Arkansas
Active Bans / MoratoriumsArkansas has no statewide moratorium or restriction legislation and still courts large projects, but county-level restriction spread rapidly in August 2026 and several of the pauses are among the longest in the country. Independence County's quorum court unanimously enacted a five-year moratorium on August 10, 2026 — running through 2031 — citing strain on local water supply despite having no specific project proposed. Madison County followed on August 17 with a unanimous 8-0 three-year moratorium, also with no known project in development; it is the second-longest pause in the state and one of five Arkansas counties with three-year or longer moratoriums. Union County and Carroll County each adopted one-year pauses in June 2026, and Russellville adopted a six-month moratorium in July. Central Arkansas has taken the regulatory route instead. The Pulaski County Quorum Court voted down a 12-month construction moratorium 10-3 on July 28, 2026 amid disputes over an exemption for the AVAIO Digital Wrightsville project, and a Little Rock moratorium proposal failed on a 4-4 deadlock on August 4. Both jurisdictions are instead writing rules: Little Rock passed regulations in June 2026, and on August 13 Pulaski County advanced an ordinance classifying large facilities as heavy industrial, requiring a conditional use permit, 500-foot residential setbacks and noise caps, but the ordinance drew an overflow crowd at the August 25 meeting and the final vote was delayed. Separately, a county judge dismissed a newspaper public-records suit seeking Google's utility rate contract for its $4 billion West Memphis data center, ruling the dispute belongs before the state Public Service Commission. North Little Rock's City Council approved an ordinance on September 15, 2026 restricting data center campuses to I-3 industrial zones under conditional use permits requiring demonstrated utility capacity. Pulaski County's Quorum Court passed its data center regulatory ordinance 11-4 on September 22, 2026, but County Judge Barry Hyde vetoed it on September 24; an override vote (requiring 9 of 15) is possible October 27.
Local Actions
Quorum Court voted down a proposed 12-month moratorium on data center construction 10-3 (one justice voting "present") on July 28, 2026. Critics objected that a carve-out exempting the AVAIO Digital Wrightsville project amounted to a "free pass"; a separate amendment to close the carve-out also failed.
Quorum court unanimously enacted a five-year moratorium on data centers running through 2031, citing existing strain on local water supply, despite no specific project being proposed.
Quorum court voted 8-0 for a three-year moratorium on data centers, effective immediately, with no known project in development. The second-longest pause in Arkansas.
County adopted a one-year moratorium on data centers in June 2026.
Quorum court unanimously adopted a one-year moratorium on data centers in June 2026.
City adopted a six-month moratorium on data centers in July 2026.
A proposed data center moratorium failed on a 4-4 board deadlock. The city had already passed data center regulations in June 2026 following community pushback.
The Quorum Court passed the ordinance regulating 'high-density digital infrastructure' 11-4 on September 22, 2026 — classifying large data centers as heavy industrial uses requiring conditional use permits and addressing electrical demand, water/wastewater capacity, noise, roads, drainage, emergency response and decommissioning, with no carve-out for AVAIO Digital's planned $6 billion Wrightsville project. County Judge Barry Hyde vetoed the ordinance on September 24, calling it a legal and financial risk; an override requires 9 of 15 votes, with a vote possible October 27.
City Council approved an ordinance on September 15, 2026 restricting data center campuses to I-3 heavy industrial zones under conditional use permits that require developers to demonstrate utility capacity.