Texas Data Center Permits Continue Despite Governor's Pause Order

Nonprofits Find Continued Permit Activity

Public Citizen and FracTracker Alliance reviewed the public database of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and found that the agency has worked on multiple permits for data center projects since Governor Greg Abbott called for a pause on September 21. Public Citizen listed more than 15 permits while FracTracker Alliance found 35. The organizations said TCEQ reviewed documents and assigned engineers to more than a dozen permits related to data center projects.

According to the documents, TCEQ issued air-emission limit certificates to a large data center in Houston, approved stormwater construction coverage for data centers in Abilene, Barstow, and Royse City, and fast tracked gas power plants for more than a dozen data center projects. Twelve of the 14 applications for gas plants and generators were filed in October, with TCEQ using an expedited review process for eight of them.

State Agencies Deny Approving New Permits

Governor Abbott's press secretary Andrew Mahaleris told 404 Media that no permits have been approved and that TCEQ has not taken and will not take any proactive actions related to the approval of data center permits. TCEQ itself stated that the Commission has not issued any permits related to data centers and is complying with Governor Abbott's directive.

Sam Law of FracTracker Alliance said TCEQ gave his organization a different explanation, claiming they were accepting applications but not moving forward with reviews. Law said that explanation was shown to be false. He noted that stormwater construction permits listed as approved in the TCEQ system result from a regulatory loophole involving generic construction stormwater permits and notices of intent.

Community Concerns in Abilene

Abilene resident and Democratic state senate candidate Riley Rodriquez said residents received letters from TCEQ about an incoming gas turbine plant near their homes. He expressed frustration that despite public hearings, the project would move forward. According to TCEQ records, the agency issued a water quality permit for the Abilene data center on September 23, two days after Abbott's pause order.

Texas currently has 300 operating data centers, 100 under construction, and 200 more planned. Projects include Meta's $14 billion data center in El Paso and the nuclear-powered Fermi data center in Amarillo. The Texas Tribune reported that Abbott received $9 million in donations from data center developers and owners.

Sources: 404 Media