Neighboring residents are worried for their health as development of Frederick County’s data center campus, Quantum Frederick, leaves dust clouds in the air and mud on the ground. Homeowners are also concerned heavy construction vehicles will increase traffic and damage residential roads.
Quantum Frederick (QF) is a 2,100 acre hyperscale data center campus located north of Adamstown. Begun in 2021, the project is meant to provide companies a place to construct their own data centers or to lease out “shells” for other companies to use.
QF is being built on top of the former Alcoa Eastalco aluminum smelting plant which was shut down in 2010 and later demolished in 2017. Part of the land is now a brownfield site due to environmental contamination.
The brownfield site remains under an environmental covenant, which restricts what any future owners can do on the land. It also requires them to maintain and continue to monitor the environmental protections in place.
Well Water Contamination
Hope Green has lived in her family home for most of her life. Her grandparents bought their farm in 1934 and her father started farming when he was 18. Today, Green raises cattle and is worried about the impacts the construction will have on her land.
Green, along with several other residents, recently discovered their well water had been contaminated. She’s concerned the land within the brownfield site may have been disturbed, resulting in the release of pollutants. “If we have contaminants in our well water, it's because there’s contaminants in the soil and I want this dirt pile behind my house tested,” Green said. “I want to know what’s in it, what am I breathing?”
Green wants construction to stop until a third party is able to perform an environmental study to determine the impacts on residents and the county at large.
A bill to perform such a study at the state level was proposed by Senator Karen Lewis Young but was vetoed by Gov. Moore in May. The bill would have required the state to conduct a study on the possible environmental impacts of data centers in Maryland, and provide a report to the governor by the end of 2026.
In a letter, Moore explained he understood studies such as the one proposed were often the first step in a process, but argued, “the practice has become so commonplace that it is now a significant financial and staff burden on the state government.”
While the state faced a $3 billion deficit at the beginning of 2025, Moore said his veto of three bills saved the state $1.28 million.
Frederick County has agreed to test the well water of several landowners near the construction sites for free. Green wants clarification on how the county is choosing which wells to test. “It’s not being done the way I thought it was going to be done,” Green clarified. “It was suggested…that they send a letter out to everyone who was still on a well.”
Dust and Dirt
Green's home abuts one of the construction sites operated by Rowan Digital Infrastructure (RDI) -one of the companies behind QF- while her farm is down the road from several other sites.
RDI is working to create submerged gravel wetlands using plants and rocks to temporarily filter runoff water. Green says RDI’s efforts have resulted in mud slicks spanning Ballenger Creek Pike and Manor Woods Rd. “All of that ends up in Tuscarora Creek,” Green argued.
As the mud dries, the heavy construction vehicles pick it up as billowing clouds of dust, which Green says occurred throughout the summer. She is worried it may be carrying pollutants from the brownfield site.
Green says she’s more worried about the air than the well water. She argues wells can be filtered and purified, but she doesn’t know what she is breathing in.
Traffic and Road Damage
According to a study by Sage Policy Group construction of QF is expected to last 15 years, but Green and others are worried the local roads won't hold out for that long. “These are two lane country roads,” Green explained. “Loudon [County] has the infrastructure for this industry, we don’t, and we’re not going to get it.”
Residents have argued the vehicles shouldn’t be driving on residential roads and want to see separate routes created for the heavier machines.
With more trucks, comes more traffic and with that, Green says, comes more noise. “I’ve lost my peace and quiet, I’ve lost my view shed,” Green said.
Looking Forward
The Frederick County Council is designing a map to limit data centers to a 2,500 acre plot that overlaps the Quantum Frederick campus. The plan is to prevent urban sprawl by containing the county land available for development to one central location.
The planning commission voted to recommend the county council reduce the size of the map, but residents want the lines drawn no further than QF’s current borders.
A public hearing will be held before the county council makes their final decision.
