The Newport Town Board passed a local law at its August 10, 2026, meeting, establishing a moratorium on data centers and commercial cryptocurrency mining operations for one year.
“We hear residents who are worried about data centers’ impact on utility bills, property values, and the environment, and we take those concerns seriously,” said Town Supervisor Nathaniel Lowell. “This moratorium will give the Town time to update its zoning ordinance to ensure strong regulations are in place to protect our community.”
Local Law No. 4 of 2026 goes beyond Governor Hochul’s July 14, 2026 Executive Order No. 62 pausing State environmental permits for hyperscale data centers designed with a power demand of 50 megawatts (MW) or more. The local law pauses the development, construction, and operation of new data centers and commercial cryptocurrency mining operations locally with no minimum MW threshold.
While this local law is in effect, no application for any Town-level approval will be accepted, processed, or issued for these uses. However, data centers and mining operations lawfully in place before the local law takes effect may continue as pre-existing nonconforming uses, though they may not be expanded. Violations carry fines of up to $250.00 and civil penalties of up to $2,500.00 per day.
Residents with questions about this local law may contact the Town Supervisor’s office at (315) 914-0489 or townsupervisor@townofnewportny.org. Suspected violations should be reported to the Codes Department at (315) 914-0483 or codesenforcement@townofnewportny.org. Opportunities to share feedback on draft regulations will be posted on the Town’s website at www.townofnewportny.gov as they become available.
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