Nye County NV data center ban in Basin 162 (2026)
Nye County, Nevada — Bill No. 2026-11: Outright Ban on Data Center Construction and Operation in Over-Appropriated Hydrographic Basin 162 (Pahrump Valley) (August 18, 2026)
Nye County, NV · Nye County, Nev. Bill No. 2026-11, amending Nye County Code Title 17 (adopted August 18, 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Took effect
- August 18, 2026
- Applies to
- Data center developers and operators proposing facilities anywhere within Hydrographic Basin 162, including Gigawatt Development Partners LLC
- Enforced by
- Nye County Planning Department / Nye County Board of Commissioners (Nye County Code Title 17)
On August 18, 2026 the Nye County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 to ban the construction and operation of data centers anywhere in Nevada Hydrographic Basin 162 — the Pahrump Valley groundwater basin, which covers more than 500,000 acres across most of southern Nye County and runs east toward the Clark County line. This is not a pause: it is a permanent zoning prohibition, adopted as Bill No. 2026-11 amending Title 17 of the county code. Nye County is the first local government in Nevada to ban data centers outright rather than temporarily. The stated reason is water. Basin 162 is already over-appropriated, meaning the state has granted rights to more water than the basin reliably produces, and commissioners concluded that adding a large new industrial water user would deepen the shortfall. The ban blocks the proposed 900-acre Manse Technology Campus from Gigawatt Development Partners LLC, even though that company says it had already secured water rights for the project. Elsewhere in Nye County a separate county-wide moratorium adopted in June 2026 still applies until the county writes permanent data center regulations.
Who is protected: Nye County residents and groundwater users in the Pahrump Valley, and the over-appropriated Basin 162 aquifer itself
Legal detail
Nye County, Nev. — Bill No. 2026-11, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners 5-0 on August 18, 2026, amending Nye County Code Title 17 (zoning) to prohibit the construction and operation of data centers within Nevada Hydrographic Basin 162. GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE: Basin 162 (Pahrump Valley) exceeds 500,000 acres and encompasses the large majority of southern Nye County including the town of Pahrump, extending east toward the Clark County boundary. LEGAL CHARACTER: a permanent use prohibition, distinguishable from the temporary county-wide moratorium the same board adopted in June 2026 covering new data center applications county-wide pending adoption of local data center regulations — that moratorium continues to govern the balance of the county. RATIONALE: Basin 162 is designated over-appropriated; the Nye County Water District Governing Board issued an emergency order in May 2026 recommending a pause on data centers in the Pahrump Valley, which the commissioners' June moratorium and this August ban followed. PRACTICAL EFFECT: bars the proposed 900-acre Manse Technology Campus (Gigawatt Development Partners LLC), which had reportedly secured the water rights it needed. FIRST-IN-STATE: no other Nevada local government had previously banned data centers outright. Procedural note: an earlier proposal to put a data center ban before Nye County voters did not advance.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Nye County, NV |
|---|---|
| Level | County |
| Strength | Stronger |
| Enacted | August 18, 2026 |
| Citation | Nye County, Nev. Bill No. 2026-11, amending Nye County Code Title 17 (adopted August 18, 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Data centers are a prohibited use within Basin 162; no permit may be issued |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| News report | Nye County totally bans data centers in over-appropriated water basin — Nevada Current |
More AI rules in Nye County, NV
- Manse Technology Campus challenge to Nye County data center ban (2026) · Blocked / in litigation
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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