Rose to refile Mahomet Aquifer data center bill as Village backs protections
State Sen. Chapin Rose is drafting legislation that would prohibit data centers from using Mahomet Aquifer water for cooling and restrict nondisclosure agreements between developers and local governments. The Village of Mahomet backed the proposed protections as opposition continues to a Clean Cloud Energy data center planned just south of the village.
State Sen. Chapin Rose said he plans to refile legislation protecting the Mahomet Aquifer from data center cooling demands and barring local governments from using nondisclosure agreements to conceal project information. The bill would also impose water-use limits, require studies and trigger a shutdown if groundwater levels decline. Rose previously filed the measure as SB 4004, but it received no vote before the legislative session ended.
The Mahomet Board of Trustees approved a letter supporting aquifer-protection legislation and endorsing alternatives such as reclaimed water, surface water, closed-loop systems or air cooling. Rose opposes the proposed Clean Cloud Energy data center south of Mahomet and has called for a permanent ban, while Champaign County has separately enacted a 12-month moratorium on large data centers that does not cover the site because it lies within Mahomet's extraterritorial jurisdiction.