WATER/DRINKING WATER: Provides relative to permitting and reporting of water usage at data centers

HLS 26RS-2671 ORIGINAL
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 1206
BY REPRESENTATIVE WALTERS
WATER/DRINKING WATER: Provides relative to permitting and reporting of water usage
at data centers
1 AN ACT
2 To enact Chapter 18 of Subtitle I of Title 30 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to
3 be comprised of R.S. 30:1601 through 1603 and Chapter 24 of Subtitle II of Title 30
4 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to be comprised of R.S. 30:2591 and
5 2592, relative to data centers; to provide for water use permitting and reporting
6 requirements; to provide for public hearings; to provide for definitions; and to
7 provide for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. Chapter 18 of Subtitle I of Title 30 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of
10 1950, to be comprised of R.S. 30:1601 through 1603 and Chapter 24 of Subtitle II of Title
11 30 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 to be comprised of R.S. 30:2591 and 2592, are
12 hereby enacted to read as follows:
13 CHAPTER 18. DATA CENTERS
14 §1601. Definitions
15 As used in this Chapter the following words shall have the following
16 meanings unless context clearly requires otherwise:
17 (1) "Data center" means a facility that is designed to have a load of one
18 hundred megawatts or more and whose primary purpose is the storage, management,
19 and processing of digital data via the interconnection and operation of information
20 technology and network telecommunications equipment, including all related
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1 facilities and infrastructure for backup electricity generation, power distribution,
2 environmental control, cooling, and security.
3 (2) "Water usage effectiveness" means a calculation of a data center's total
4 water input divided by the total water consumption of the data center's information
5 technology equipment.
6 §1602. Permitting
7 A. Any data center whose proposed consumptive use exceeds one hundred
8 million gallons of water per year requires a permit from the department.
9 B. The owner or operator of a data center shall provide the department with
10 the following information, at a minimum, to assist the department in determining the
11 ability of a water source to meet a project's water use needs at a proposed location:
12 (1) A project description.
13 (2) The project's estimated water use rates for the maximum day, maximum
14 month, and average year.
15 (3) The anticipated source or sources of water.
16 (4) The water quality or temperature requirements.
17 C. The department shall consider the following factors prior to issuing a
18 permit for a proposed location:
19 (1) The impact on public health, safety, and welfare.
20 (2) The use of technologies or measures that promote water conservation, the
21 efficient use of water, and watershed health including but not limited to:
22 (a) Use of water efficient fixtures and practices.
23 (b) Treatment and recycling of water before discharging.
24 (c) Partnerships with local water utilities to utilize discharged water.
25 (d) Use of reclaimed water.
26 (e) Use of closed-loop systems.
27 (f) Support of water restoration and replenishment in local watersheds.
28 (3) The impact on aquatic life, vegetation, and other wildlife.
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1 D. No permit shall be issued by the department without first providing notice
2 to the governing authority of any parish affected and conducting a public hearing to
3 receive public comments. Notice may be made by electronic mail to the parish
4 president, police jury president, or mayor-president, depending on the form of parish
5 government.
6 E. The department is authorized to promulgate rules in accordance with the
7 Administrative Procedure Act to implement the provisions of this Section, including
8 but not limited to rules establishing the following:
9 (1) A schedule of fees to be charged to requesting applicants for the
10 evaluation and certification process and updating a water usage report, including the
11 costs of inspections.
12 (2) Procedures for providing the notice and for conducting the required
13 hearings.
14 (3) Any other rules or regulations as necessary to comply with this Section.
15 §1603. Reporting requirements
16 A. No later than six months after the effective date of this Act or within three
17 months of starting operations for a new data center, and quarterly thereafter, the
18 owner or operator of a data center shall prepare and submit a water usage report to
19 the department that contains at least the following information:
20 (1) Basic information relating to the data center, including all of the
21 following:
22 (a) The name of the data center.
23 (b) The owner or operator of the data center.
24 (c) The address of the data center.
25 (d) The nature and purpose of the data center.
26 (e) The month and year that the data center commenced operation.
27 (2) Information related to water usage at the data center, including all of the
28 following:
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1 (a) The total water input in gallons including the respective volumes of water
2 input for specific functions of the data center.
3 (b) The source or sources of water for the data center including a municipal
4 water supply, groundwater, or surface water, and whether water from such sources
5 is potable or reclaimed, and any permits received subject to the Environmental
6 Quality Act. If the data center utilizes more than one water source, the data center
7 shall provide information regarding water usage from each source as a percentage
8 of total water usage.
9 (c) Performance calculations and indicators for the data center regarding
10 water use effectiveness.
11 B. Within thirty days of receiving a water usage report from the owner or
12 operator of a data center pursuant to this Section, the department shall publish the
13 information on its website and update the information as necessary.
14 C. An owner or operator of a data center that has submitted a water usage
15 report to the department pursuant to this Section shall notify the department of any
16 substantial change in operations or technologies at the data center that would require
17 an update to the information provided in the water usage report at least sixty days
18 prior to implementing the change in operations or technologies at the data center.
19 D. The department is authorized to promulgate rules in accordance with the
20 Administrative Procedure Act to implement the provisions of this Section.
21 E. Any violation of this Section or the rules promulgated thereunder shall
22 subject the violator to the penalties provided for in R.S. 30:18.
23 * * *
24 CHAPTER 24. DATA CENTERS
25 §2591. Data center permitting; hearings
26 A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no permit
27 shall be issued by the department for a data center, as defined in R.S. 30:1601(1),
28 without first providing notice to the governing authority of any parish affected and
29 conducting a public hearing to receive public comments. Notice may be made by
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1 electronic mail to the parish president, police jury president, or mayor-president,
2 depending on the form of parish government.
3 B. The department is authorized to promulgate rules in accordance with the
4 Administrative Procedure Act to implement the provisions of this Section, including
5 but not limited to rules establishing the following:
6 (1) A schedule of fees to be charged to requesting applicants for the
7 evaluation and certification process, including the costs of inspections.
8 (2) Procedures for providing the notice and for conducting the required
9 hearings.
10 (3) Any other rules or regulations as necessary to comply with this Section.
11 §2592. Permit transparency
12 The department shall assign a unique identifier to each data center. Any
13 permit associated with the data center, regardless of the named applicant or entity
14 seeking the permit, shall include the unique identifier.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 1206 Original 2026 Regular Session Walters
Abstract: Provides for water use permitting and reporting requirements for data centers and
public hearings. Further provides for definitions and rulemaking authority.
Proposed law provides definitions for "data center" and "water use effectiveness".
Proposed law provides for data centers whose proposed consumptive use of water exceeds
100,000,000 gallons per year to obtain a permit from the Dept. of Conservation and Energy.
Proposed law provides for data centers to provide information to assist the dept. in assessing
the ability of the water source to meet the project's needs and provides for the dept. to
consider the impacts and technologies and measures used when issuing a permit.
Proposed law requires owners or operators of data centers to prepare and submit water usage
reports to the Dept. of Conservation and Energy and for the dept. to publish the information
on its website.
Proposed law provides for an owner or operator to notify the dept. of substantial changes in
operations or technologies that would require and update to the water usage report at least
60 days prior to implementing the changes.
Proposed law provides that violators of proposed law or rules promulgated under proposed
law are subject to penalties provided in present law (R.S. 30:18).
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Proposed law prohibits permits from being issued for data centers by the Dept. of
Environmental Quality without providing notice to the governing authority of any parish
affected and conducting a hearing to receive public comment.
Proposed law provides for a unique identifier to be assigned to each data center project for
transparency and for all permits associated with the data center to reference the unique
identifier.
Proposed law provides for rules to be promulgated in accordance with the Administrative
Procedure Act to establish, at a minimum, a fee schedule, procedures for notices and
hearings, and any other rules necessary to comply with proposed law.
Proposed law provides that no permits can be issued for any data center without providing
notice to the local governing authorities of parishes that are impacted and conducting a
public hearing.
(Adds R.S. 30:1601-1603 and 2591-2592)
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