Curtis, Blunt Rochester Introduce Bills to Empower Communities, Increase Transparency Around Data Center Development

Pair of bills would help manage rapid, resource-intensive expansion of large-scale data centers WASHINGTON —U.S. Senators John Curtis (R-UT) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), members of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, introduced two bills to give communities better information and resources to understand the impacts of data center development while preserving local control over decisions about new projects. The bills include the Data Center Community Empowerment Act , which would give communities access to technical expertise to better understand the potential benefits, costs, and infrastructure impacts of proposed data center development, as well as the Data Center Transparency Act , which mandates regular federal reporting on the environmental and energy impacts of large data centers that consume at least 50 megawatts of power daily. “Americans are rightly skeptical when a large company tells them not to worry about the impacts of a new data center in their community ,” said Senator Curtis . “The answer to that distrust is transparency. Communities deserve independent, reliable information about what these projects mean for their power bills, water, infrastructure, and local economy. These bills give local leaders the facts and expertise they need to ask tough questions and make informed decisions—without Washington or industry making those decisions for them.” “The development of data centers is rapidly increasing across the country, and there are legitimate concerns about how these projects could raise utility bills, harm our environment, or impact public health,” said Senator Blunt Rochester . “I am proud to work with Senator Curtis to introduce the Data Center Transparency Act and the Data Center Community Empowerment Act to ensure communities have a say in how these projects affect their quality of life. These bills are a necessary step toward creating a safer, more inclusive, and more informed process.” Background: Emerging technologies Americans increasingly rely on depend on data centers and the infrastructure that supports them. As demand grows, many communities will face decisions about whether and how to accommodate new development. The Data Center Community Empowerment Act would establish a program at the Department of Energy (DOE) to: Provide technical assistance to state, local, and Tribal governments on the potential energy, water, infrastructure, economic, and other community impacts of data center development; Develop a Data Center Community Toolkit with accessible information and resources for local officials; Provide independent project analysis at a community’s request, including assessments of information voluntarily provided by developers and the reliability of underlying assumptions and projections; and Preserve local decision-making by prohibiting DOE from recommending whether a project should be approved or rejected. A one-pager on the bill is available here , and the full bill text is available here . The Data Center Transparency Act would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Energy Information Administration to collect and regularly update information on the environmental impacts and resource use of data centers. The legislation would: Require EPA to collect and update information every three months on data center water consumption, utility costs, potential pollutants, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions; and Require the Energy Information Administration to collect and update information every six months on data center energy consumption, associated grid build-out, and impacts on household energy bills. A one-pager on the bill is available here , and the full bill text is available here .