Data centers would pay assigned utility costs and report water use

Electricity providers must establish separate service terms for covered data centers and require them to reimburse fairly assigned service and consumption costs. This applies to a data center with peak demand of at least 10 megawatts. Reimbursable costs include costs to serve the data center if it leaves the system or materially reduces its electric load.

State law may not preempt or limit local governments' authority to regulate data centers. Counties, municipalities, and other local governments may regulate data-center construction, development, or operation. Local rules may limit, prohibit, or otherwise regulate these activities.

A data-center operator must give projected water-use notice to each applicable local water provider, submit the notices and written determinations to the state water board, and follow the board's water-allocation limits. This applies to a data center proposed to operate in the state and to the local water providers serving its proposed area. Each local water provider must decide in writing whether the projected use is compatible with the local water supply. The board must issue a public statement that the operator satisfied this section only after receiving compatible-use determinations from every applicable water provider. That statement does not allow the data center to exceed board-ordered limits after residential and essential public-service needs are allocated. The board must seek to maintain water availability and prevent disproportionate data-center water use. The operator must provide notice before the data center begins operating in the state.

Authorized data-center operators must submit water-use reports to the state water board twice a year, and the board must publish the usage data. This applies to a data-center operator authorized to operate in the state under this chapter. Reports must include average water-use data and certify compliance with the water-use requirements. Reports must be submitted at the time and in the manner set by the Board of Water Management. Reporting occurs semi-annually while the operator is authorized to operate under this chapter.