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 — moratorium extended through June 30, 2026 (EO of April 23, 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 expires. CB-19-2026 remains pending with no recorded final vote. Either new rules take effect, the hold is extended again, or a regulatory gap opens.
Sources: PG County Council; The Diamondback (May 6, 2026) on the April 23 extension to June 30; EO 1-2026 (PDF)
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 April 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 — no recorded final vote — and the permit hold now runs through June 30, 2026. (The Diamondback, May 6, 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.
What Happened at April 30 — and What's Next
The moratorium did not lapse. On April 23, 2026, County Executive Braveboy issued a second executive order extending the permit hold from April 30 to June 30, 2026 — her first extension (EO 1-2026) had moved the original CR-98-2025 180-day hold to April 30. (The Diamondback, May 6, 2026)
That buys the Council roughly two more months to act on CB-19-2026, the ordinance to repeal the detailed-site-plan-review exemption for qualified data centers. As of late May 2026 the bill remains pending with no recorded final vote.
Three scenarios still apply at the June 30 deadline:
1. Legislation passes. CB-19-2026 (or a successor) takes effect and the hold is replaced by permanent site-plan-review rules.
2. Another extension. A third executive order buys more time but faces growing legal and political pressure from developers.
3. The hold lapses with no replacement. A regulatory gap opens and Brightseat Associates and others could resume applications under pre-moratorium rules — the framework that allowed Planning Board approval without Council review.
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)