Vermont Secretary Clarifies Stance on Data Center Water Rules After Governor's Veto
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore clarified that her federal testimony supporting water infrastructure funding does not contradict Governor Phil Scott's veto of the state's data center bill, H.727. The federal proposal, focusing on data centers paying for incremental water infrastructure costs, was not included in the vetoed state bill. Both state and federal discussions involve different approaches to regulating data center impacts on water and electricity resources.
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore recently clarified her testimony before a congressional subcommittee, stating that her support for certain federal water infrastructure proposals does not contradict Governor Phil Scott's veto of Vermont's data center bill, H.727. Moore explained that the federal proposal, the Water Cost Accountability Act of 2026, and the state bill, H.727, address different issues and contain distinct requirements regarding water usage and cost allocation for data centers.
Moore's federal testimony, primarily as vice chair of the Environmental Council of the States' water committee, focused on reauthorizing the Safe Drinking Water Act and securing federal funding for Vermont's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. She briefly mentioned supporting a principle that large water users, such as data centers, should bear the infrastructure costs they create, specifically preventing public water systems from passing incremental connection and expansion costs to other customers.
In contrast, the vetoed Vermont bill, H.727, included provisions for closed-loop cooling, specific water withdrawal permits, PFAS monitoring, and additional environmental assessments for data centers. It also contained electricity cost allocation measures, requiring large data centers to sign "large load service equity contracts" to insulate other ratepayers from infrastructure costs. Governor Scott vetoed H.727 on May 28, arguing that existing Vermont law provides sufficient regulatory authority and that new, unnecessary regulatory systems would worsen economic challenges. The House failed to override the veto.
Moore reiterated that her federal comments align with the Scott Administration's broader position that ratepayers should not bear infrastructure costs created by large new users, a concern also raised by Department of Public Service Commissioner Kerrick Johnson regarding electricity ratepayers during testimony on H.727. The Governor has suggested the Legislature consider a narrower data center bill.