June 23rd Natural Resources Interim Hearing
Here is info regarding the Natural Resources interim hearing on June 23 in Austin, Texas @ 10:00am. Please email the members and if you have a chance attend the meeting in person. I've included email addresses below where you can cut this block of legislators into your send area and email all Reps at once to make it easier. It is good to do both the portal and to send individual legislators (or as a group) as it makes staff open and report the volume to their Reps, where the portal may not be read right away, but is part of the official record.
House Committee on Natural Resources June 23 at 10 am, E2.036(room numbers can change so check before)
Members Rm
Chair Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine) cody.harris@house.texas.gov E2.504
Vice Chair Rep. Armando Martinez(D-Weslaco) mando.martinez@house.texas.gov 1N.10
Rep. Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin) trent.ashby@house.texas.gov E2.806**
Rep. Jeff Barry (R-Pearland) jeff.barry@house.texas.gov E2.814
Rep. Cecil Bell (R-Magnolia) cecil.bell@house.texas.gov E2.708
Rep. Brad Buckley (R-Salado) brad.buckley@house.texas.gov E2.510
Rep. Caroline Fairly (R-Amarillo) caroline.fairly@house.texas.gov E2.816
Rep. Erin Elizabeth Gámez (D-Brownsville) erin.gamez@house.texas.gov E1.510
Rep. Josey Garcia (D- San Antonio) josey.garcia@house.texas.gov E2.904
Rep. Mary E. González (D-El Paso) mary.gonzalez@house.texas.gov E1.504
Rep. Ramon Romero, Jr.(D-Ft. Worth ramon.romero@house.texas.gov 4S.6
Rep. Denise Villalobos (R-Corpus Christi) denise.villalobos@house.texas.gov E2.812
Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) erin.zwiener@house.texas.gov E2.306
To email all the Committee reps at once, copy and paste this block of emails in your send area:
cody.harris@house.texas.gov, mando.martinez@house.texas.gov, trent.ashby@house.texas.gov, jeff.barry@house.texas.gov, cecil.bell@house.texas.gov, brad.buckley@house.texas.gov, caroline.fairly@house.texas.gov, erin.gamez@house.texas.gov, josey.garcia@house.texas.gov, mary.gonzalez@house.texas.gov, ramon.romero@house.texas.gov, denise.villalobos@house.texas.gov, erin.zwiener@house.texas.gov
Data Center Charge for the Hearing (there are a couple other charges but this is the one of interest) See it as worded below:
Data Center Water Use and Conservation- Examine the total water usage of data center operations in Texas, including direct and indirect uses. Evaluate regulatory, permitting, and infrastructure considerations for water-efficient data center development, particularly in water-stressed regions. Consider policy options to optimize water resources and enhance water stewardship in the data center sector.
Submitting Comments to the Committee Via the Portal (it will be part of the public record)
Online submission of public comments will be available on:
Data Center Water Use and Conservation Texas residents who wish to electronically submit comments related to agenda items on this notice without testifying in person can do so until the hearing is adjourned by visiting: https://comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c390
Suggested Bullet Points to Include in Your Legislative Letter
Please personalize your comments by referring to some of the following: where you live, the data centers proposed in your area, the water challenges your area is currently facing or has faced in the past, what you’ve heard data center applicants state in regard to their desired water usage in area public meetings, etc.
Items to mention in your discussion:
Data centers should be required to employ the Best Available Control Technology (BACT) to decrease water demand by operating as energy efficient as possible.
The state should require that air or dry cooling be used by data centers to limit the amount of water needed for server cooling operations.
Nonpotable water like treated wastewater or brackish water should be used for cooling.
Data centers should be required to pay upfront costs for water infrastructure if it is needed for their operations.
Almost 100 counties or parts thereof are not in a groundwater district. Aquifers and water resources need to be protected by requiring all counties of the state be placed within a groundwater district.
The legislature should give counties the ability to increase their regulatory ability over data centers, especially in unincorporated parts of the counties, allowing for development moratoriums if needed until the state develops regulations by how data centers will operate in the future.
The legislature needs to require that data centers report their direct water use to the Texas Water Development Board. Data center usage is not included in the current 2027 water plan that will remain in place until 2032. Additionally, data center water use should be reported to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. This information should be publicly available.
For those persons who will be testifying, information for in-person witness registration, can be found here: https://mytxlegis.capitol.texas.gov/HWRSPublic/About.aspx
A live video broadcast of this hearing will be available here: https://house.texas.gov/video-audio/
Instructions related to public access to the meeting location are available here: https://house.texas.gov/committees/public-access-housecommittee-meetings/