Ohio · Permitting
Ohio is the first US state where a data center constitutional cap is within signature-collection distance of the ballot. Between the 25 MW amendment, HB 646 study commission, and four township moratoriums, the 2026 political surface is moving faster than any consultant retainer can refresh against. This page is maintained continuously against the public record.
Live · Ohio EPA · PUCO · Ballotpedia · township clerks
Last verified
5h ago
cadence · ballot filings + township ordinances
Ballot signature deadline
70d left
Jul 1, 2026
Docket corpus
LLM-maintained
updates when filings land
What is moving · as of April 22, 2026
Upcoming
July 1, 2026
Ballot initiative signature deadline
413,488 valid signatures required to place the Ohio Prohibition of Data Center Construction Amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Would constitutionally ban facilities above 25 MW aggregate demand.
Upcoming
August 2026
HB 646 Ohio Data Center Study Commission
House Bill 646 passed the Ohio House unanimously Mar 18, 2026. Senate vote pending. Establishes a formal commission to study siting, tax, and grid-impact policy.
Upcoming
November 3, 2026
Election day (if ballot qualifies)
If signatures clear, Ohio voters decide whether to constitutionally prohibit new data centers above 25 MW. No existing US state has a comparable constitutional cap.
Upcoming
Rolling
Township moratoriums
Jerome Township expires Jan 2026; Lordstown and Washington Township moratoriums remain active. Local-ordinance variance is the single largest predevelopment risk line in Ohio right now.
Regulatory surface
Ohio has no dedicated data center statute. Siting maps through township zoning, Ohio EPA air, PUCO tariffs, and the Power Siting Board if gas generation is co-located. Each agency runs on its own timeline.
Ohio EPA
Air permits, Title V thresholds, county-tiered runtime caps
Division of Air Pollution Control · Cuyahoga/Lake/Lorain tighter caps
PUCO
Utility tariff, data-center specific rate extension
HB pending · statewide DC tariff extension
Ohio Power Siting Board
Major utility facility certification for associated gen
Case 23-XXXX · gas plants tied to DC load
US Army Corps · DOE
Federal permits for federal-land siting
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant lease (SB Energy, Pike County)
Townships · counties
Zoning moratoriums, special-use permits, referendum recalls
Jerome · Lordstown · Washington Twp · Adams County
Live filings
Cliff ingests these end-to-end, maps parties and deadlines, and extracts structured outcomes. The party-by-party breakdown lives in the docket viewer.
Ballot Initiative 2026
Ohio Prohibition of Data Center Construction Amendment
Would amend the Ohio Constitution to prohibit digital data processing facilities exceeding 25 MW aggregate demand. 413,488 valid signatures required by July 1, 2026. Qualification window still open as of this writing.
Signature gathering
source →HB 646
Ohio Data Center Study Commission
Passed Ohio House 98-0 on March 18, 2026. Establishes a formal body to produce policy recommendations on siting, tax incentives, grid impact, and local-authority allocation. Senate consideration pending.
Senate pending
source →Adams County · SB Energy
Former Stuart power plant site
US Army Corps of Engineers issued a §404 permit enabling a data center at the retired Stuart coal plant. Local petition drive to block the project active as of April 2026. Template case for brownfield-sited Ohio projects.
Federal permit issued · local opposition
source →Backup generation · air
Ohio tracks the federal RICE NESHAP emergency definition without a state-level expansion (no Ohio analog to VA APG-578). Cuyahoga, Lake, and Lorain counties carry tighter caps because of historical ozone nonattainment.
Model your site on the de-rate calculator.
Ohio EPA permit hour caps vary by county and engine count. Cuyahoga, Lake, and Lorain counties carry tighter caps because of historical ozone nonattainment.
Ohio EPA generally tracks the federal RICE NESHAP definition for emergency engines. No Ohio analog to Virginia APG-578 exists today.
Typical: 6 mo. Title V: 12 mo. PSD: 18 mo.
Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain (Cleveland MSA)
Source: Ohio EPA Air Permitting. Last verified 2026-04-13; next refresh due 2026-07-13.
Why this page exists
Ohio has no equivalent of Virginia’s JLARC report. A developer needs a constitutional lawyer for the ballot initiative, an environmental engineer for Ohio EPA, a regulated- utilities attorney for PUCO, and a zoning lawyer for whichever township is wavering on a moratorium that week. The coordinating view of all four does not exist in any single consultant retainer.
Cliff reads all of it continuously and publishes. No airshed conflicts because we do not file; no hyperscaler NDAs because we are not a retained advisor. The page tells you what your July looks like before the signature deadline closes.
Ohio diagnostic
One parcel, a concept MW, and whatever local work you've already done. We return a cited readout of your exposure across the ballot initiative, township moratoriums, Ohio EPA air, and PUCO tariff within one week.