The Moratorium Map: Where US Towns and States Are Blocking Mining and AI Data Centers

For years, the hard part of a US mining site was finding the power. Now there is a second hard part: getting the town, county and state to say yes, and keep saying yes.

Local pushback is not new for bitcoin miners. What is new is its scale. AI data centers have made large loads a front-page topic, and the rules written for them often catch mining sites as well.

What is happening, level by level

Towns. As Cointelegraph reported, Plattsburgh in New York is weighing a 12-month moratorium on "high energy computing facilities" of 300 kW or more. The draft covers both mining and AI. Plattsburgh has done this before: it passed an 18-month mining moratorium in 2018. A 300 kW threshold is small. It would catch a modest container site, not just large campuses.

States. According to Hashrate Index, New York enacted the first statewide moratorium on hyperscale data centers in July, covering sites of 50 MW and up. The same report says about 15 states have considered bans, on top of hundreds of local restrictions.

Permits. In Texas, the governor ordered the state environmental regulator to stop approving data center permits until audits of power and water use are finished, as the Texas Tribune reported. We look at what that means for Texas buyers in our article on the Texas permit pause.

Nationwide. Speaking about the trend, AWS CEO Matt Garman said more than 100 data center moratoriums are under consideration across the country, as The Energy Mag reported.

Why it matters for mining sites

Most local rules do not separate a bitcoin mine from an AI data center. They look at the things neighbours notice: noise, water use, electricity cost, traffic and who benefits. A rule aimed at a 500 MW AI campus can land on a 5 MW mining site in the same county.

That creates three risks for a buyer:

• A site you cannot expand. Your current permit may be fine, but a moratorium can block the next phase.
• A site you cannot sell easily. The next buyer will discount for the same local risk you took on.
• A site that changes after you buy. New noise limits or reporting rules can add costs to a working operation.

Community benefit packages are becoming expected

Large developers are responding by offering more to host towns. As The Energy Mag reported, Amazon has committed more than $1 billion over five years to the communities that host its data centers. It also said it will stop using NDAs with government agencies and will report energy and water use each year.

That sets a new bar. When the biggest data center operators publish their water use and fund local projects, a town will reasonably ask a smaller site to do something similar. For mining and hosting sites, that may mean a noise plan, local hiring, a road agreement, or a simple annual report. These do not have to be large. They do need to be real and kept.

A local permission checklist

Run these checks before you sign, alongside your power and technical review.

1. Zoning. Is the current use allowed by right on this parcel, or does it rely on a special permit or variance? Get the zoning letter in writing.
2. Pending rules. Is any moratorium, ordinance or zoning change on the agenda at the town, county or state level? Read recent council and planning board minutes.
3. Thresholds. If a draft rule exists, what size does it apply to? A 300 kW threshold like Plattsburgh's is very different from 50 MW.
4. Noise. What is the local noise limit at the property line, and has the site been measured? Are there complaints on record?
5. Water. How does the site cool, how much water does it use, and where does that water come from?
6. Existing agreements. Does the site have a community or host agreement, a tax deal, or a road use agreement? Can it be transferred to a new owner?
7. Neighbours. How close are the nearest homes? Talk to the town before you close, not after.
8. Expansion path. If you plan to grow, is the larger size already permitted, or will it need a new approval?

For buyers and owners

For buyers, treat local permission like power: verify it, document it and price it. A site with clear zoning and a good relationship with its town is worth more than the same megawatts in a place where the council is drafting a ban. Our guide on how to evaluate a bitcoin mining site covers the technical side of the same review.

For owners, the best defence is a clean file. Collect your permits, zoning letters, noise readings and any community agreements in one place. Buyers will ask for them, and a complete file speeds up every deal. If you are deciding whether to own or rent capacity in a changing market, read buy or lease a bitcoin mining site.

You can compare US and international sites on the map at cryptosites.io. Click any country to see its electricity price, power mix, legal status and CryptoSites score. To sell or lease a site with clear local approvals, talk to our site specialists through the listings desk.

CryptoSites.io is a marketplace for powered land, mining sites and hosting capacity worldwide. Facts in this article come from the public sources linked above as of October 2026, and local rules change often. This is not financial or legal advice; speak to a local lawyer about any specific site.