The data center fight in Washington County, Florida
As of October 1, 2026, Washington County, Florida has a data center moratorium in force (action taken Aug 20, 2026; documented end date 2027-08-20).
Status is derived, not stored — a pause with a documented end date flips to Expired on its own — and the source is right next to the claim.
Status today
1-year unanimous pause on accepting, processing or approving data center applications in unincorporated areas only — Chipley, Wausau and Caryville keep their own authority. Facilities are exempt where computing is incidental, occupies under 5% of floor area and draws 250 kW or less
SourceRoundup
read 2026-08-23
An expiry date is the earliest a pause could have ended — extensions are common, so confirm with the clerk before citing it.
What to do next
- Questions to ask at the hearing — force specific answers onto the record.
- Estimate the impact — electricity, water, and rate pressure for any facility size in Florida.
- Model CBA clauses — copy-paste language communities have actually won.
- Florida briefing — rates, grid carbon, PUC contacts, and every fight in the state.
Nearby in Florida
- Holmes County (20 mi) — Enactedexpires 2027-06-16
- Bay County (26 mi) — Enactedexpires 2027-01-08
- Jackson County (28 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Walton County (30 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Santa Rosa County (81 mi) — Enactedexpires 2027-07-23
- Wakulla County (83 mi) — Enactedno end date — permanent
- Leon County (83 mi) — Enactedexpires 2028-01-14
- Tallahassee (83 mi) — Rejectedterm not documented
All 39 tracked actions in Florida are on the state page.
As of August 2026 (2m ago) · changes weekly — re-check before citing
Illustrative rather than exhaustive — dozens of localities churn weekly, and this tracks the ones we have read a source for. **Each row carries its own provenance.** Rows showing a verification date link to the ordinance, the enacting body's own page, or a datable report of the vote, and were read on that date. Rows marked *unverified* came from bulk compilation and have not been checked against a primary source — the locality, the year, and the status may all be off. Verify one of those with the town clerk before citing it as precedent. **Expiry is derived, not asserted.** A row with a documented end date flips to *Expired* on its own once that date passes. A time-limited moratorium whose start date was never documented keeps showing as enacted — that is a known gap, not a claim that it is still in force. Moratoriums are also routinely extended, so an expiry date is the earliest it could have ended, not proof that it did.
Part of the U.S. data center moratorium tracker — open data, CC BY 4.0.