North Dakota local moratoria

Every local infrastructure moratorium in the inventory for North Dakota, current through September 23, 2026.

10 instruments — 3 in force, 1 pending, 6 past.

State policy is tracked separately: 2 actions (2 bills) in state_legislation.csv. These are not included in the local count above.

Detailed entries

Barnes County

• Type: County
• Status: 🟢 Active
• Date enacted: 2026-05-19, Barnes County Commission (Valley City, ND), motion by Pete Paulson, seconded by Mike Schwehr, passed 5-0.
• Normalized date: 2026-05-19 (exact)
• Duration: Six months from adoption (to approximately 2026-11-19).
• Current end date: —
• Sectors: data center
• Moratorium ID: nd-barnes-county-2026
• Legal basis: Barnes County Commission motion adopting a six-month moratorium on new data center building permits/applications countywide, per official commission minutes; no separately numbered resolution/ordinance was cited in the minutes.
• What prompted it: Preemptive: no data center project was formally pending, but the board acted on rumor of a possible project in southern Barnes County to allow time to draft zoning/ordinance regulations before any application could be filed. Several citizens asked the board to extend the pause to a full year, but the motion that passed and was recorded was for six months.
• Affected projects: None formally pending; rumored project in southern Barnes County cited as the impetus.
• Detailed status: Active as of 2026-07-31 (expires approximately 2026-11-19). No extension vote found in records reviewed.
• Outcome: Commission unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on new data center building permits/applications countywide effective 2026-05-19.

Dunn County

• Type: County
• Status: 🟢 Active
• Date enacted: 2026-03-18
• Normalized date: 2026-03-18 (exact)
• Duration: 12 months
• Current end date: —
• Sectors: data center, solar, battery storage
• Moratorium ID: nd-dunn-county-2026
• Legal basis: County Commission motion (no numbered resolution issued). Per the signed official March 18, 2026 minutes: "Planning and Zoning Board would like to put a 12-month moratorium on data centers, solar energy and battery facilities. This would help the board to get the ordinances updated. Motion by Commissioner Pelton, seconded by Commissioner Kleemann to accept the moratorium as presented up to one year." All members present (Heiser, Olson, Pelton, Dolezal, Kleemann) voted aye. Preceded by a March 10, 2026 Planning & Zoning Board recommendation to the Commission on the same terms.
• What prompted it: Need for county staff to draft permitting ordinances for data centers, solar energy, and battery facilities.
• Affected projects: No data center project identified; KFYR reported solar farms and battery storage facilities had been proposed in nearby counties.
• Detailed status: Active
• Outcome: Pending. County staff are working on permitting ordinances; wind ordinances are also under development.

Harmony Township

• Type: Township
• Status: 🟡 Pending
• Date enacted: —
• Normalized date: — (unverified)
• Duration: Proposed two-year zoning moratorium on all industrial-scale development, including solar, wind, data centers, battery storage systems, electric transmission lines and gas-fired electrical generation facilities, to allow the township to update its zoning ordinances; not yet adopted
• Current end date: —
• Sectors: data center, battery storage, solar, wind, general
• Moratorium ID: nd-harmony-township-undated
• Legal basis: Not yet enacted. On 2026-09-22 the Township Board unanimously passed a motion (moved by Board Chair Dustin Burchill) to hold a formal public hearing on whether to adopt a two-year moratorium; the specific ordinance language has not been finalized
• What prompted it: Geronimo Power (through affiliated LLCs including CCDC LLC) has purchase agreements for roughly 2,072 acres in Harmony Township and 934 acres in neighboring Durbin Township, and is pursuing a data center and a 200-MW battery energy storage system in the township in addition to an already-under-construction 200-MW solar facility (Harmony Solar); residents raised concerns about tonal noise, property values, water use, road traffic, organic-farming impacts, and inadequate study of impacts, and about a conflict of interest (a former township board chair who did not recuse himself from 2025-2026 zoning-ordinance votes had a pending land-purchase agreement with a Geronimo Power affiliate)
• Affected projects: A proposed Geronimo Power data center and a proposed 200-MW Harmony Storage LLC battery energy storage system in Harmony Township (Cass County); Harmony Solar, a 200-MW solar facility by Geronimo Power, began construction 2026-08-24 and is not itself blocked by the proposed moratorium's timing.
• Detailed status: Pending as of 2026-09-23. The Township Board voted unanimously on 2026-09-22 to hold a public hearing on whether a two-year moratorium on industrial-scale development (data centers, battery storage, solar, wind, transmission lines, gas generation) is appropriate; no hearing date had been set. The board separately voted to seek a legal review of 2025-2026 zoning-ordinance amendments that eased approval conditions for the proposed data center, including whether a conflict of interest by a then-board-chair voids those amendments, and whether the pending conditional use permit applications for the data center and battery storage facility remain legally eligible for consideration pending that review.
• Outcome: Board voted to schedule a public hearing on a proposed two-year moratorium and to seek a legal review of recent zoning amendments and pending conditional use permits before further action; no moratorium has been adopted yet.

McIntosh County

• Type: County
• Status: 🟢 Extended
• Date enacted: First enacted in July 2025 (exact date not confirmed in sources reviewed); extended by County Commissioner vote on 2026-06-01
• Normalized date: 2025-07 (month_only)
• Duration: A moratorium on the use of county-maintained roads for the transport and delivery of equipment and materials associated with wind turbine, solar panel, and related infrastructure construction; originally a 12-month term from its July 2025 enactment, extended by commissioner vote on 2026-06-01 (the length of the extension was not specified in the source reviewed)
• Current end date: —
• Sectors: wind, solar
• Moratorium ID: nd-mcintosh-county-2025
• Legal basis: McIntosh County Board of County Commissioners motion/action, first enacted July 2025 and extended by vote on 2026-06-01 (instrument/resolution number not located)
• What prompted it: Commissioners raised concerns about the impact of large-scale wind and solar construction traffic on county-maintained roads and bridges (heavy loads, vehicles exceeding weight restrictions) after TransAlta announced and then dropped plans for a wind farm in the county; the county wanted road-use agreements and oversight in place before any wind or solar developer (including Orsted, whose Badger Wind Farm spans McIntosh and Logan counties) could use county roads for construction
• Affected projects: Badger Wind Farm (Orsted, 250 MW, spanning Logan and McIntosh counties) came online in January 2026 and is not affected (construction predates/was completed around the moratorium's operative window); the moratorium is framed as preventing any future wind or solar developer from using county roads without a road-use agreement.
• Detailed status: Extended as of 2026-06-01 per the McIntosh Democrat; long-form reporting by Canary Media (2026-09) and Mother Jones (2026-09) independently describes McIntosh County as having 'adopted a one-year moratorium on new wind projects' in April 2026 -- a description that may refer to this same road-use moratorium (simplified) or to a distinct action not otherwise located in this pass. As of 2026-09-23 the road-use restriction on wind/solar construction traffic remains the confirmed, sourced instrument. [VERIFY instrument number; primary source (news-only evidence) not confirmed at confidence 0.55 in the 2026-09 refresh]
• Outcome: A road-use moratorium restricting wind- and solar-construction traffic on county roads, in effect since July 2025 and extended by the County Commission on 2026-06-01.

Mercer County

• Type: County
• Status: ⚪ Replaced
• Date enacted: 2026-03-03
• Normalized date: 2026-03-03 (exact)
• Duration: 1 year
• Current end date: 2026-08-05
• Sectors: data center, cryptocurrency mining
• Moratorium ID: nd-mercer-county-2026
• Legal basis: Motion-based moratorium (no resolution number assigned); per signed March 3, 2026 Approved Minutes, "Folk moved to put a 1-year moratorium on data centers being permitted. Guenthner seconded. Folk, Guenthner, and Voigt voted aye. Wolf and Bauman voted nay. Motion carried."
• What prompted it: Proposed River Run Energy Center and associated data center activity; Michael Berg, Wes Klein, and ND State Rep. Bill Tveit and other residents asked the Board to put a moratorium in place "until zoning ordinances and public policy were better established to ensure that local control could be maintained."
• Affected projects: River Run Energy Center and associated multi-gigawatt data center campus in Mercer County; Basin Electric and NextEra describe the project as a 1,450 MW combined-cycle gas generation facility with an associated multi-gigawatt data center campus and over $18 billion in expected total investment.
• Detailed status: Replaced. On 2026-07-15 the Mercer County Commission voted unanimously (4-0, Guenthner absent) to lift the moratorium, contingent on final adoption and publication of the revised industrial zoning ordinances (including a new data center ordinance, second reading approved 3-1 the same day). The Bismarck Tribune reported the moratorium was lifted as the new ordinance came online on 2026-08-05. Residents presented a 475-signature petition that day asking for reinstatement; no reinstatement was found as of 2026-09-23.
• Outcome: Data center zoning ordinance (with wind and solar ordinances) adopted on second reading 2026-07-15; moratorium lifted effective on the ordinance's publication (about 2026-08-05).

Morton County

• Type: County
• Status: ⚪ Replaced
• Date enacted: 2024-09-12
• Normalized date: 2024-09-12 (exact)
• Duration: Ran until siting and performance standards for data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities were developed and adopted. The County Commission adopted a Data Center Standards section of the Morton County Land Use Code on 2026-09-10, satisfying that condition, per the county's own website.
• Current end date: —
• Sectors: data center, cryptocurrency mining
• Moratorium ID: nd-morton-county-2024
• Legal basis: Resolution 30-2024-03 (Sept. 12, 2024 moratorium). Superseded in substance by a County Commission resolution adopted 2026-09-10 (4-1 vote, Commissioner Tokach dissenting over a tonal-noise feasibility concern) that added a Data Center Standards section to the Morton County Land Use Code, following Planning & Zoning Commission review at its Feb. 25, March 25, April 22, May 27, and July 22, 2026 meetings, a subcommittee process (June-August 2026), and a P&Z recommendation of approval on Aug. 26, 2026.
• What prompted it: County findings cited Williams County impacts, lack of local standards, and need to protect health, safety, and welfare while drafting data center and cryptocurrency mining standards.
• Affected projects: No data center application is pending within Morton County's own jurisdiction. A proposed Stark Power data-center campus and natural-gas generation facility in north Mandan (which drew substantial public comment at county and city meetings) falls within the City of Mandan's extraterritorial area, so Morton County has no jurisdiction over that specific project.
• Detailed status: Replaced as of 2026-09-23. The County Commission adopted a Data Center Standards section for the Morton County Land Use Code on 2026-09-10 (4-1), and the county's website states this final draft 'has been incorporated into the Morton County Land Use Code.' The standards set noise limits (noise-producing equipment generally at least three-quarters of a mile from an occupied home), require closed-loop cooling, and set setback, water/power-use, road, emergency-planning, and reclamation-bond requirements (with a waiver path if a former data center site is repurposed). Per the Bismarck Tribune's Sept. 11, 2026 report, the Planning & Zoning Director stated a separate notice period was required before the Commission could formally vote to lift the underlying moratorium resolution itself (since it was adopted by resolution), and she expected that vote at the Commission's next meeting after Sept. 10; no report of that specific repeal vote was found as of 2026-09-23. No data center application is currently pending in the county's own (non-extraterritorial) jurisdiction; a separate proposed Stark Power data-center/gas-generation project in north Mandan falls within the City of Mandan's extraterritorial area, not Morton County's jurisdiction.
• Outcome: Following P&Z review at five 2026 meetings (Feb. 25, March 25, April 22, May 27, July 22), a subcommittee process (June-August 2026), and a P&Z recommendation of approval (Aug. 26, 2026), the County Commission adopted the Data Center Standards section of the Morton County Land Use Code on 2026-09-10 by a 4-1 vote. The standards apply countywide and are not tied to approval of any specific project.

Oliver County (Phase 1)

• Type: County
• Status: 🔴 Rescinded
• Date enacted: 2024-12-12
• Normalized date: 2024-12-12 (exact)
• Duration: Until land use code amendments were developed and adopted
• Current end date: —
• Sectors: data center, cryptocurrency mining, solar
• Moratorium ID: nd-oliver-county-2024-p1
• Legal basis: Resolution 2024-05
• What prompted it: County findings said data center and cryptocurrency mining uses were nascent locally and lacked established siting and performance standards.
• Affected projects: No specific project identified in captured county records.
• Detailed status: Lifted
• Outcome: March 13, 2025 Commission unanimously (Husfloen, Berger, Schmidt all aye) voted to lift the data center and solar moratoria after States Attorney Patrick Waters recommended the lift, in connection with HB 1279 coal-conversion-tax discussions; ordinance work continued.

Oliver County (Phase 2)

• Type: County
• Status: ⚪ Expired
• Date enacted: 2025-05-06
• Normalized date: 2025-05-06 (exact)
• Duration: 90 days
• Current end date: 2025-08-04
• Sectors: data center, cryptocurrency mining
• Moratorium ID: nd-oliver-county-2025-p2
• Legal basis: Resolution 2025-02, 'A Resolution of the County of Oliver, North Dakota, to Impose a Moratorium on the Development of All Data Center and Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities Until Zoning Standards Can Be Developed' (companion to Resolution 2025-03, the separate Solar Energy Facilities moratorium); second reading and adoption at the May 6, 2025 Commission meeting; vote 2-1, Berger and Schmidt aye, Husfloen nay, per official minutes
• What prompted it: Commission minutes reported that Planning and Zoning requested reinstatement to allow more time for ordinance drafting; Matt Wilkins, P&Z board member, stated the moratoriums would let the board pause without legal-ramification concerns while drafting.
• Affected projects: No specific project identified in captured county records.
• Detailed status: Expired (90-day term ran out on or about 2025-08-04 per Resolution 2025-03 timing; no captured records show a Phase-2 lift or Phase-3 reinstatement until the 2026 process began)
• Outcome: No final county data center ordinance was adopted between Phase 2's expiration (on or about 2025-08-04) and the process that led to Phase 3. Per the Oliver County Commission's own Feb. 10, 2026 minutes, the topic remained unresolved through that date: commissioners discussed that ordinances needed to be written, and voted to schedule a Feb. 26, 2026 Planning & Zoning public hearing on a new data center and cryptocurrency-mining facility moratorium (recommended at 90 days), with final approval to occur at the March County Commission meeting. The County Commission adopted Phase 3 on 2026-03-13.

Oliver County (Phase 3)

• Type: County
• Status: 🔴 Rescinded
• Date enacted: 2026-03-13
• Normalized date: 2026-03-13 (exact)
• Duration: 180 days, with option to extend
• Current end date: —
• Sectors: data center, cryptocurrency mining
• Moratorium ID: nd-oliver-county-2026-p3
• Legal basis: Resolution 2026-02, adopted at the March 13, 2026 Commission meeting: a 180-day moratorium on data center and cryptocurrency mining facilities, with the option to extend; moved by Commissioner Dave Berger, seconded by Commissioner Lee Husfloen, all in favor. The Planning & Zoning Board had recommended a 36-month term at second reading, but the Commission set 180 days instead, directing the State's Attorney (with help from other counties' State's Attorneys) to draft the permanent ordinance.
• What prompted it: County minutes said ordinances needed to be written; KFYR reported commissioners wanted more study time after a five-hour meeting with comments for and against data centers.
• Affected projects: No specific project identified in captured county records.
• Detailed status: Rescinded as of 2026-04-30. At a special meeting that evening, the Commission voted 3-0 (Husfloen, Dahl, Schmidt) to lift the moratorium, reportedly after receiving a zoning-amendment application for a data center; two draft ordinances were presented at a Planning & Zoning meeting earlier the same evening but were not acted on and remain pending.
• Outcome: Pending. February 2026 minutes recommended looking to Stutsman County and McLean County language for local ordinance drafting.

Williams County

• Type: County
• Status: ⚪ Replaced
• Date enacted: 2023-06-20
• Normalized date: 2023-06-20 (exact)
• Duration: 6 months, then extended to 2024-02-22
• Current end date: —
• Sectors: data center
• Moratorium ID: nd-williams-county-2023
• Legal basis: Board of County Commissioners moratorium action, per the county's own Planning & Zoning staff report accompanying the replacement ordinance: a 6-month moratorium on data center permits was instituted June 20, 2023, and extended by board vote on November 7, 2023 to run through February 22, 2024. The staff report describes both 2023 actions as board votes/motions and does not itself cite a resolution or motion number, and no separately numbered resolution for either action was found on williamsnd.civicweb.net or the county's current zoning page. Replaced by Ordinance 2024-01-02 (Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval 8-0 on 2023-12-21), which amended Article 6 of the Williams County Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations to add Chapter 6-16, Data Centers. [VERIFY 2023 motion/resolution number from Williams County clerk's archived June 20, 2023 and November 7, 2023 minutes — not on current public page as of 2026-04-29]
• What prompted it: Existing code did not specifically regulate data centers; the permanent ordinance cites large water and electricity use, continuous sound, low-frequency noise, and off-site health impacts.
• Affected projects: Specific project list and MW not identified in captured county records.
• Detailed status: Replaced
• Outcome: Chapter 6-16 of the Williams County Zoning Ordinance now allows data centers only by conditional use permit in Heavy Industrial and Agricultural districts, with a 1 mile setback from dwellings, schools, religious institutions, and parks, a 3 mile separation from other data centers, noise study requirements, power purchase agreement disclosure, financial security, road agreements, and reclamation requirements.

Source: moratorium_inventory.csv · Methodology · Codebook.

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