Commercial Data Center Water Usage Report

2025-2026 Bill 724: Commercial Data Center Water Usage Report - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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S. 724
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Blackmon and Sutton
Companion/Similar bill(s): 4583
Document Path: SR-0392KM25.docx
Introduced in the Senate on January 13, 2026
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on
Judiciary
Summary: Commercial Data Center Water Usage Report
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

12/10/2025

Senate

Prefiled

12/10/2025

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary

1/13/2026

Senate

Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 32
)

1/13/2026

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary
(
Senate Journal-page 32
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/10/2025
12/10/2025-A

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION
58-27-835
SO AS TO REQUIRE COMMERCIAL DATA CENTERS THAT CONSUME THREE MILLION
GALLONS OF WATER ON A MONTHLY BASIS TO ANNUALLY REPORT THEIR WATER USAGE TO THE
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, TO PROVIDE PENALTIES, AND TO DEFINE
NECESSARY TERMS.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
C
hapter 27, Title 58 of the S.C. Code is amended by
adding:

S
ection
58-27-835
.
(
A) For the purposes of
this section, "commercial data center" means a facility, campus of facilities,
or an array of interconnected facilities in this State used by a business
enterprise to operate, manage, or maintain a computer, group of computers, or other
organized assembly of hardware and software for the primary purpose of storing,
retrieving, or transmitting data that has a peak demand of one hundred
megawatts or greater.

(
B)
(
1) A commercial data center that
consumes three million or more gallons of water per month must report to the
Department of Environmental Services annually by January thirty-first the
volume of surface water, groundwater, or any other source of water that the
commercial data center utilized during the prior calendar year. The commercial
data center must also report the anticipated volume of water that the
commercial data center will utilize during the calendar year in which the
report is filed.

(
2)
The department may audit the reports and any data used by the commercial data
center to compile the report. The department must provide a commercial data
center with thirty days notice prior to commencing an audit. The department may
assess a civil penalty against a commercial data center for filing a report
after January thirty-first. The civil fine shall be up to ten thousand dollars
for each day after January thirty-first that the report is not filed. The
department may also assess a ten-thousand-dollar civil penalty for any
inaccurate, misleading, or false information contained in the report.

S
ECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 1:08 PM