Why Brown County is Very High risk
Score calculated from four factors: power infrastructure, water capacity, land availability, and current exposure (known projects in the county). Brown County scores 81/100.
Mt. Orab sits in Duke Energy Ohio's territory with proximity to high-voltage transmission. The 1,000-acre mega-site was specifically marketed for industrial loads of this scale.
Mt. Orab's municipal water capacity is sized for ~4,400 residents. A hyperscale data center would require independent water rights or significant utility expansion. Surrounding rural areas are heavily reliant on private wells.
1,000+ contiguous acres of land in southeast Mt. Orab specifically marketed as a "mega-site." Zoning was rewritten by emergency ordinance in December 2024 to accommodate data-center uses.
DB Stu LLC has secured site control and zoning. Final project specifics remain subject to NDA-protected disclosures. Council member Lang's permit pause has not yet been adopted as ordinance.
The facts, as filed.
Mt. Orab Mega-Site, explained.
Mt. Orab is a village of 4,400 people in the southwestern corner of Brown County, less than 50 miles east of Cincinnati. In December 2024, with no public discussion of any specific project, the village council passed by emergency ordinance a complete overhaul of its zoning code — and a Community Reinvestment Area resolution that pre-authorized broad tax abatements. Residents would later learn the council took both actions to accommodate a 1,000-acre data center mega-site at the village's southeast corner.
All members of the Mt. Orab Village Council and Mayor Joe Houser had signed nondisclosure agreements with the developer of record, a Nevada-registered shell company called DB Stu LLC. The NDAs prohibited council members from publicly identifying the developer's true backer or discussing the project's scope. Residents first heard of the proposal weeks later, when rumors began circulating about the unavailable parcel.
On January 20, 2026, dozens of residents packed a Mt. Orab council meeting to demand answers. The meeting moved to a larger venue. Council member Eric Lang publicly stated he had rescinded his NDA and would not sign such a document again. As Lang told the crowd: "If someone comes to me and asks me to box out the people that elected me, that trusted me to be in the seats that you are all sitting in, the answer is a hard no. We're not going to sign that until you can disclose some information — and if that means that we have to lose a multi-billion dollar project coming into the county, then that's what it means." Lang proposed a six-month pause on data center permits.
Attorney Nick Owens, who serves as solicitor for another Brown County village, publicly criticized the council's actions. As Owens told WKRC: "It's frankly disgusting. No government should be run that way. No government official should be signing an NDA to keep the citizens away from the public's business." Owens raised legal questions about whether the December 2024 emergency zoning rewrite met Ohio's required standards for emergency ordinances, which require written justification beyond the mere label.
The Mt. Orab scandal had two direct downstream effects on Ohio policy. First, Reps. Adam Bird (R–New Richmond, who represents Mt. Orab) and Brian Stewart (R–Ashville) filed Ohio HB 695 in March 2026, prohibiting county, township, and village officials from signing NDAs related to economic development. Second, residents from Brown and Adams counties — including organizers Nikki Gerber (Adams County) and Austin Baurichter — founded Ohio Residents for Responsible Development and filed the constitutional ballot amendment that was certified by Attorney General Dave Yost on March 26, 2026 and is now in active signature collection through July 1, 2026.
How we got here.
For Brown County residents.
The legal questions
Attorney Nick Owens has publicly questioned whether Mt. Orab's December 2024 emergency-ordinance use was lawful. Under Ohio law, council ordinances passed as emergencies must include written justification — and the village's filings reportedly contain no such justification. That issue is at the center of the pending litigation Mayor Houser cited as his reason for declining comment.
HB 695's reach
HB 695 would prohibit county commissioners, township trustees, village mayors, and members of village councils from signing economic-development NDAs — with civil fines up to $1,000 per violation. The bill is currently pending before the House Local Government Committee. Cities are not covered because of Ohio's constitutional home-rule authority for municipal corporations — meaning Cleveland's similar Google NDA scandal would not be addressed by HB 695.
The ballot amendment
Brown County's role in the statewide amendment is foundational: the volunteer organizers came from here and from Adams County. The amendment would prohibit construction of any new data center exceeding 25 megawatts of aggregate power demand. If approved by voters in November 2026, it would be one of the most restrictive data-center policies in any U.S. state. Whether the amendment would apply to projects already approved (like Project Klondike, Project Mila, and DB Stu's mega-site) is legally uncertain — ORRD committee member Austin Baurichter has stated his understanding is that constitutional amendments are typically prospective.
What's still reviewable
DB Stu's project remains subject to all standard permitting: Ohio EPA air permits, Ohio EPA water permits, OPSB power-siting review (if peak load exceeds 50 MW), county engineer traffic review, and any state legislative changes that pass before construction. Council member Lang's proposed permit pause, if adopted, could delay all permits for six months.
Reporting we relied on.
- Local12 / WKRC — January 2026 council meeting and Eric Lang NDA rescission
- WXIX / FOX19 — January 20 resident concerns and meeting coverage
- Ohio Capital Journal — HB 695 sponsor testimony from Reps. Bird and Stewart
- Ohio.news — HB 695 mechanics and Mt. Orab "emergency" zoning analysis
- Ballotpedia — Ohio Prohibition of Construction of a Data Center Amendment (2026)
- Statehouse News Bureau / WYSO — Ballot Board ruling and ORRD organizing
- Cleveland Scene — ORRD organizing detail and committee member Austin Baurichter
Independent reporting on every Ohio proposal — sourced from local filings, council minutes, and corporate disclosures. One email when something moves in your county. No ads.