Loophole leaves data center water consumption in Oklahoma largely untracked
A proposed $15 billion data center campus by Beltline Energy near Oklahoma City and Yukon is facing strong community opposition, primarily due to concerns about unregulated water consumption and lack of transparency. Despite a recent state bill aimed at conserving water, a loophole allows data centers to purchase water from municipal utilities without state permits, leaving usage untracked. Local communities are pushing back against projects as lawmakers attempt to close regulatory gaps.
Pencia Truhan and other rural Oklahomans are concerned about a proposed $15 billion data center campus by Beltline Energy near Oklahoma City and Yukon, citing issues like noise, property value decline, rising electricity bills, and lack of transparency regarding water use. A bill, Senate Bill 259, signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt in May, aimed to address water concerns by allowing groundwater permits only for data centers with water-conserving cooling systems. However, a loophole exists where data centers can purchase water from municipal utilities without needing a state water permit, leaving their consumption untracked.
The proposed data center project, with a planned capacity of 1,000 megawatts, would straddle Oklahoma City and Yukon. Economic impact studies commissioned by Beltline Energy project 450 permanent jobs and significant tax revenue, though potential tax abatements would reduce benefits. The Yukon portion is pending an agreement, and the Oklahoma City portion awaits rezoning approval. Beltline Energy, an Atlanta-based company with no completed data center projects, has faced criticism for a lack of transparency, including barring media from a community meeting and requesting NDAs from government officials, leading to backlash and the resignation of Yukon's vice-mayor. The town of Luther, where Beltline also has a proposed project, adopted a moratorium on data centers.
Rep. Carl Newton, who authored the bill, is working to close the loophole that allows data centers to operate without water permits, stating a new bill will address it next year. Past attempts to require water metering faced opposition. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board acknowledges the challenge of regulating a rapidly growing data center industry with limited staff and expertise. Google's data center in Pryor, Oklahoma, serves as an example, consuming 1.1 billion gallons of water annually, mostly for evaporative cooling, with concerns about its environmental impact on the Neosho River. The article highlights the increasing competition for water in drought-affected Oklahoma and the communities' efforts to understand and influence data center development.