In Montana's Yellowstone County, citizens gathered signatures so voters could decide whether a massive data center campus gets built near Broadview. The county's response? A lawsuit asking a judge to kill the initiative before it ever reaches the ballot. Meanwhile, one county over, Missoula passed Montana's first data center moratorium to a room full of applause — and a national day of protest sweeps 22 states on July 18. Here's what's reshaping the U.S. data center landscape right now.
🚨 **COMMUNITY** — Yellowstone County, Montana asked a district judge to declare a citizen ballot initiative unconstitutional. The measure would require 2/3 voter approval before data centers like the proposed Big Sky Digital Infrastructure campus near Broadview could be built. Backers need nearly 17,000 signatures and rallied outside Thursday's commission meeting, vowing to keep collecting during the court fight. The county cites the Montana Supreme Court's Treasure County v. Edlund ruling. (Source: Billings Gazette / KTVQ / Daily Montanan)
⚖️ **LEGAL** — Missoula County commissioners voted unanimously for a one-year moratorium on new or expanding data centers — the first county policy of its kind in Montana. All 30 public commenters backed the freeze, which drew loud applause. It covers zoned and unzoned areas countywide (excluding the city of Missoula), and a study must launch within 30 days. Days earlier, the property owner behind a proposed Bonner data center withdrew support. (Source: Montana Free Press / Flathead Beacon)
🚨 **COMMUNITY** — A national day of protest against data centers hits July 18: conservative group Humans First has 50+ demonstrations planned across 22 states — including 11 in Texas, the nation's new data center construction leader. Gallup finds 7 in 10 Americans oppose an AI data center in their area; active opposition groups jumped from 396 to 833 in one quarter, spanning 49 states. (Source: Newsweek / Washington Examiner)
⚡ **POWER** — Data centers drove 63% of the increase in PJM's latest capacity auction — $9.3 billion in extra costs across 65 million customers in 13 states. Capacity prices leapt from $28.92 to $329.17 per megawatt-day in two years. D.C.-area Pepco bills are already up ~$21/month, families face ~$70/month extra by 2028, and NRDC projects $100–163B in cumulative ratepayer costs through 2033. (Source: E&E News / IEEFA / NRDC)
💧 **WATER** — Amid the James River Basin's worst drought in 85 years, Richmond, Virginia called for voluntary water conservation on July 1 — its first since 2002 — and officials say the region's 70+ data centers are not exempt. Nationally, two-thirds of 809 planned U.S. data centers sit on drought-stricken land during the driest start to a year since 1910. (Source: Axios Richmond / WTVR / Tom's Hardware)
🏛️ **POLICY** — Virginia's new consumption tax of $0.011 per kilowatt-hour on all data center electricity took effect July 1. States have enacted 28 data center laws this year with 300+ bills
