Texas Attorney General Probes Data Center Projects Over Water Usage

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating hundreds of data center developments over whether they’re complying with water-use reporting requirements.

The probe announced Thursday follows Governor Greg Abbott’s August directive ordering the state grid operator and utility regulator to audit data center proposals prior to approval because of the vast quantities of electricity and other resources they consume.

At the time, Abbott also voiced concerns that some developers had failed to comply with a mandatory Texas Water Development Board survey. Earlier this week, the Republican governor ordered environmental regulators to halt new permits for digital warehouses to allow the grid operator to finish its audit.

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The data center boom has triggered bipartisan political backlash ahead of the November midterm elections in which Paxton is running as the Republican nominee for the US Senate and Abbott is seeking a fourth term.

Rural voters that have typically supported the GOP by wide margins have been particularly incensed with state leaders’ handling of the AI infrastructure buildout.

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“It is our responsibility to steward our state’s land well, and we cannot do that if companies are blatantly disregarding their legal obligations,” Attorney General Paxton said in a statement. The attorney general said the initial probe involves projects in 18 counties, including those that are home to the state’s most-populous cities: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth.