New York Data Center Order: State Permit Review Pause

Which applications the order pauses

Governor Kathy Hochul signed Executive Order 62 on July 14, 2026. Section 1 directs the Department of Environmental Conservation to hold applications for discretionary permits, approvals and similar permissions for data-center construction or expansion if DEC had not already determined them complete before signing. It expressly excludes local-government permissions and states no numerical megawatt threshold. [1]

Environmental review and timing

The Department of Public Service must prepare a Generic Environmental Impact Statement addressing data centers’ energy, water, air-quality and other effects. The permit pause runs until the final report and associated findings are submitted. The governor’s announcement describes a process expected to take up to a year; the operative clause itself is tied to the review deliverable. [1][2]

The order separately directs a Community Investment Framework and consideration of grid-related measures. Those agency tasks are distinct from completed standards or a blanket cancellation of every data-center project. The order establishes the specific state permitting restriction described here. [1]