First, it was Marshall County, then White County, and then Putnam County.
And now, nearly a third of the state’s counties have passed their own restrictions on data centers — the facilities that store and process large amounts of digital data.
Moratoriums on data center developments have become a popular stopgap for communities as they figure out what local regulations could look like for data centers as tech companies propose developments across the state.
Halfway through 2026, Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute has identified 11 Indiana counties with data center ordinances, at least 17 with temporary moratoriums, and two — Marshall and Cass — that have banned new data centers altogether.
Indiana has aggressively courted data centers as part of its economic development push. Gov. Mike Braun and the Indiana Chamber have welcomed large-scale developments to the state, such as Meta’s $10 billion data center in Lebanon.
But developments of all sizes have also drawn widespread opposition from communities across the country over concerns about their use of water, electricity and land, as well as environmental impacts such as noise and air pollution. Critics have also questioned whether the facilities create enough long-term jobs to justify those impacts.
Janet McCabe, a senior policy advisor at the Environmental Resilience Institute, said with little regulation at the state or federal level specifically for data centers, local communities are enacting moratoriums while they decide how to regulate potential projects — or if they even want them at all.
“This is an example of a kind of development that is moving really fast, and it's a bit of a challenge for local governments to catch up and to have policies or regulations in place that help them make these decisions.”
U.S. Rep. André Carson (D-Indianapolis), has joined Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in introducing the AI Data Center Moratorium Act of 2026, which would create a federal moratorium on data centers that power artificial intelligence.
“Data centers cannot come at a cost to American families, who are already facing high grocery, gas, and housing costs,” Carson said in a press release on June 29.
“Data centers have the potential to create good union jobs, but they also have the potential to eliminate jobs. We need to make sure workers, families, and neighborhoods aren’t forced to pay the burden of this rapidly rising technology without guardrails.”
At Indianapolis’ Metropolitan Development Commission's July 1 meeting, many residents who attended asked the commission to pause approvals for data center developments until the City-County Council passes special zoning rules for data centers.
But the Metropolitan Development Commission pushed forward the new rules — voting 5-3 to recommend its passage. It now heads to the full City-County Council where a vote is expected in August.
Farrah Anderson is WFYI's investigative health reporter. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org.
