FILE - A data center owned by Amazon Web Services, front right, is under construction next to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Berwick, Pa., Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

As Washington County officials and residents consider the potential impact of a proposed data center in the Waterford area, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing a draft permit regarding wastewater discharges from such facilities.

Meanwhile, legislation has been introduced in the Ohio General Assembly to form a commission to study data centers.

The Ohio EPA is reviewing a draft general permit, which would allow authorized, specified wastewater discharges from data center facilities into Ohio’s surface waters.

The draft was made public in October, with the opportunity to comment closed in January. The comments submitted are under review.

The 31-page draft details how data center facilities can apply for notices of intent, which would authorize some discharge to receiving waters.

“It has been determined that a lowering of water quality of various waters of the state associated with granting coverage under this permit is necessary to accommodate important social and economic development in the state of Ohio,” the draft says.

The draft permit, if approved, would be in effect for five years.

Part I of the draft states that pollutants discharged from data centers into waters are illegal unless authorized by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.

Facilities could not discharge materials that exceed Ohio Water Quality Standards or discharge them within 500 yards upstream of a public water supply.

There are a total of 15 “limitations on coverage” described in the draft. An NOI form from a data center facility is reviewed by the Ohio EPA, who then notifies the applicant whether the discharge has been authorized.

Ohio EPA Press Secretary Bryant Somerville provided a fact sheet about the general permit. It said “any entity that releases wastewater into rivers or streams must have an NPDES permit.”

Permits are not authorized to allow pollutants that would harm fish or wildlife and streams, rivers, and lakes used for drinking water “must be protected.”

The fact sheet also states “the antidegradation rule allows limited increases in pollution for situations such as supporting important economic or community needs, but the receiving stream must still be protected.”

According to the Ohio EPA, once comments have been reviewed, responses will be issued and Ohio EPA Director John Logue will take final action to approve or disapprove the permit.

The draft is under review and the public notice can be found at https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/epa.ohio.gov/Portals/35/permits/Data_Centers/OHD000001_Draft.pdf or on the Ohio EPA website under Data Center Discharges.

“The draft permit authorizes data centers to discharge disinfectants like chlorine and total dissolved solids at levels that are protective of human health and the environment,” said Somerville. “The permit also requires monitoring for total suspended solids, oil and grease, and phosphorus.”

In recent Washington County Commission meetings, commissioners said the data center proposed in Waterford would use a “closed-loop system.”

According to a release from Oracle, a company that utilizes AI data centers, in “a closed-loop system, like your home air conditioner, the cooling fluid stays within sealed pipes and is repeatedly reused, rather than consumed.” Evaporated systems require water to be continually replaced. Oracle said the closed-loop system would mean “ongoing community water usage for cooling the data center is effectively zero.”

The Oracle release said the closed-looped system recirculates air using cooling coils and fans to keep servers cool.

The company considering Waterford as a data system site has not been identified. Commissioners have signed non-disclosure agreements with the company. The commissioners do not have final approval over whether a data center is built, but are discussing the project in relation to tax incentives.

In the the Ohio House of Representatives, Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, and Kellie Deeter, R-Norwalk, recently proposed House Bill 646 which would create a Data Center Study Commission and to formally declare an emergency.

If passed by the House and the Senate, then signed by the Gov. Mike DeWine, the HB 646 commission would be made up of three members appointed by the governor, three members appointed by the speaker of the House, three members appointed by the president of the Senate, two members appointed by the minority leader of the House and two members appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.

The commission would review the environmental impacts, effects on the electrical grid, water usage and impact on local water supply, noise pollution, light pollution, impact on farmland and impact on local economy among others.

The commission would submit a report of their findings to the governor and General Assembly six months after the commission’s effective date.

If passed, HB 646 would declare “an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.”

HB 646 also states the necessity for the commission is due to the rate at which data centers are being built, concern among citizens and the absence of “specific regulatory structure.”

HB 646 can be viewed at https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_136/legislation/hb646/01_RFH/pdf/

According to Data Center Map, there are 4,032 data centers in the United States with 570 in Virginia and 407 in Texas.

There are 11,029 data centers located in 174 countries worldwide.

According to the Data Center Map, there are 196 data centers in Ohio with 113 of the facilities based in Columbus. The closest data centers to southeast Ohio are located in Hannibal, Woodsfield, and Ironton.