Newsom’s stance on controversial data centers about to be tested. Again.
California Governor Gavin Newsom faces renewed pressure over data center regulations as several bills addressing water, energy, and transparency advance in the state legislature. This comes amidst increasing community opposition statewide, including a ban in Monterey Park and a lawsuit in Imperial County, highlighting the growing conflict between tech industry interests and environmental concerns.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is under increasing pressure as several bills targeting data centers' water, energy consumption, and public transparency are advancing through the state Legislature. This follows his veto last year of similar legislation that would have mandated water usage estimates from proposed data centers, a move he justified by citing concerns about business impact.
The debate has intensified due to the rapid expansion of AI-powered data centers, which are significantly larger and more demanding in terms of water and electricity than previous generations. Community backlash has escalated across California and nationally, driven by concerns over pollution, noise, water depletion, land use, and rising utility bills.
Key legislative proposals include bills from Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) to create a corporate tariff for grid upgrades (SB 886) and to ban ministerial exemptions from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for data centers (SB 887). Additionally, Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo) introduced AB 2619, requiring data center owners to provide water usage estimates, and Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) proposed AB 1577, mandating monthly water and fuel consumption reports. While these bills have progressed, Newsom's stance remains critical, balancing his ties to the tech industry with his role as an environmental advocate.
Specific local actions underscore the widespread opposition: Monterey Park voters recently passed an outright ban on data centers, becoming the first city to do so by public vote. In Imperial County, where a 950,000-square-foot data center project faces fierce community resistance, the City of Imperial has sued the county for granting a CEQA exemption, a lawsuit later joined by the San Diego Chapter of the Sierra Club. The Imperial County Board of Supervisors subsequently approved a 45-day moratorium on new data center development to reassess the situation. Federal regulators, through EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, have indicated that national environmental requirements for data centers will not be set by the Trump administration, leaving states like California to potentially establish national models.