Montana local moratoria
Every local infrastructure moratorium in the inventory for Montana, current through September 23, 2026.
2 instruments — 1 in force, 1 pending, 0 past.
State policy is tracked separately: 6 actions (6 bills) in state_legislation.csv. These are not included in the local count above.
| Jurisdiction | Type | Enacted | Sectors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butte-Silver Bow | County | Unverified | data center | 🟡 Pending |
| Missoula County | County | 2026-07-09 | data center | 🟢 Active |
Detailed entries
Butte-Silver Bow
- Type: County
- Status: 🟡 Pending
- Date enacted: —
- Normalized date:
—(unverified) - Duration: As proposed (not yet adopted): a six-month moratorium on data center construction, with up to two additional one-year extensions available, after which the Council of Commissioners would be required to enact permanent regulations. At its 2026-09-02 meeting, the Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners voted 11-0 to direct the county attorney to prepare a temporary moratorium/interim zoning ordinance draft; no draft ordinance had been brought back for a final adoption vote as of 2026-09-23.
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
mt-butte-silver-bow-undated - Legal basis: Council of Commissioners motion (introduced by Commissioner Michele Shea) directing the county attorney to prepare a temporary data-center moratorium ordinance; adopted 11-0 on 2026-09-02. No ordinance number exists because the moratorium itself has not yet been adopted.
- What prompted it: Ongoing local debate over data center development, including a separately litigated local ballot initiative (406 People First / Local Initiative 00-02) to require voter approval of data centers, a pending Montana Supreme Court appeal over that initiative's ballot eligibility, and public testimony citing power-supply concerns tied to a still-pending Montana Public Service Commission large-load tariff proceeding.
- Affected projects: News coverage references a company exploring potential data center sites in Silver Bow County (behind the ballot-initiative and moratorium debate), but no specific named project or MW figure was located in captured sources.
- Detailed status: Pending as of 2026-09-23. The Butte-Silver Bow Council of Commissioners voted 11-0 on 2026-09-02 to have the county attorney prepare a temporary data center moratorium, intended to give officials and the public more time to evaluate infrastructure, economic, environmental, and quality-of-life impacts before any new data center development proceeds. No draft ordinance had returned to the Council for final adoption as of this pass. Separately, a district court ruled against a citizens' group (406 People First) that sued the county clerk over rejected signatures for a data-center ballot initiative; that ruling is being appealed to the Montana Supreme Court, which has temporarily allowed the initiative to remain alive pending appeal (a related report indicated the initiative was ultimately kept off the November 2026 ballot). [VERIFY instrument number; adoption date; primary source (news-only evidence) not confirmed at confidence 0.6 in the 2026-09 refresh]
- Outcome: Council of Commissioners voted 11-0 to direct the county attorney to draft a temporary data center moratorium ordinance; not yet adopted as of this pass.
Missoula County
- Type: County
- Status: 🟢 Active
- Date enacted: 2026-07-09 (Board of County Commissioners unanimous adoption after a public hearing)
- Normalized date:
2026-07-09(exact) - Duration: One year from adoption (2026-07-09 to 2027-07-08), or until replaced sooner by permanent zoning
- Current end date:
— - Sectors: data center
- Moratorium ID:
mt-missoula-county-2026 - Legal basis: Interim zoning overlay resolution adopted unanimously by the Missoula County Board of County Commissioners on July 9, 2026, under Mont. Code Ann. Section 76-2-206
- What prompted it: County commissioners directed to study an asserted emergency and possible mitigation measures related to data center development pressure in unincorporated county areas
- Affected projects: No specific named project identified in the captured record; applies prospectively countywide in unincorporated areas.
- Detailed status: Active as of the July 31, 2026 research date. Prohibits permitting new or expanded data centers in zoned and unzoned areas of unincorporated Missoula County outside the City of Missoula. Effective July 9, 2026; expires July 8, 2027, or sooner if replaced by permanent zoning. Adopted unanimously after a public hearing at which 30 members of the public spoke, all in support.
- Outcome: Enacted one-year interim zoning moratorium on new or expanded data centers in unincorporated Missoula County.
Source: moratorium_inventory.csv · Methodology · Codebook.