Read the full stored bill text
House
File
2001
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
2001
BY
GEARHART
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
water
efficiency
of
data
centers,
including
1
requirements
for
water-efficient
cooling
technologies
and
2
encouragement
for
the
use
of
nonpotable
and
recycled
water
3
sources,
providing
civil
penalties,
and
including
effective
4
date
and
applicability
provisions.
5
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
6
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2001
Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
455L.1
Purpose.
1
Water
is
Iowa’s
most
valuable
natural
resource.
It
is
2
the
intent
of
the
general
assembly
to
protect
Iowa’s
water
3
by
requiring
data
centers
to
adopt
cooling
technologies
that
4
significantly
reduce
water
consumption
and
by
promoting
the
5
use
of
nonpotable,
recycled,
and
treated
wastewater
in
cooling
6
systems.
The
general
assembly
encourages
innovation
in
7
water
reuse
and
treatment
to
reduce
strain
on
municipal
water
8
supplies
and
safeguard
Iowa’s
rivers
and
streams.
9
Sec.
2.
NEW
SECTION
.
455L.2
Definitions.
10
For
purposes
of
this
section:
11
1.
“Cooling
technology”
means
any
system
or
process
used
to
12
regulate
the
temperature
and
humidity
of
data
center
equipment.
13
2.
“Data
center”
means
a
facility
used
to
house
computer
14
systems
and
associated
components
that
consume
at
least
one
15
megawatt
of
electricity
annually.
16
3.
“Department”
means
the
department
of
natural
resources.
17
4.
“Expansion
or
renovation”
means
any
material
upgrade
to
18
an
existing
data
center’s
infrastructure
that
increases
its
19
cooling
capacity
or
floor
space.
20
5.
“New
data
center”
means
any
facility
applying
for
a
21
building
permit
for
a
data
center
on
or
after
January
1,
2026.
22
6.
“Nonpotable
water”
means
water
not
suitable
for
human
23
consumption
without
treatment,
including
surface
water,
river
24
water,
graywater,
or
treated
wastewater.
25
7.
“Treated
wastewater”
means
effluent
that
has
undergone
26
chemical,
physical,
or
biological
treatment
and
meets
all
27
regulatory
standards
for
noncontact
industrial
reuse.
28
8.
“Water-efficient
cooling
technology”
means
any
cooling
29
technology
that
achieves
a
water
usage
effectiveness
rating
of
30
two-tenths
or
lower.
31
9.
“Water
usage
effectiveness
rating”
means
a
metric
that
32
measures
how
efficiently
water
is
used
for
cooling.
The
rating
33
is
calculated
by
dividing
annual
water
usage
in
liters
by
the
34
energy
consumption
of
information
technology
equipment
in
35
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kilowatt
hours.
1
Sec.
3.
NEW
SECTION
.
455L.3
Cooling
and
water
sourcing
2
requirements.
3
1.
All
new
data
centers,
and
any
data
center
permitted
but
4
not
yet
under
construction
as
of
January
1,
2026,
must
utilize
5
water-efficient
cooling
technology.
6
2.
Any
expansion
or
renovation
of
an
existing
data
center
7
on
or
after
January
1,
2026,
must
bring
the
entire
facility
8
into
compliance
with
a
water
usage
effectiveness
rating
of
9
two-tenths
liter
per
kilowatt
hour.
10
3.
To
reduce
potable
water
demand
and
protect
the
state’s
11
freshwater
resources,
data
centers
are
encouraged
to
do
the
12
following:
13
a.
Utilize
air-based
or
hybrid
cooling
systems.
14
b.
Source
water
for
cooling
from
nonpotable
supplies,
15
including
the
following:
16
(1)
Surface
or
river
water.
17
(2)
Storm
water,
graywater,
or
other
recycled
sources.
18
(3)
Treated
wastewater,
especially
where
it
would
otherwise
19
be
discharged
directly
to
rivers
or
streams.
20
c.
Install
on-site
or
off-site
water
treatment
systems
that
21
bring
such
water
described
in
paragraph
“b”
to
the
appropriate
22
quality
for
cooling
system
use.
23
4.
Data
centers
utilizing
treated
wastewater
shall
24
coordinate
with
local
utilities
to
ensure
that
water
is
used
25
prior
to
discharge,
and
that
all
thermal
and
chemical
discharge
26
complies
with
applicable
environmental
standards.
27
5.
Facilities
subject
to
this
section
must
submit
a
cooling
28
and
water
sourcing
plan
to
the
department
prior
to
construction
29
or
expansion
or
renovation,
and
also
annual
compliance
30
reports
for
five
years
following
commissioning
or
expansion
or
31
renovation.
32
Sec.
4.
NEW
SECTION
.
455L.4
Enforcement
and
penalties.
33
1.
The
department
shall
adopt
rules
establishing
procedures
34
for
monitoring,
enforcement,
and
verification
under
this
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chapter.
1
2.
The
department
may
conduct
inspections
and
audits,
order
2
the
submission
of
water
usage
and
sourcing
documentation,
and
3
review
treatment
and
cooling
system
operations.
4
3.
A
data
center
found
in
violation
of
a
rule
or
order
5
issued
pursuant
to
this
section
or
in
violation
of
section
6
455L.3
is
subject
to
the
following:
7
a.
A
civil
penalty
of
up
to
ten
thousand
dollars
per
day
of
8
noncompliance.
9
b.
A
corrective
action
order
with
a
compliance
timeline.
10
c.
Suspension
or
revocation
of
construction
or
operating
11
permits,
if
applicable.
12
Sec.
5.
NEW
SECTION
.
455L.5
Exemptions.
13
1.
Temporary
exemptions
of
no
greater
than
twelve
months
14
may
be
granted
by
the
department
to
new
data
centers
or
15
data
centers
undergoing
an
expansion
or
renovation
that
16
are
required
to
meet
the
requirements
of
section
455L.3
for
17
demonstrated
lack
of
feasible
technology
or
water
source
access
18
or
conditions
that
pose
a
risk
to
public
health
or
safety.
19
2.
Exemption
requests
must
be
supported
by
technical
20
documentation
and
include
a
proposed
path
to
compliance.
21
Sec.
6.
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This
Act,
being
deemed
of
immediate
22
importance,
takes
effect
upon
enactment.
23
Sec.
7.
RETROACTIVE
APPLICABILITY.
This
Act
applies
24
retroactively
to
January
1,
2026,
for
all
new
data
center
25
projects
permitted
on
or
after
that
date,
any
previously
26
permitted
project
that
has
not
broken
ground
by
that
date,
and
27
any
data
center
expansion
or
renovation
undertaken
on
or
after
28
that
date.
29
EXPLANATION
30
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
31
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
32
This
bill
relates
to
the
water
efficiency
of
data
centers,
33
including
requirements
to
implement
water-efficient
cooling
34
technologies
and
encouragement
for
the
use
of
nonpotable
and
35
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2001
recycled
water
sources.
1
The
bill
defines
“water
usage
effectiveness
rating”
as
a
2
metric
that
measures
how
efficiently
water
is
used
for
cooling.
3
The
bill
explains
the
rating
is
calculated
by
dividing
annual
4
water
usage
in
liters
by
the
energy
consumption
of
information
5
technology
equipment
in
kilowatt
hours.
6
The
bill
requires
all
new
data
centers
not
under
7
construction
as
of
January
1,
2026,
to
utilize
water-cooling
8
technologies
to
meet
a
water
usage
effectiveness
rating
of
0.2
9
liters
per
kilowatt
hour
or
less.
The
bill
also
requires
any
10
current
data
center
undergoing
expansion
or
renovation
to
bring
11
the
entire
data
center
into
compliance
with
the
0.2
liters
per
12
kilowatt
hour
requirement.
13
The
bill
encourages
data
centers
to
utilize
air-based
or
14
hybrid
cooling
systems,
source
water
from
nonpotable
supplies,
15
and
install
water
treatment
systems
that
bring
nonpotable
water
16
to
the
appropriate
quality
for
cooling
system
use.
17
The
bill
directs
data
centers
using
treated
wastewater
to
18
coordinate
with
utilities
to
ensure
the
water
is
used
prior
19
to
discharge
and
that
all
discharge
is
in
compliance
with
20
environmental
standards.
21
The
bill
directs
data
centers
subject
to
the
requirements
22
of
the
bill
to
submit
a
cooling
and
water
sourcing
plan
to
the
23
department
of
natural
resources
(DNR)
prior
to
construction,
24
expansion,
or
renovation
and
an
annual
compliance
report
for
25
five
years
following
commissioning,
expansion,
or
renovation.
26
The
bill
directs
DNR
to
adopt
rules
establishing
monitoring,
27
enforcement,
and
verification
for
provisions
in
the
bill.
28
The
bill
allows
DNR
to
conduct
inspections
and
audits,
order
29
the
submission
of
water
usage
and
sourcing
documentation,
and
30
review
treatment
and
cooling
center
operations.
31
A
data
center
found
in
violation
of
the
bill
is
subject
to
32
a
civil
penalty
of
up
to
$10,000
per
day
of
noncompliance,
33
a
corrective
action
order
with
a
compliance
timeline,
or
the
34
suspension
or
revocation
of
construction
or
operating
permits.
35
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2001
The
bill
allows
temporary
exemptions
of
the
bill’s
1
requirements
to
be
granted
to
data
centers
for
demonstrated
2
lack
of
feasible
technology,
water
source
access,
or
conditions
3
that
pose
a
risk
to
public
safety.
The
exemptions
may
be
4
granted
for
no
longer
than
12
months
and
must
be
supported
by
5
technical
documentation
and
a
proposed
path
to
compliance.
6
The
bill
takes
effect
upon
enactment.
The
bill
applies
7
retroactively
to
January
1,
2026,
for
all
new
data
center
8
projects
permitted
on
or
after
that
date,
any
previously
9
permitted
project
that
has
not
broken
ground
by
that
date,
and
10
any
data
center
expansion
or
renovation
undertaken
on
or
after
11
that
date.
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