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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2239
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE MURRA Y .
5101H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 640, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to artificial
intelligence-optimized data centers, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 640, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 640.1600, to read as follows:
640.1600. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Artificial
2 Intelligence Data Center Enviro nmental Accountability Act".
3 2. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
4 (1) "Artificial intelligence (AI)-optimized data center", a facility designed
5 primarily for artificial intelligence model training or inferen ce workloads utilizing
6 graphics pr ocessing units, tensor process ing units, or similar accelerators, with a
7 combined IT load capacity of one hundr ed megawatts or great er;
8 (2) "Closed-loop water cooling system", a sealed, recir culating system that
9 transfers heat thr ough a contro lled cir cuit without continuous withdrawal or discharge
10 of water fr om natural or municipal sources , except for limited make-up losses;
11 (3) "Department", the department of natural res ource s;
12 (4) "Envir onmental and health report", an annual, publicly available document
13 submitted by an AI-optimized data center operator detailing water , air , energy , waste,
14 and community health metrics;
15 (5) "Operator", the entity res ponsible for the day-to-day operation of the AI-
16 optimized data center .
17 3. This section shall apply to:
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 (1) All AI-optimized data centers constructed, expanded, or permitted on or
19 after August 28, 2027, with a total installed capacity of one hundr ed megawatts or
20 gr eater; and
21 (2) Beginning August 28, 2027, any existing data center undergoing a capacity
22 incr ease of twenty-five per cent or mor e that brings the total IT load to one hundr ed
23 megawatts or great er .
24 4. Each AI-optimized data center subject to this section shall:
25 (1) Implement a closed-loop water cooling system, or an alternative system
26 verified by the department to achieve equal or lower water withdrawal and discharge
27 intensity per megawatt-hour of compute load;
28 (2) Incorporate continuous monitoring of make-up water volume, discharge
29 temperatur e, and chemical concentrations; and
30 (3) Maintain emergency and r edundancy pr otocols to pr event thermal pollution
31 or water contamination in the event of system failur e.
32 5. (1) Each operator shall submit, before April first of each year , an
33 envir onmental and health re port for the pr eceding calendar year to the department in
34 accordance with the standardized digital formats and rep orting templates creat ed by
35 the department as authorized under this section or by rule.
36 (2) The re port shall include the following information:
37 (a) T otal annual water withdrawn, recyc led, and discharged in gallons or liters;
38 (b) Sour ces of water such as municipal, grou ndwater , or recy cled, and discharge
39 locations;
40 (c) W ater quality metrics including pH, temperatur e, biocides, metals, and
41 chemical additives;
42 (d) Documentation of closed-loop performance efficiency , make-up water
43 per centage, and any leaks or discharges;
44 (e) T otal electricity consumption and percen tage derived from renewable
45 sour ces;
46 (f) Annual green house gas emissions and emissions fro m backup generators
47 calculated using differ ent types of equivalent units in the calculator and rep orted as
48 carbon dioxide equivalents;
49 (g) Load factor and peak demand data for transparency with local grid
50 operators;
51 (h) Quantities of electr onic waste, batteries, and ref rigerants disposed or
52 r ecycled;
53 (i) Record of chemical use for cooling or maintenance pr ocesses;
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54 (j) Air and water quality monitoring res ults within a five-mile radius of the
55 facility;
56 (k) Any public health complaints or incidents linked to data center operations;
57 (l) Noise, traffic, or land-use impacts, if applicable;
58 (m) Summary of community benefit initiatives including, but not limited to,
59 infrastructur e investments, r enewable offsets, or workforce prog rams; and
60 (n) Documentation of all inspections, violations, and corr ective actions taken
61 during the reporting year .
62 6. (1) The department shall receiv e, r eview , and ar chive all envir onmental and
63 health r eports submitted under this section.
64 (2) Except as otherwise pr ovided by law , all reports receiv ed by the department
65 under this section shall be made available to the public according to rules and
66 pr ocedur es established by the department, and no later than sixty-days after the
67 department receiv es the rep orts.
68 (3) The department shall make the r eports publicly accessible on its website
69 according to its established rules and pr ocedur es for publishing full reports and
70 executive summaries on a public-facing website, and consistent with applicable federal
71 and state laws.
72 (4) The department shall creat e a statewide annual summary of cumulative
73 impacts from AI-optimized data centers and schedule a hearing or pro vide
7 4 opportunities for public comment where significant envir onmental or health risks are
75 identified.
76 7. Any violation of the pro visions of this section including, but not limited to, a
77 violation listed in subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection shall r esult in the imposition of
78 a civil penalty up to fifty thousand dollars per day:
79 (1) Failure to install a closed-loop system in compliance with the law; or
80 (2) Failur e to submit an annual envir onmental and heath rep ort under
81 subsection 5 of this section.
82 8. The department may suspend or revoke operational permits for repeated or
83 willful noncompliance after a hearing conducted by the administrative hearing
84 commission under chapter 621 and subject to the burden of pr oof pr ovision under
85 section 640.012.
86 9. (1) The department shall promul gate all necessary rules and r egulations for
87 the administration of this section including, but not limited to, the following:
88 (a) Definitions for the maximum permissible water use intensity (liters per
89 megawatt-hour);
90 (b) T esting and certification proced ures for compliance prior to operation; and
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91 (c) Annual verification and penalties for false reporting or noncompliance.
92 (2) Before August 28, 2027, the department shall pr omulgate rules to
93 standardize rep orting formats, audit methods, and equivalency criteria for alternative
94 cooling technologies.
95 10. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that
96 is cr eated under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it
97 complies with and is subject to all of the pr ovisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable,
98 section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers
99 vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to revi ew , to delay the
100 effective date, or to disappr ove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional,
101 then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule pro posed or adopted after August
102 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
103 1 1. The department shall coordinate with the department of health and senior
104 services, public service commission, and local governments as deemed necessary for the
105 pr otection of public health, conservation of water r esour ces and pr oviding
1 0 6 envir onmental and community impact re ports.
✔
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