Ohio data center water plan scrapped

SANDUSKY — The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has scrapped a proposal to make it easier for data centers in Ohio to obtain permits for discharging wastewater. Dina Pierce, a spokeswoman for the Ohio EPA, explained that there are two ways her agency issues permits for data center wastewater discharges. "If a facility sends its wastewater to a sanitary sewer, it only needs a sanitary sewer permit," Pierce said. That is the kind of permit that the agency issued to Aligned Data Centers. "However, if a facility is wanting to release wastewater into waters of the state (rivers, streams, etc.), it must first obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, which is designed to keep public health and the environment a top priority," Pierce said. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit was the one that the Ohio EPA had proposed modifying for data centers. The agency had suggested it would issue a general permit for discharges into rivers and streams, rather than doing a review in each case and issuing a separate permit. Reaction to the proposal was very negative, with criticism pouring in from across the political spectrum. Democrats in the Ohio Senate wrote a letter to the Ohio EPA arguing that given the impact data centers could have on Ohio's water, lowering standards would make no sense. "As you are aware, data centers are water-intensive facilities, with small-scale data centers using an average of nearly 2,000 gallons a day and hyperscale data centers using almost 1,000,000 gallons a day, equating to 14 homes and 7,500 homes, respectively," said the letter sent to John Logue, director of the Ohio EPA. "Given that there are more than 200 data centers currently operating — and with many more proposed — the cumulative impact on Ohio's waterways cannot be understated. Data center cooling operations require substantial volumes of water, which is often discharged back into local waterways at temperatures exceeding the ambient water temperature and with additional chemicals, both of which can disrupt the flora and fauna of the existing natural water ecosystem," the letter said. Ohio U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, also attacked the proposal in a posting on his X.com social media account. "Ohio should not compromise the integrity of our waterways to help data centers. The companies putting these centers up have so much money we expect the water going back into our rivers to be cleaner than ever before," he wrote. In response, the Ohio EPA said it was pulling the proposal in the face of the criticism. "After carefully reviewing the significant volume of public comments received on the draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit for data centers, Ohio EPA has decided not to move forward with finalizing the general permit," the agency said in a July 21 announcement. "The individual (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit issuance process is the most appropriate path forward at this time," the agency said. Meanwhile, individual permits "will continue to uphold the same rigorous environmental standards and protections required under state and federal law." The agency's "Permit to Install" issued to Aligned Data Centers on Oct. 22, 2025, gives the Texas-based company permission to discharge wastewater into Erie County's sewer system.