new data center construction
A bill (H.B. 120) to ban new data center construction in Maryland failed in the State House, prompting calls for renewed legislative action to protect residents from negative impacts. While Harford County has enacted a ban and other counties have temporary moratoriums, statewide regulation remains absent. The author advocates for Maryland lawmakers to pass legislation addressing noise, property value decreases, health issues, and increased utility costs associated with data centers.
A guest commentary in the Baltimore Sun argues that Maryland lawmakers must pass legislation to protect citizens from the harms of data centers, following the failure of H.B. 120, a bill that would have banned new data center construction statewide. The author, Abby Simmerman, a doctoral student at Penn State, highlights concerns over noise pollution, decreased property values, health issues, and drastic increases in utility costs associated with data centers, which she claims primarily benefit Silicon Valley companies.
The article notes that despite public pushback and evidence of harm, Maryland lacks statewide regulations for data center development. It cites Calvert County as an example, where Amazon is considering a large data center, and locals have submitted over 300 questions regarding water use and utility costs. Conversely, Harford County is praised for becoming the first Maryland county to ban new data center construction, with other counties having passed temporary moratoriums. However, Simmerman stresses that county-level policies are insufficient to protect all Marylanders.
Simmerman refutes claims of significant job creation and tax revenue from data centers, pointing to a $1 billion Apple data center in North Carolina that created fewer than 100 permanent jobs, and Maryland's tax incentive program (which H.B. 560 sought to end) that she argues costs the state millions for only a few low-paid positions. Both H.B. 120 and H.B. 560, though introduced by bipartisan lawmakers, died in committee in the Maryland State House. Simmerman concludes by urging legislators to reconsider H.B. 120.