Constellation Energy plans to restart Unit 1 of the former Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant as the Crane Clean Energy Center. (Photo: Peter Hall/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
State lawmakers have moved forward Bill Monday, which would require data center developers to submit reports to the public on expected water use before operations begin.
It’s one of several efforts to provide greater oversight of the rapidly growing sector driving the country’s artificial intelligence boom.
The reports will include information such as how much water the data centers plan to use, where that water will come from, and what the temperature of the water will be once it is collected at the facility and returned to the source. Developers would also have to provide evidence that the operation would not have a foreseeable adverse effect on water quality or quantity.
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Data centers can use enormous amounts of water, mainly to cold servers and other equipment. Some may use millions of gallons of water per year, although this depends on the cooling method.
The state Department of Environmental Protection would have the ability to reject projects it believes will negatively impact the state’s waterways and other users of that water.
“I personally believe that data centers are going to be an important part of our economy, and I also think that we need some guardrails to make sure that we’re doing this for the best purposes of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvanians who are already here,” Rep. Joe Webster (D-Montgomery) told the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
Committee co-chairman Jack Rader (R-Monroe) opposed the measure.
“I think data centers are a problem in the state today. Personally, I’m in favor of local control of these problems,” he said. “I think if local governments do their job, these issues need to be addressed… I don’t like the separation of layers of government.”
Rep. Dallas Kephart (R-Clearfield) also expressed concern about a provision in the bill that would allow the Board of Environmental Quality, made up mostly of appointees, to set fees for data center developers. In his opinion, MPs should deal with this.
“Most of them are unelected officials,” he said. “Their freedom to set fees is bad legislative practice.”
The proposal indicates that the fee should be based on the costs of implementing the program, which could include monitoring water sources around data centers. Proceeds will be donated to the state Clean Water Fund
Rep. Nikki Rivera (R-Lancaster) said that if two data centers are built in her district, reports will likely show that they will use less water than the warehouses that previously occupied the space on which they are built.
“One of the main concerns of my constituency was the amount of water used to cool the machines,” Rivera said. “A report that showed exactly how much water they were using would actually favor data centers and make everything really transparent for our residents.”
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Two Republicans, Rep. Tom Mehaffie of Dauphin County and Brenda Pugh of Luzerne County, joined all Democrats on the committee in voting for the bill.
The measure would have to be passed by the full state House and the Republican-controlled Senate. If that happens, Gov. Josh Shapiro will have to sign the bill into law.
House Democrats are also pushing a separate proposal that would require developers and data center operators to submit annual reports on energy and water use to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
This bill received a partisan vote in the House Energy Committee earlier this month, with all 14 Democrats supporting and all 12 Republicans opposing.
