Washington, D.C. – In a letter sent to Congress today, more than 520 organizations from 48 states called for the enactment of a full nationwide moratorium on the approval and construction of new hyperscale data centers. The letter was facilitated by the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch; other signers include Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Americans for Financial Reform, Popular Democracy, People’s Action Institute, Good Jobs First and Honor the Earth.

Additionally, a new national coalition is launching today with the aim of supporting the grassroots drive for a halt to AI- and crypto-driven data center buildout at the local, state and federal levels. The coalition will work to share resources and opportunities for action against new data center construction, including leveraging resources and membership from national groups for state and local campaigns across the country.

The letter to Congress states, in part: 

The rapid expansion of data centers across the United States, driven by the generative artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto boom, presents one of the biggest environmental and social threats of our generation. This expansion is rapidly increasing demand for energy, driving more fossil fuel pollution, straining water resources and raising electricity prices across the country. All this compounds the significant and concerning impacts AI is having on society, including lost jobs, social instability and economic concentration.

In March Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez announced national data center moratorium legislation, which was introduced by Sanders at the time and will be formally introduced in the House in the coming days.

“The large and surging national movement to rein in runaway data center buildout was born at the grassroots level, with concerned residents in countless communities across the country reacting to the real harms and hazards this industry brings wherever it lands. We are following their lead, working at the local, state and federal levels to support these fights and halt Big Tech in its tracks. The time is right for a national coalition to lift up state and local fights, and drive a national agenda that will allow stakeholders to properly consider not how, but if this industry can operate in a responsible, sustainable manner,” said Emily Wurth, Organizing Director, Food & Water Watch.

“Communities across the country should not be forced to bear the environmental, economic, and public health costs of an unchecked data center boom driven by corporate profits. Our Revolution is proud to help launch this coalition because a moratorium is necessary to ensure transparency, accountability, and community input before more energy-intensive projects move forward and lock us into decades of higher costs and greater climate risks,” said Paco Fabián, Deputy Director, Our Revolution.

“Third Act works at the intersection of climate, energy affordability, and democracy by standing strong with communities who are resisting unregulated hyperscale data center development. To that end, Third Act supports moratoria – national, state and local – to afford us necessary time to get it right before irreparable harm is done to the environment and the economy,” said Michael Richardson, Campaigns Director and Pony Knowles, Campaigns & Organizing Lead of Third Act.

“We are being told that AI-Data Centers are inevitable – that communities must sacrifice their water, land, and health, and their economic future for Big Tech’s greed. But the spread of local moratoriums nationwide proves otherwise; in North Carolina alone, we have 20 and counting. We join others across this country in saying no to extractive industries, no to polluting our lands and treating communities as disposable, and no to ever-expanding corporate subsidies. Instead, we say yes to building community-centric, enforceable regulations grounded in an environmental justice framework that protects us all, yes to economic support for small business, and yes to building a democracy where our voices impact decisions. Data centers are not inevitable—people power is,” said Rania Masri, Co-Director, North Carolina Environmental Justice Network.

“MediaJustice is proud to join this growing movement to stop unchecked data center expansion that sacrifices our communities for corporate profit. The burdens of data center development are not distributed equally. Low-income communities, communities of color, and rural communities are disproportionately targeted for large-scale projects that strain local water supplies, increase energy demand, contribute to pollution, and divert public resources away from community needs. We are calling for data center moratoria at the local, state, and federal levels until communities have the power, protections, and accountability they deserve,” said Myaisha Hayes, Senior Movement Building Director, MediaJustice.

“We must protect our communities from the excessive greed of Big Tech and the monopoly utilities, rather than stand idly by while they exploit our resources and our pocketbooks. A moratorium on data centers is a must to give the public the opportunity to fully grasp the consequences of this unprecedented and rapid build-out of these massive energy and water guzzling investments. Time is needed to allow lawmakers to enact informed public policy that places the interests of Main St above the interests of Wall St.,” said Kerwin Olson, Executive Director, Citizens Action Coalition of IN.

“A moratorium on new hyperscale data center development is crucial until the full public health, environmental, and infrastructure impacts can be thoroughly evaluated. The explosive growth of AI and cloud computing is driving an unprecedented expansion of energy-intensive facilities whose cumulative demands on the electric grid, water resources, air quality, and surrounding communities remain poorly understood. As the nation confronts these challenges, policymakers must adopt a precautionary approach that prioritizes public health, environmental protection, and community well-being. A moratorium would provide the time needed to assess risks, establish appropriate safeguards, and ensure that the costs of this development are not borne disproportionately by workers, residents, and future generations,” said Matt Shorraw, Policy and Program Coordinator, PSR PA.

“GreenLatinos stands firmly in favor of a national moratorium on the approval and construction of new data centers. Latino communities and other communities of color have long borne the heaviest burden of industrial pollution, and the unchecked expansion of data centers is the next chapter of that same injustice. The AI and cryptocurrency boom is not an abstraction; it is fossil fuel pollution in our air, water drained from our rivers and aquifers, and rising electricity prices in our homes. These projects threaten sacred lands, irreplaceable ecosystems, and the health of families. Until strong federal regulations are in place to protect our communities, our families, our environment, and our health, GreenLatinos will continue to resist every new data center proposal that puts corporate profit ahead of environmental justice. Our communities deserve clean air, clean water, and a seat at the table,” said Andrea Marpillero-Colomina, Policy Advisor, GreenLatinos.

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