For those lovers and haters of data centers I want to remind you that last July President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14318, which remains the active federal policy for fast-tracking large-scale data center infrastructure.
It’s fair to say last year at this time in Ellis County the data center controversy was not as spotlighted as it has been since the Red Oak City Council gave the finger to their residents and the Maypearl data center issue has taken center stage.
The executive order’s federal initiatives are facing increased resistance this year due to the expiration of Biden-era sustainability regulations. Consequently, more than 24 states are considering new legislation to manage the resulting surge in energy and water demands.
Here is a rundown of key developments and shifts that have occurred since last year for those tracking the beginnings of this colossal digital industrial revolution.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) allowed Biden-era regulations that required federal data centers to maintain centralized sustainability and water-usage plans to expire, pivoting strictly toward rapid development. You can read more about this at www.wired.com/story/the-us-government-is-letting-a-key-data-center-regu….
In March 2026, major data center developers entered a pledge with the White House, committing to cover the full cost of the new electric generation resources required to meet their immense power demands.
An aggressive federal push to expedite centers using more than 100 megawatts of power has caused friction. At least 27 states are currently weighing legislation to target “large load” customers, and several localities have instituted construction moratoriums to prevent grid and water system overloads.
To read more about both of the two topics above visit www.multistate.us/insider/2026/4/14/federal-ai-data-center-policy-meets….
The Environmental Protection Agency has decided to implement the Executive Order by releasing specific guidance on repurposing contaminated or abandoned Brownfield and Superfund sites specifically for AI data centers.
One point of interest is that while EO 14318 continues to ease federal permitting restrictions and unlock federal lands for development, the “unrest” has now made it to the state and local levels, where communities and utility regulators are fighting to ensure infrastructure build-outs do not strain local resources.
Moreover, state and local governments retain primary authority over where and how data centers are built, EO 14318 only streamlines federal permitting processes and does not legally preempt local control.
So even if the federal government does use the executive order to remove its own regulatory roadblocks, it cannot legally override state-level utility regulations or municipal zoning laws.
State and local dominance comes to play in zoning and land use with local municipalities holding the ultimate power to approve or deny land zoning. If a city or county passes a data center construction moratorium, the federal government cannot force them to permit a build on private or municipal land.
Data centers also require massive grid connections. State Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) regulate local power grids and electricity rates. States can block or heavily delay projects by denying utility hookups or requiring developers to fund entirely new power generation facilities.
Cooling data centers has also come into question and while it is known that many of these data centers do take millions of gallons of water, local water authorities and state environmental boards control water allocation permits, creating a massive non-federal bottleneck.
If a state or local government is determined to block a data center through zoning or utility restrictions, they still possess the statutory authority to do so.
Citizens can also work toward seeing that local ordinances like emergency construction moratoriums and strict operational guidelines are put in place.
They also have the right to intervene in state utility cases. When a utility company wants to build a new substation or transmission line for a data center, it must get approval from the state PUC. Residents can testify at these hearings to argue that data center energy demands will spike local residential electric bills.
Data center projects also rely heavily on local property tax breaks granted by county commissioners, this is where voters and taxpayer advocacy groups can protest these corporate tax exemptions, therefore forcing developers to pay full local tax rates.
The Federal Government does win in the fact it has sole authority over data centers built on land owned by the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, or Department of the Interior, where local zoning laws do not apply.
If data center expansion requires new interstate high-voltage transmission lines or natural gas pipelines, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) can use federal preemption to push those through, even over state objections.
Executive Order 14318 does allow the White House to clear federal red tape and provide financial support, therefore working as an accelerator rather than a total legal override.
The EO also bars citizens from suing the government over data center fast-tracking, meaning public resistance must rely entirely on local ordinances and state utility boards.
This means no federal court enforcement since Section 9(c) of Executive Order 14318 explicitly states it “does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity.”
Also, under the National Environmental Policy Act the order pushes federal agencies to use “categorical exclusions,” which removes the public comment windows and environmental impact lawsuits that communities historically used to stall massive projects.
Bottom line, what started as a local fight over zoning and power grids is exploding into a massive congressional showdown. Senator Bernie Sanders is taking aim at the White House’s aggressive buildout with his new AI Data Center Moratorium Act. The goal is to freeze all new large-scale data center construction until Washington establishes a real regulatory framework. It is a direct legislative challenge to Executive Order 14318, and the outcome will decide who ultimately controls your backyard.