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PRINTER'S NO. 3401
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2515
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY WALSH, KRUPA, M. BROWN, MENTZER, COOPER AND PUGH,
MAY 13, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, MAY 13, 2026
AN ACT
Providing for commercial data center transparency regarding
energy use, water use and noise pollution; imposing duties on
the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of
Transportation and the Office of Attorney General; and
imposing civil penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Commercial
Data Center Transparency Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Applicant." A person or entity that files, or on whose
behalf a person files, an application with a permitting
authority for a permit, approval, certification or authorization
for a commercial data center project.
"Commercial data center." A facility, campus of facilities
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or array of interconnected facilities in this Commonwealth that
is used to house and operate equipment that receives, stores,
aggregates, manages, processes, transforms, retrieves,
researches or transmits data and that has a peak demand of 25
megawatts or greater.
"Commercial data center project." The siting, development,
construction, expansion or operation of a commercial data
center, including associated utility or energy infrastructure,
water supply infrastructure, wastewater infrastructure and site
work, to the extent the components are subject to an approval,
permit or authorization by a permitting authority.
"Commonwealth permitting authority." A department, agency,
independent agency, board or commission of the Commonwealth that
issues a permit, approval, certification, authorization or other
governmental permission required for the construction or
operation of a commercial data center project.
"Consumptive use." The portion of water withdrawn or
diverted for a commercial data center project that is lost,
diverted out of a basin or otherwise not returned to the waters
of the basin from which the water was withdrawn, as determined
by the applicable permitting authority.
"Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
the Commonwealth.
"Electric distribution company." An electric distribution
company as defined in 66 Pa.C.S. § 2803 (relating to
definitions).
"Interstate river basin commission." The term shall include
the:
(1) Delaware River Basin Commission.
(2) Susquehanna River Basin Commission.
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"Permitting authority." A Commonwealth permitting authority
or an interstate river basin commission.
"Public utility." As defined in 66 Pa.C.S. § 102 (relating
to definitions).
"Water use." A new or increased withdrawal, diversion or
consumptive use of water associated with a commercial data
center project, measured as an average daily quantity, stated in
gallons per day, during any consecutive 30-day period.
Section 3. Disclosure in applications.
(a) Disclosure.--An applicant shall state in the application
that the application is for a commercial data center project, in
the manner required by the Commonwealth permitting authority.
(b) Applications covered.--Subsection (a) applies to
applications filed with a Commonwealth permitting authority
relating to:
(1) water withdrawal, diversion or consumptive use;
(2) wastewater treatment or disposal;
(3) air quality;
(4) storm water, erosion or sediment control;
(5) highway occupancy permits or other transportation
approvals; and
(6) any other permit, approval, certification or
authorization required for the construction or operation of a
commercial data center project.
(c) False statement.--A person who knowingly fails to make
the disclosure required under subsection (a), or knowingly makes
a materially false statement related to the disclosure, is
subject to enforcement under section 9.
Section 4. Water use transparency.
(a) Applicability.--This section shall apply to a commercial
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data center project if the commercial data center, including any
existing facility, addition, expansion or phase of development
of the data center, has:
(1) water use of more than 100,000 gallons per day; or
(2) consumptive water use of 20,000 gallons per day or
more.
(b) Administration.--The department shall administer this
section and may consult with other Commonwealth permitting
authorities.
(c) Submission by applicant.--
(1) For a project subject to subsection (a), the
applicant shall submit to the department, in a form
prescribed by the department:
(i) the proposed maximum daily water use for the
entire commercial data center, including any existing
facility, addition, expansion or phase of development,
stated in gallons per day, and whether the project
includes withdrawal, diversion, consumptive use or a
combination withdrawal, diversion or consumptive use;
(ii) the source or sources of water supply;
(iii) measures to minimize water use, including
reuse or recycling, if proposed; and
(iv) whether the commercial data center project
requires review or approval by an interstate river basin
commission under the applicable rules or regulations of
the commission and, if applicable, the status of the
applicant's submission to or approval by the commission.
(2) The applicant shall provide a copy of the submission
under paragraph (1) to the county and local municipality in
which the commercial data center project is proposed to be
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located.
(d) Timing of submission.--The submission required under
subsection (c) shall be made within five business days after the
applicant files an application with a Commonwealth permitting
authority under section 3 for the commercial data center
project. If the applicant submits an amended application,
revised application, permit amendment, permit modification or
other change to an application for the commercial data center
project that changes the information required under subsection
(c), the applicant shall submit a revised submission to the
department within five business days after filing the amended
application, revised application, permit amendment, permit
modification or other change. Upon receipt of a revised
submission under this subsection, the department shall treat the
revised submission as a new submission for purposes of
subsection (e).
(e) Public posting.--The department shall:
(1) Within 10 business days after receipt of a complete
submission or revised submission under subsection (c) or (d):
(i) post the submission or revised submission and a
plain-language summary in accordance with subsection (f)
on the department's publicly accessible Internet website;
and
(ii) transmit a copy of the plain-language summary
to the county and local municipality in which the
commercial data center project is proposed to be located.
(2) Accept written public comments for not less than 90
days after posting.
(f) Plain-language summary.--The summary required under
subsection (e)(1) shall include:
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(1) the proposed maximum daily water use;
(2) the source or sources of water supply;
(3) an explanation of consumptive use, if applicable;
(4) measures to minimize water use, including reuse or
recycling, if proposed; and
(5) how to submit comments and obtain additional
information.
(g) Public comments.--The department shall transmit comments
received within the comment period under subsection (e)(2) to
each Commonwealth permitting authority reviewing an application
for the commercial data center project and shall maintain the
comments as part of the public record.
(h) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to:
(1) expand or limit the substantive permitting
jurisdiction of the department, another Commonwealth
permitting authority or an interstate river basin commission;
or
(2) replace or modify public notice or public comment
requirements otherwise applicable to a permit, approval,
certification or authorization under other law.
Section 5. Coordination.
(a) Interstate river basin commissions.--Nothing in this act
shall be construed to supersede or limit the authority of an
interstate river basin commission or the applicability of
commission review where otherwise required.
(b) Documentation of commission status.--For a commercial
data center project subject to review by an interstate river
basin commission, an applicant shall provide to the Commonwealth
permitting authority documentation demonstrating:
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(1) submission to the applicable commission; and
(2) where required, approval by the applicable
commission or the status of review.
(c) Condition on final Commonwealth action.--A Commonwealth
permitting authority may require documentation under subsection
(b) as a condition of final action on a permit, approval,
certification or authorization materially related to water use
for the commercial data center project.
Section 6. Utility cost transparency and commission oversight.
(a) Utility statement required upon request.--Upon written
request of a municipality or a Commonwealth permitting
authority, the serving electric distribution company shall
provide a written statement, based on information reasonably
available to the electric distribution company at the time of
the statement, identifying:
(1) the anticipated peak demand for the commercial data
center, stated in megawatts;
(2) a general description of distribution facilities
reasonably anticipated to be required primarily to serve the
commercial data center;
(3) the manner in which the costs of such facilities are
expected to be assigned under tariffs, service agreements or
commission-approved cost allocation mechanisms; and
(4) whether any costs described under paragraph (3) may
be recovered from retail electric customers other than the
commercial data center customer and, if so, a general
description of the class or classes of customers from which
the costs may be recovered.
(b) Commission oversight.--The Pennsylvania Public Utility
Commission shall, in exercising its authority under 66 Pa.C.S.
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(relating to public utilities), ensure that commission-approved
tariffs and cost allocation mechanisms appropriately assign to
commercial data center customers the reasonable costs of
facilities required primarily to serve commercial data center
load, to the extent permitted by law.
(c) Confidential security information.--Nothing in this
section shall be construed to require disclosure of confidential
security information protected under the act of November 29,
2006 (P.L.1435, No.156), known as the Public Utility
Confidential Security Information Disclosure Protection Act, or
regulations adopted thereunder.
Section 7. Transportation-related noise mitigation.
(a) Applicability.--This section shall apply to:
(1) a Department of Transportation highway project that
is undertaken primarily to serve a commercial data center
project, as determined by the Department of Transportation;
or
(2) mitigation required as a condition of a highway
occupancy permit issued by the Department of Transportation
under 67 Pa. Code Ch. 441 that is undertaken primarily to
serve a commercial data center project, as determined by the
Department of Transportation.
(b) Consideration of noise mitigation.--For a project under
subsection (a), the Department of Transportation shall:
(1) evaluate noise mitigation measures, including
barriers, berms, vegetative buffers, natural buffers and
other similar measures; and
(2) where practicable and consistent with applicable
Federal requirements and department standards, incorporate
appropriate noise mitigation measures into the project
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design.
Section 8. Municipal zoning.
Nothing in this act shall be construed to require a
municipality to permit or provide for a commercial data center
or commercial data center project under the act of July 31, 1968
(P.L.805, No.247), known as the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code, or under any other law governing local land use.
Section 9. Enforcement.
(a) Attorney General.--The Attorney General may bring an
action to enforce this act in Commonwealth Court.
(b) Injunctive relief.--In addition to any other remedy
available under law, the court may grant injunctive relief to
restrain a violation of this act.
(c) Civil penalty.--A person or entity who knowingly
violates section 3 commits a civil violation and may be subject
to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per violation. Each day
of a continuing violation constitutes a separate violation.
(d) Permit-related enforcement.--The submission of false or
misleading information under section 3 or 4, or the failure to
provide or update information required under section 3 or 4,
shall constitute grounds for denial, suspension, modification or
revocation of a permit, approval, certification or authorization
for the commercial data center project by the permitting
authority in accordance with applicable law.
(e) Other enforcement.--Nothing in this section limits the
enforcement authority of a permitting authority under any other
law.
Section 10. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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