Meta Data Center Linked to Rare Bacterium as Wyoming City Tightens Wastewater Rules
Cheyenne officials traced a rare bacterium in the city's reclaimed water system to wastewater discharged during testing at a Meta data center under construction. As a result, Cheyenne has tightened industrial wastewater regulations specifically for data center cooling systems and cited the contractor Goat Systems LLC for noncompliance. The city emphasized that public drinking water was not affected by the incident.
Cheyenne, Wyoming, has enacted stricter industrial wastewater regulations following the discovery of a rare bacterium, Cupriavidus gilardii, in the city's reclaimed water system. Investigators with the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities (BOPU) traced the contamination to wastewater discharged during a "fill-and-flush" testing process at an AI data center campus under construction by Meta.
The bacterium, an uncommon environmental microbe capable of causing serious infections in immunocompromised individuals, was detected during routine monitoring in February 2026. While the contamination impacted reclaimed water used for irrigation in parks and golf courses, city officials, including councilman Pete Laybourn, stressed that the public drinking water supply remained unaffected. BOPU cited Goat Systems LLC, a contractor for Meta's general contractor Fortis, for "significant noncompliance" and disrupting operations at the municipal water reclamation facility.
As a direct consequence, the Board revoked Goat Systems' authorization to discharge wastewater into the municipal sewer and temporarily suspended similar discharges from all data center cooling systems while reviewing policies. Meta stated it is cooperating with authorities through Fortis and has already ceased direct wastewater discharge, instead transporting it off-site for treatment. The incident occurred during the construction of Meta's approximately US$800 million AI data center, prompting increased scrutiny nationwide on industrial wastewater management by large data centers.