Proposal: Data centers should warn state regulators about water needs

Pennsylvania's State House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee has approved House Bill 2246, a legislative proposal aimed at requiring data centers to proactively report their water withdrawal needs to the state before construction. Authored by State Representative Joe Webster (D-Montgomery), the bill seeks to establish "guardrails" for data center development in Pennsylvania, ensuring state agencies, local governments, and river basin commissions can assess potential environmental impacts and protect water supplies. The proposal addresses significant public concern regarding data center water consumption, with an Emerson College Poll indicating that 70% of Pennsylvanians are worried about the issue. State Representative Nikki Rivera (D-Lancaster), who has two data centers planned in her district, supported the bill, noting that transparent reporting of water usage, especially with closed-loop cooling systems, could favor data centers by demonstrating lower consumption than previous industrial occupants. However, the bill faced opposition from some Republican lawmakers. State Representative Jack Rader (R-Monroe) advocated for "local control" on such matters, arguing that local governments and existing agencies like the Delaware River Water Basin authority are better equipped to handle these issues. State Representative Dallas Gephart (R-Clearfield) opposed a provision granting the Environmental Quality Board the power to levy fees on data centers, expressing concern over "unelected bureaucrats" having such authority. Despite this, the bill passed the committee with a 16-10 vote, advancing with support from all Democrats and two Republicans, Tom Mehaffie (R-Dauphin) and Brenda Pugh (R-Luzerne).