AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the state’s water development board to start penalizing major water users if they haven’t complied with water use reporting requirements.
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to Texas Water Development Chair L’Oreal Stepney and Executive Administrator Bryan McMath, Abbott said major water users, including data centers, may be committing civil and criminal violations by failing to provide the agency with water usage.
What they’re saying:
“Data centers must share the duty to protect Texas water,” Abbott said. “The Texas Water Code requires a complete and accurate water use survey. I direct the Texas Water Development Board to use its enforcement authority to penalize past failures and to impose legal consequences for any future failure to comply.”
The governor said TWDB is tasked with developing a state water plan, but cannot complete that plan without accurate information.
“A data center that fails to complete and return the survey commits an offense punishable as a crime,” Abbott said.
Data centers that do not return the water survey become ineligible for permits and renewals and could be referred to county or district attorneys or have their permits disqualified.
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TWDB now must coordinate with PUCT and ERCOT to audit water consumption, water sources and supplies, and how water-efficient technologies are used. Abbott has asked the agency for an update on its enforcement in 30 days.
Abbott halts power grid connections for data centers
The backstory:
The move comes following an Aug. 3 order for the Public Utilities Commission and Electric Reliability Council of Texas to conduct an audit of data centers moving through the ERCOT interconnection process.
Related
Texas halts power grid connections for new data centers over energy, water supply concerns
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state regulators to pause grid approvals for new data centers until a comprehensive audit on power and water usage is completed.
Under the executive directive, the PUCT and ERCOT must collect detailed disclosures from every pending data center project, including:
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- Tax Incentives and Subsidies: Documentation of all state and local tax abatements, grants, and public financial assistance requested or received.
- Power Generation: Annual and peak electricity consumption projections, along with progress on building or procuring on-site power generation to reduce grid load.
- Water Usage and Cooling Tech: Projected peak water consumption, supply sources, and details on cooling systems, such as air-cooled or closed-loop technology, to protect local water supplies.
- Community Protections: Measures taken to mitigate neighborhood impacts, including noise controls, setbacks, lighting mitigation, traffic management, and local emergency coordination.
- Ownership Transparency: Comprehensive disclosure of all ownership and controlling interests tied to the project.