Thanks to all those that showed up /testified at the 6/16 hearing. You can view the video of all 80 speakers on data centers here. 

​Here is MCA's testimony
​
We've selected some choice testimony to highlight: 

From Dick Thoms, a retired cooling system engineer:
"Montgomery County is being asked to permit an unregulated facility that is a massive and environmentally risky Industrial use, without the information needed to assess the risks.
In Dickerson, the developer is actively suppressing public and expert input to the permitting process by the use of unnecessary NDAs. This permit process is:
• without the benefit of expert assessment of risks,
• without the time to develop appropriate risk mitigation regulations,
• and without meaningful public input regarding the impact of the risks involved.
Further, the developer is likely unable to dictate to his client - a firm such as Amazon or Microsoft or Disney - what type of Data Center mechanical systems to use.
Given that the proposed data center project design will ultimately be published to the construction industry in order to solicit multiple bids, it is obvious that the NDAs are more about constraining the permit process than protecting proprietary design information."

From Leslie Saville, Retired MoCo Planner

"I am not an expert on data centers, but in reviewing the Dickerson application and our zoning ordinance, I can see that we are not prepared to assess and manage their negative impacts on our communities.
Issues that I see include noise impacts not captured by our noise ordinance, power usage, backup power impacts, C&O Canal user impacts (primarily noise and vibrations), and water usage. We need to thoughtfully establish conditional use standards, and create enforcement mechanisms through regulations. DPS, DEP and planning staff can provide excellent technical advice on the known negative impacts of this use. A complete fiscal analysis must be provided to Council. The costs AND the benefits should be entirely on the table for the public to see."


We want to thank our stalwart partners from the MoCo Climate Coalition, Food and Water Watch, the Democratic Socialists of America MoCo, MoCo Sierra Club and Sugarloaf Citizens Association - all working together in your interest toward the best outcome. 

Since 2023 when we first heard of this data center project we have worked to find out more information. The plans submitted to the planning department are encumbered with a number of NDAs making fact finding difficult.  The email asks, 'What are we so worried about?" Here are a few things: 

Water: 

• Atmosphere will only withdraw water from the River when the ambient temperature exceeds 75 degrees and lose 67% of it to evaporation or other loss - the summer months are when the river is at its lowest and existing data centers across the watershed are already using 12% of the Potomac during the summer months. The Interstate Commission on the Potomac is sounding the alarm about data center water use throughout the region increasing drought frequency and severity. 
• The Potomac was just named "the nations most endangered river" siting rapid data center growth in the watershed.
• The water will be cycled multiple times through the system and amended with bleach as a biocide. Bleach will be made and stored on site above the Piedmont Sole Source Aquifer - the only source of water for one third of the county. 

Atmosphere’s Track Record On the Environment:

• Atmosphere has not yet gained permits or constructed any Data Centers, Dickerson would be their first. Their website lists potential projects in South Carolina, Nashville, and Kansas City.

Climate Goals: 

• This massive power consuming industry presents a real challenge to the county's climate change goal of achieving carbon neutral by 2035. 
  

Noise: 

• Data Centers have become synonymous with noise impacts - the cooling fans and pumps plus generators emit a low background hum around the clock that interrupts sleep and has other health impacts. Recently, reports of lower frequency “infrasound” that is felt rather than heard detail major health impacts like chronic nausea and vertigo. This low frequency vibration noise pollution is not addressed by current county noise ordinances. 
  ​

Power Rate Issues: 

• The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel has raised the alarm that Marylanders are on the hook for $2 Billion in increased power rates from data centers built in neighboring states. 
• Regional grid operator PJM has advised leaders that data center demand will lead to black outs and brown outs by 2027.
• ​The Dickerson data center project will be bringing none of its own power and instead rely entirely on the grid to meet its 360 MW needs (300,000 homes) and use 149 diesel generators for back up power, tested monthly. A study out of GMU has found that diesel exhaust makes living next to a data center less healthy than living close to a gas plant.

Thanks to all the candidates who took the time to share their views on the issues impacting the Ag Reserve and our broader county. 
(see our press release here)
​
While MCA's is not the only survey by far, this is a unique opportunity to ask the questions about upcounty concerns. Care to hop in the time machine? 2022 surveys are here.

The primary election is coming up fast:
Early Voting - Thursday, June 11, 2026 through Thursday, June 18, 2026
Election Day - Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Check the Board of Elections for more info about polling places, mail in voting and more. 

Below are all the candidates running for each office. Please click the highlighted names below to see the surveys that were filled in by the deadline.  * = incumbent ^= participating in public financing (may or may not have reached quota for support. We rely on this public data.) 

You may also want to take a look at the candidate profiles available at League of Women Voters

Land Link coordinator Kristina was thrilled to discuss MoCo Land Link with farm service folks at the Land Transfer Forum Mid Atlantic. The presentation slides are here, video below. 
Other Land Linking portals discussed: 
MD FarmLink 
PA FarmLink

The MoCo Board of Ed approved PFAS laden synthetic turf fields at Poolesville High School, right above the sole source aquifer, along with new plastic fields for several other schools. Now the Council has the opportunity to deny the funding requests, improve grass field management and save $40 Million in a particularly tough budget year.


And yet -the straw vote at the Council just came back 6-5 in favor of plastic turf.

With the budget speeding toward passage, the Council needs to hear from you. (We understand Councilmembers Friedson, Luedtke, Evans, Katz, Fani-Gonzalez and Sayles have voted in favor of plastic fields. This after Fani Gonzalez and Sayles had committed to not support plastic fields in a recent Sierra Club questionnaire. Your letter will go to all Councilmembers).

The hundreds writing into the Council to oppose plastic turf - among them student groups and the Coalition of County PTAs- are all getting the same response from Council President Fani-Gonzalez - the Council can't earmark how MCPS spends allocated funds. Good News - the Council CAN choose to allocate funds for the much cheaper proper upkeep of grass fields and deny the extra **$40 Million** MCPS needs to install these plastic carpets - all while protecting public health and the public purse.

Make the case to Councilmembers today - and thank you!

MCA is proud to be part of the Real Grass for Healthy Kids Coalition. Read our letter to the Council here. 

Here is a breakdown of Industrial areas (Light, Medium and Heavy - all could host data centers in the ZTA) in each Council district.  

A series of maps showing the locations of industrial zones in each district was put together by Karen Metchis - and we thank her!

As we do each election year, MCA has crafted questions to put to the candidates seeking to represent Montgomery County at the local and state level. We gather and post the unedited responses as a voters resource. 

Thanks to all that responded to our survey earlier this year on what issues you wanted to hear about. The top issues were transparency in governance and land use, data centers and water protection. You can see the questions we asked here. 

The questionnaires are now out to candidates. We have given the candidates a few weeks to answer the questions and will post the unedited results here around May 20th. We know ours is one of many questionnaires to complete and thank the candidates for their responses. 

The primary election is coming up fast:
Early Voting - Thursday, June 11, 2026 through Thursday, June 18, 2026
Election Day - Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Check the Board of Elections for more info about polling places, mail in voting and more. 

Care to hop in the time machine?  Here are the 2022 responses. 

Check out our most recent newsletter to for three quick actions to celebrate Earth Month. 
Your voice is needed to: 
- Close the Dickerson trash incinerator
-Keep PFAS laden artificial turf fields out of the MCPS budget 
 -Urge strong amendments to the zoning law allowing Data Centers in the county. 

Great news out of Frederick County this week where a number of determined civic groups joined forces to put Frederick County's data center expansion plans to a vote of the people.
 
In January, the County Council voted 5-2 to approve a data center overlay zone that would allow 1% of the county's land - including some working farmland - to host data centers. 

Opponents needed 7% of the voters to sign the referendum petition - 15,000 signatures. By the deadline they turned in over 22,000 signatures. The Board of Elections just certified the signatures and the question will be on the ballot. 

The County Council has questioned the legality of the referendum. See this coverage from the Frederick News Post to learn more. 

Follow the referendum team for more developments here.  

​

Data Centers are among the most water-intensive land uses ever proposed for a suburban county. Potable water is required to constantly cool computing equipment.  Currently data centers are not in the zoning code. Recently proposed ZTA 26-01 would allow them in industrial zones of the County but needs amendments to address water use.

The Potomac has seen significant drought... and it is getting worse
August 2025 was the driest month on record in 150 years. Experts predict that even with new reservoirs the Potomac will not meet drinking water  demand in extreme drought by 2050. Data centers already account for 12% of water consumption in the watershed. Groundwater resources - relied upon by the Ag Reserve are also facing drought.
County zoning must hold data centers to the highest standards to protect drinking water and local habitat
​
Zoning is the tool county leaders have for balancing new growth with public and environmental health.  We are asking residents to join us to make the case for common sense guiderails on data centers in this ZTA. It’s not too late to protect drinking water, and habitat - but we can’t go back and require these changes once hyperscale data centers are built.

Land Link Montgomery is a program matching seasoned farmers with landowners to create more farm businesses in Montgomery County. 
In this program, we play matchmaker and what makes the best matches is shared vision. This was the case with Lauren, a long term Ag Reserve advocate and Chris, an experienced regenerative cattle farmer. Chris' cattle will cycle through the pastures at Lauren's property, improving the soil as they go. Happy cattle, verdant pastures - a mutually beneficial match. 

Lauren writes: 

Two Data Center Provisions had Public Hearings: The hearing room was packed on Tuesday for the first public hearing for ZTA 26-01 that would allow data centers on industrial land, and Bill  4-26 proposing a task force for Data Centers. There was even a waitlist for speakers interested in providing comments. 
The theme repeated throughout the afternoon was that residents welcome regulation of these highly consumptive land uses but that these two bills don't go far enough to protect residents from impacts on health, water resources, and household budgets. 

To remind, Atmosphere's proposal for 5 data centers in Dickerson would use: 
-I Gigawatt of power (=750,000 homes)
-Up to 2 Million Gallons of the Potomac/day
-1.2 Gigawatts of power from many, many dirty diesel generators testing monthly 

Watch Testimony Here (some testified on both in the first section): 

• ​Bill 4-26 CM Glass' bill establishing a task force to study Data Centers  (here are the amendments the MoCo Climate Coalition suggest for this bill)
• ZTA 26-01 - CMs Fani Gonzalez, Balcombe and Sayles ZTA creating a zoning class for data centers. ​
• MCA's Testimony (transcript here) ​

Speakers giving voice to concern came from all parts of the county and all walks of life. Notable speakers included the GMU professor who just released a new study on the serious health impacts of data centers gathered from research in "data center alley" in Northern Virginia. 

Residents spoke to a need to get data center regulations right - calls for strict regulations were paired with a call for a pause or moratorium to host a transparent and inclusive process to craft said regulations.
The lawyers for Atmosphere, the developer of the Dickerson cluster of 5 proposed data centers, were there and argued against a moratorium. "A moratorium will delay and possibly derail the project." We strongly hope the Council will not be pressured to step away from their duty to uphold the public good by a contract purchaser of 110 acres of land in Dickerson who has not gained local or state permits to proceed. 

What's Next?
Written testimony will be accepted until March 5. Click below to write an email to the Council. 

Back in 2024, owner of the former PEPCO coal plant property Terra Energy secured conceptual approval for a cluster of 5 data centers on land zoned heavy industrial along the Potomac River. This conceptual approval was given under zoning meant for "cable communications" because there is no zoning in Montgomery County then or today that governs data centers. Here are the questions we put to the Planning department about how that works.  The conceptual conditional permit review was conducted without legally required components, including site plans.

Residents want, and are entitled to, more information. How much water and power will these plants use? What about noise and air quality from backup generators? 

 We understand that Atmosphere, the developer of a 5 data center complex proposed on 110 acres in Dickerson, has submitted an application to modify the conceptual approval to the Montgomery County Planning Department. The application is not yet available to the public. Here is our best effort to answer the many good questions from the public (with links to far more info) . 

What About Backup Power? 

Data Centers need consistent power 24/7 even when the grid fails. Unfortunately, most of the time this is provided by dirty diesel backup generators that send nitrous oxide and particulate matter into the air. 

According to Atmosphere's own fact sheet - though they claim to be industry innovators, Atmosphere will use diesel generator for backup power. It also says that they will only be turned on "periodically". The industry standard established by the National Fire Protection Association calls for running data center generators monthly to prevent failures and fires when the generators are needed. 

Emergency generators can run up to 100 hours for testing per year and unlimited hours in emergency situations under EPA rules. Recently, the Trump Administration ordered that data centers use exclusively backup generators for winter weather.  

How many generators? The industry rule of thumb is 20% above the full power needs of the facility - so 1.2 Gigawatts of power (which again is over 750,000 homes and enough to power a DeLorean through time in Back to the Future) being turned on for testing monthly. 

Because of Governor Moore's SB474 that passed in 2024, data centers can now use as many generators as they need, having waived the regulations and public oversight required for diesel generators over 2MW.
​
It should also be mentioned that the fact sheet talks about the 12 acre BESS battery backup development adjacent to the Atmosphere project - Atmosphere in fact has no access to this power supply - it is owned and operated separately. 

Can you take one more step and testify? On February 24th ZTA 26-01 will have a public hearing at the Council 1:30pm Click here to sign up to testify (in person or on zoom)

So much happened this week with Data Centers both here in MoCo and across the country that we did a wrap up video.

​ Last week there were two efforts from the Council to create data center regulations. We are pouring through them to draft responses.

In the background is a proposal to site a cluster of data centers on the site of the old Pepco station that will draw all its water for cooling from the Potomac. This proposal has received preliminary approval despite not having a site plan. Frederick County allies are seeking to overturn a decision to allow data centers on 1% of county land with a ballot referendum - a heavy lift that can use your help. 

One bill is an effort from CMs Fani Gonzalez, Balcombe and Sayles (full text here). The other is from CM Glass. Both bills will be introduced this coming Tuesday (agenda here). The County executive intends to hold public meeting in the beginning of February, date to be announced, to discuss proposed regulations.

We will also be tracking the various bills at the state level along with our climate change colleagues. Maryland Matters reports on state efforts here. 

Related: It will be a big election this year - we will surely be asking about data centers - what else should we be asking the candidates in our voter survey? Let us know here. 

Frederick County Data Center Referendum
All Hands On Deck

Perhaps you heard that Frederick County just passed a zoning provision allowing 1% of the county to host Data Centers.
 
But they didn't ask the people. 


Our FredCo allies are launching a data center referendum drive and need all hands on deck to collect thousands of signatures in the next ~50 days.
 
Sign up to volunteer as a signature gatherer and note the upcoming required online trainings. 

The 2026 election will be a big one in Montgomery County and we want to hear from you. Each election season, Montgomery Countryside Alliance puts together a candidate's survey of questions about how we steward our farmland and resources in the county. Then we publish the raw answers to help voters choose our leaders.  What questions should we ask? Please take the survey below to rank some issues and add your own. Many Thanks!

​The Montgomery County Office of Agriculture and the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation hosted a ribbon cutting and tour of the new agricultural "storefront" located at Junior Achievement of Greater Washington's Finance Park in Thomas Edison High School of Technology. Finance Park is Junior Achievement's capstone program for personal financial planning and career exploration. Students visit this realistic on-site community to put into practice what they've learned by developing and committing to a personal budget. Now with the addition of the Agricultural Storefront, thousands of Montgomery County middle school students will learn the importance of ag in their daily lives while exploring local agricultural careers in this immersive and vibrant space showcasing Maryland's robust agriculture.
​
Every time someone pays a little extra for a Farm tag, they help advance opportunities for MCPS students’ education in agriculture and our food system. Learn More at MAFE

Meanwhile we understand that the only remaining CASE program (Curriculum for Ag Science Education) is in Bethesda, Sherwood's was cut last year. We need far more Ag Ed opportunities - not less. 

The Latest on The Dickerson Data Centers: 
The bulk of the project space has been sold by Tera Energy to a company called Atmosphere.  MCA and Sugarloaf Citizens Association have written to be added to the persons of record and to urge a public hearing on Atmosphere's water use for a cluster of 5 data centers on the site. 

Background - Data Centers have been proposed for the former site of the PEPCO plant in Dickerson adjacent to the C+O Canal and the Potomac by Terra Energy. Data Centers are a entirely novel and resource hungry land use - using the power of a small city, requiring constant water for cooling severs and often relying on a large amount of diesel generators to provide backup power. All of our concerns - sourced from the community - can be found here.

2 The Zoning Ordinance does not specifically permit the Hearing Examiner to grant a conditional use “general approval”. The Hearing Examiner evaluated the Application, all testimony, and all documents in evidence pursuant to Section 59.7.3.1.E.
​
Concern remains:
The number of data centers and their ultimate square footage has been left to future “modifications.” 1 data center or 5 or 10… unknown. Both MCA and our partners at Sugarloaf Citizens’ Association conveyed to the applicant, MC Planning staff and board, and to the Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings (OZAH) our concern that the sketch plan lacks necessary specifics related to the project’s scope and resource requirements. 
To be clear, we maintain that, especially without a regulatory framework to properly guide the data center industry in Montgomery County, providing a “general approval” casts a blind eye to potential cumulative non-inherent impacts of the full scope of the project.  Would a hearing examiner approve a residential apartment project in Bethesda or Silver Spring without knowing the full square footage and occupancy allowing the applicant to come back later with a site plan and details?
MCA and SCA are considering our options, which could be a request for reconsideration or oral argument.  Stay tuned.
​

We are so thankful to our District 15 leaders for uplifting our forthcoming well care guide for rural residents of the County, and thankful to the Chesapeake Bay Trust for seed funding for the effort. You can contribute to this project here. 

Our Groundwater project is called the "Good Gift Campaign" because of the gift of the Sole Source Piedmont Aquifer that lies below the surface of the Ag Reserve - the only source of water for the farms and residents of about a third of the county. 
In 2024 we launched the Good Gift Campaign to protect the aquifer as droughts become more frequent and proposed development in the Reserve could easily outpace the aquifer's finite capacity. 
A preliminary survey of residents showed that only 1 in 5 were testing their wells each year for dangerous E. coli and other harmful contaminants as experts suggest. 

To improve well testing, we have begun work on a well care guide - a way to build a culture of protection and stewardship among those reliant on the aquifer. A work group of stakeholders has gathered to craft the guide and our partners at PLENTY magazine are going to turn the informative science and narratives into a cohesive publication reflecting the beauty of the Reserve - as they do in each issue of their magazine. 

We recently secured a mini grant from The Chesapeake Bay Trust to help fund the project and the guide will be published in Summer 2026.

This seed funding has gotten us started - but being the farm advocacy business, we know better than most that a seed needs help to grow. We'd be honored by your tax deductible gift to help this project get flowing. 

The BOE approved the syn turf field at Poolesville High (among several others) but the budget now needs to go to the Council and Executive. Click below to personalize a letter to them urging a veto. 

Because of our fractured rock geology, chemicals on the surface easily leach down to the groundwater below - and getting that contamination out is really hard. 

PFAS - Dangerous and Expensive
The Town of Poolesville saw this several years ago when monitoring showed several municipal wells had high concentrations of PFAS - forever chemicals that cause a myriad of health issues with very little exposure. 

Town staff had a swift and efficient response - taking the wells offline and spending millions to mitigate the problem.

But how do we avoid this problem in the future - we can hope we catch a problem in time and mitigate wells at great expense - or we can control contamination on the surface before it starts,  saving millions and preventing public health issues. 

Athlete injuries and toxicity
Enter the Poolesville High School's quest to replace their regular turf field with an artificial turf field. 
The plastic "blades" are rolled out over an underlayment of "crumb rubber" - think chopped up tires. There are no artificial turfs on the market that do not contain high levels of PFAS. 
 One reason given for the switch to plastic fields is a better playing experience. Professional athletes would disagree. There are documented increased health issues for players of playing on this type of field (infections, high heat - (55 degrees higher than grass), injuries from slipping) that have NFL plyers calling for a return to all grass. The men's world cup has insisted on all grass venues since 2022 while the women's team has sued to get the same treatment. 

Impacts on Farm Economics
PFAS and the other myriad chemicals in artificial turf pose a real risk for local farms. PFAS - being "forever chemicals"- concentrate in the soil and travel through the food chain, becoming higher in plants and then animals who consume that feed. In Maine where PFAS testing of farm products has been done systematically since 2021, some farms are being shuttered and livestock destroyed to prevent products with high PFAS from reaching consumers.  The state is being forced to buy and repurpose these contaminated farms.