Prince George's County, Maryland
Data center water impact assessment — Brightseat Tech Park (820 MW proposed) and regional cumulative effects on WSSC Water / Potomac River basin.
Development Summary
| Primary project | Brightseat Tech Park — 87 acres, former Landover Mall site |
| Developer | Brightseat Associates LLC (Lerner Enterprises / The Tower Companies) |
| Scale | 5 buildings, 4.1M sq ft, up to 820 MW |
| Investment | $5 billion projected |
| Approvals | Planning Board approved preliminary subdivision (March 2024); final plan (Oct 2024). Did not require County Council review. |
| Status | Halted — County Council adopted a two-year moratorium on new data center development on July 7, 2026; a separate County Executive permitting pause runs through September 30, 2026 |
Sources: Data Center Dynamics; MVEMNT
Water Infrastructure
| Utility | WSSC Water (bi-county: PG + Montgomery) |
| Primary source | Potomac River (Potomac WFP) |
| System capacity | 170 MGD |
| WRI stress index | High — 3.4/5 |
| Residential rate | $9.80/1,000 gal |
| Existing DC count | 5 operational in PG County |
Sources: WSSC Water 2024; WRI Aqueduct 4.0; Fox Baltimore
ICPRB, March 2026: Data centers in the D.C. metro region account for 9–12% of Potomac consumptive use during summer peak. With unconstrained growth, projected to reach 80 MGD peak demand by 2050. — WTOP / ICPRB Study
Moratorium Timeline
- Apr 15, 2025 Council adopts CR-016-2025 establishing Qualified Data Center Task Force
- Sep 15, 2025 County Executive Braveboy pauses all data center permits (executive order)
- Sep 16, 2025 Council adopts CR-98-2025 — 180-day moratorium on permits and subdivision plans
- Nov 2025 Task Force issues 460+ page final report with 14 recommendations
- Jan 23, 2026 Executive Order No. 1-2026 extends hold through April 30, 2026
- Feb 11, 2026 Pending data center bills' hearings canceled — Council to consider collectively
- Mar 17, 2026 CB-19-2026 introduced (Oriadha, Blegay, Dernoga) — repeals the detailed-site-plan-review exemption, requiring Council site-plan review for all future data centers
- Apr 23, 2026 County Executive Braveboy issues a second extension — the permit hold is pushed from April 30 to June 30, 2026 (the moratorium did not lapse)
- Jun 30, 2026 Extended hold reaches its expiration date. County Executive Braveboy extends the permitting pause again, to September 30, 2026. The same day, Council Chair Oriadha introduces legislation for a two-year prohibition on new data centers.
- Jul 7, 2026 Council adopts a two-year moratorium on new data center development, modified to allow earlier lifting if comprehensive governing legislation is adopted. Zoning legislation defining where data centers are permitted is now moving, so the two-year term may not run in full.
Sources: PG County Council; The Diamondback (May 6, 2026) on the April 23 extension to June 30; EO 1-2026 (PDF); PG County Council newsflash (Jun 30, 2026) on the two-year moratorium introduction; WJLA (Jul 7, 2026) and Maryland Matters (Jul 8, 2026) on passage; CR-066-2026 (County Council Legistar record)
Key Stakeholders
Government
- Aisha N. Braveboy — County Executive. Cautious, regulatory-forward. Issued moratorium executive orders.
- Wala Blegay — Council At-Large. Lead sponsor of moratorium (CR-98-2025). Task Force member. Primary legislative architect.
- Krystal Oriadha — Council Vice Chair. Co-sponsor. Publicly stated she is "against data centers anywhere."
- Edward Burroughs III — Council Chair. Task Force Co-Chair.
Community Organizers
- Taylor Frazier McCollum — Landover resident. Change.org petition: 20,000+ signatures. Framed fight as environmental racism.
- Staci Hartwell — South County Environmental Justice Coalition. Task Force member (community voice from the inside).
- Kamita Gray — President, Brandywine TB Southern Region Neighborhood Coalition.
Consulting / Advisory
- Gensler — Retained under RFP 45-135 for community engagement and case study comparison. Elaine Asal led engagement; Evan Totes presented to Council.
- Sage Policy Group — Economic analysis (on behalf of MD Tech Council). Projected $1B economic activity, ~$19.6M annual county taxes.
Sources: AFRO; Maryland Daily Record; PG Council Task Force
Estimates use published industry averages and public utility data. Not engineering analysis. See full methodology for assumptions and limitations.
Pending Legislation (as of July 2026)
Four data center bills were introduced. All hearings were canceled or postponed as of February 11, 2026 — the Council intends to consider legislation collectively before the moratorium expires.
Update (May 2026): the active named vehicle is now CB-19-2026 (Oriadha, Blegay, Dernoga; introduced March 17, 2026), which repeals the detailed-site-plan-review exemption for qualified data centers. It remains pending, with no recorded final vote. (The Diamondback, May 6, 2026)
Update (July 2026): the Council adopted a two-year moratorium on July 7, 2026, which can be lifted earlier if comprehensive governing legislation is adopted. Separate zoning legislation defining where data centers are permitted is now advancing, reportedly including detailed site plan review for campuses under 200 acres. CB-19-2026 has no recorded final disposition and may have been overtaken by the broader moratorium. (NBC Washington, July 2026)
| Bill | Sponsor | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| LDR-001-2026 Most restrictive | CM Jolene Ivey | Data centers only by special exception in industrial zones. No by-right development. |
| LDR-016-2026 Moderate | Chair Oriadha & CM Blegay | Requires detailed site plans for all data center proposals. |
| LDR-021-2026 Process | CM Adams-Stafford | Transparency and process requirements: searchable database of pre-application neighborhood meetings. |
| LDR-028-2026 Less restrictive | CM Blegay | By-right in industrial zones; special exception in agricultural/rural zones (25+ acre parcels, distance requirements). |
Source: Community group summary; PG County Council
Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) Status
No legally binding CBAs have been executed with any data center developer in Prince George's County as of April 2026. The CBA framework remains an advisory recommendation from the Task Force report, not yet codified in legislation.
The Task Force's 14 recommendations included community benefits alongside special-use exceptions and overlay districts. Task Force Co-Chair Anthony Jones stated: "Data centers should be held to high energy efficiency standards, and data centers that locate in the county should also provide community benefits to the county." Dozens of residents at the January 27, 2026 Council briefing asked for workforce-development commitments and monitoring requirements for energy, water, and noise. (Citizen Portal)
A prior CBA precedent exists: MGM National Harbor executed a CBA with the county for casino development. (PG County CBA Summary). Separately, Brookings Institution (Jan 2026) published a report recommending CBAs for data centers, citing the PG County situation.
How the June 30 Deadline Resolved
The moratorium never lapsed, and it has now been replaced by something stronger. The original CR-98-2025 180-day hold was extended to April 30 by EO 1-2026, then to June 30, 2026 by a second executive order on April 23. (The Diamondback, May 6, 2026)
At the June 30 deadline, two things happened at once. County Executive Braveboy extended the permitting pause a third time, through September 30, 2026. The same day, Council Chair Oriadha introduced legislation for a two-year prohibition on new data centers. (PG County Council, June 30, 2026)
On July 7, 2026, the Council passed the two-year moratorium on new data center development, modified to allow earlier lifting if the Council adopts comprehensive governing legislation. (WJLA; Maryland Matters)
So the county now has two overlapping instruments: an executive permitting pause running to September 30, 2026, and a Council moratorium nominally running two years. The two-year term should not be read as settled. Zoning legislation defining where data centers are permitted is already moving, and that is exactly the trigger written into the moratorium's early-lift clause. (NBC Washington)
The county's structural budget deficit (reported in the range of $130M–$200M for FY2026, depending on source) keeps data center tax revenue in the conversation even among skeptics. (WJLA)