1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

Block New Data Center Construction Until Environmental Reviews Are Complete Block new large-scale data center construction in our state until full environmental impact assessments are completed. The Department of Energy has warned we are one bad week away from rolling blackouts, and data center power demand is a primary driver. Communities are running out of clean water. People living near these facilities are getting sick. This cannot wait. The playbook for stopping runaway development already exists. In Imperial County, California, a judge halted a 1-million-square-foot data center complex after the Sierra Club and the city of Imperial sued over a skipped environmental review. In Palm Beach County, commissioners voted 6-0 to stop accepting new applications for data centers drawing 50 megawatts or more. The Alliance for the Great Lakes estimates AI data centers in the Midwest alone will consume 150 billion gallons of water over the next five years, equal to the annual use of 4.6 million households. These are not abstract risks. Enact an immediate moratorium on new data center approvals, require environmental impact assessments before any project moves forward, and mandate community benefit agreements that hold developers financially responsible for their own infrastructure. Brighton, Colorado doubled its proposed pause to a full year after residents showed up and demanded it. Mercer County, Kentucky rejected zoning unanimously when more than 170 people packed a meeting. Constituent pressure works. I am one of those constituents, and I expect action. Link to Erin Brockovich post: https://open.substack.com/pub/erinbrockovich/p/another-one-bites-the-dust-and-another.