Introductory Statement on S. 4213

Quick facts

Record: Senate Floor
Section type: Legislation
Chamber: Senate
Date: March 25, 2026
Congress: 119th Congress
Why this source matters: This section came from the Senate floor portion of the record.

Linked context

People mentioned: Durbin, Richard J.
Bills and resolutions: S. 4213 (119th Congress)
Committees: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Readable version of the official text

By Mr. DURBIN:

S. 4213. A bill to require data center operators to submit to States or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture reports on data center energy and water use, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

S. 4213

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Data Center Water and Energy

Transparency Act of 2026”.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) Administrator.—The term “Administrator” means the

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

(2) Data center terms.—The terms “data center” and

“data center operator” have the meanings given those terms

in section 453(a) of the Energy Independence and Security Act

of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17112(a)).

(3) Energy use.—The term “energy use”, with respect to

data centers, means the total quantity of electricity and

other forms of energy consumed on site by that data center,

as measured in kilowatt-hours.

(4) Power usage effectiveness.—The term “power usage

effectiveness” has the meaning given the term in ISO/IEC

30134-2:2026 of the International Organization for

Standardization (or a successor standard).

(5) Secretaries.—The term “Secretaries” means the

Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Agriculture.

(6) State.—The term “State” means—

(A) each of the several States;

(B) a territory of the United States;

(D) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;

(E) the Republic of Palau;

(F) an Indian tribe included on the list most recently

published by the Secretary of the Interior under section 104

of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25

U.S.C. 5131); and

(G) the District of Columbia.

(7) Unit of local government.—The term “unit of local

government” means any county, parish, city, town, township,

village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a

State with the power to levy taxes, expend Federal, State,

and local funds, and exercise governmental powers.

(8) Water usage effectiveness.—The term “water usage

effectiveness” has the meaning given the term in ISO/IEC

30134-9:2022 of the International Organization for

Standardization (or a successor standard).

(9) Water use.—The term “water use”, with respect to a

data center, means the total amount of water consumed on-site

by a data center, including water used for cooling, as

measured in gallons.

SEC. 3. DATA CENTER MANDATORY REPORTING AND INFORMATION

REQUIREMENT.

(a) Data Collection.—

(1) Report to state.—

(A) In general.—Beginning not later than 1 year after the

date of enactment of this Act but subject to paragraph (2),

each data center operator with 1 or more data centers in a

State shall submit to that State an annual report that, with

respect to each data

center in the State with a peak demand of not less than 25

megawatts operated by that data center operator, describes—

(i) on-site energy use and water use for the preceding

calendar year, including—

(I) total energy use during each month of that calendar

year;

(II) if the data center relies on behind-the-meter power

generation, the method to generate that power;

(III) total water use and the source of that water during

each month of that calendar year; and

(IV) annual average power usage effectiveness and water

usage effectiveness;

(ii) projected on-site energy use and water use for not

less than the following 5 calendar years, which shall include

proposals for reducing the energy use and water use of the

data center and the increases in efficiency that are

anticipated to result from those proposals; and

(iii) such other information as the State may require.

(B) Form.—A data center operator shall submit a report

under subparagraph (A) in such form and in such manner as the

applicable State may require.

described in this paragraph, assess fees on data center

operators to support data collection under this paragraph.

(2) Report to administrator and secretaries.—

(A) In general.—If a State does not have a program to

collect the information described in clauses (i) and (ii) of

paragraph (1)(A)—

(i) the State shall inform the Administrator and the

Secretaries jointly; and

(ii) a data center operator with data centers in such a

State shall submit to the Administrator and Secretaries

jointly a report that, with respect to each data center in

such a State with a peak demand of not less than 25 megawatts

operated by that data center operator, describes—

(I) the information described in those clauses; and

(II) such other information as the Administrator and

Secretaries may jointly require.

(B) Form.—A data center operator shall submit a report

under subparagraph (A) in such form and in such manner as the

Administrator and Secretaries may jointly require.

(3) Reports to local governments.—A report to a State or

the Administrator and the Secretaries jointly under paragraph

(1) or (2) shall be made available to an affected unit of

local government on request and, if applicable, in compliance

with any program established by the State for the collection

of those reports.

(b) Reports on Prospective and Expanded Data Centers.—

(1) Report to state.—

(A) In general.—Subject to paragraph (2), each person

seeking to construct a data center with a projected energy

use of not less than 25 megawatts and each data center

operator seeking to expand a data center with a projected

energy use of not less than 25 megawatts shall submit to the

State in which the new or expanded data center would operate

a report that describes—

(i) as applicable—

(I) the projected energy use and water use and the sources

of energy and water of the new data center during the first 5

calendar years after the data center begins operation; or

(II) the projected increase in energy use and water use as

a result of the expansion of a data center during the first 5

calendar years after completion of the expansion; and

(ii) proposals for reducing the energy use and water use of

the data center and the increases in efficiency that are

anticipated to result from those proposals.

(B) Form.—A report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall

be submitted in such form and in such manner as the

applicable State may require.

(2) Report to administrator and secretaries.—

(A) In general.—If a State does not have a program to

collect the information described in paragraph (1)(A)—

(i) the State shall inform the Administrator and the

Secretaries jointly; and

(ii) a person seeking to construct a data center and each

data center operator seeking to expand a data center in such

a State shall submit to the Administrator and the Secretaries

jointly a report that describes, with respect to the proposed

data center or the expansion of the data center, the

information described in that paragraph.

(B) Form.—A person or data center operator shall submit a

report under subparagraph (A) in such form and in such manner

as the Administrator and Secretaries may jointly require.

(3) Reports to local governments.—A report to a State or

the Administrator and the Secretaries jointly under paragraph

(1) or (2) shall be made available to an affected unit of

local government on request and, if applicable, in compliance

with any program established by the State for the collection

of those reports.

(1) Reports from states.—

(A) In general.—Each State that receives a report under

subsection (a)(1) or (b)(1) shall submit to the Administrator

and the Secretaries jointly an annual report that describes

the data collected pursuant to all such reports submitted to

the State under subsection (a)(1) or (b)(1), as applicable,

during the previous year in such a manner as may be required

jointly by the Administrator and the Secretaries.

(B) Anonymized data.—The reports submitted under

subparagraph (A) shall only include anonymized and aggregated

information.

(2) Public report.—The Administrator and the Secretaries

shall jointly make publicly available on an annual basis a

report that—

(A) describes—

(i) using information collected from the reports under

subsections (a)(2) and (b)(2) and paragraph (1)(A), the

aggregated total energy use and water use of data centers in

the United States, by region, during the calendar year

covered by the report;

(ii) regional impacts of data centers on water and

electricity rates for consumers and communities;

(iii) the environmental impacts resulting from the

operation of data centers, including—

(I) water and energy sources, supply, quality, and

reliability impacts on consumers and communities; and

(II) other direct or indirect impacts; and

(iv) recommendations for best practices to limit the

impacts described in clauses (ii) and (iii);

(B) includes, based on the reports received by the

Administrator and the Secretaries jointly under subsections

(a)(2) and (b)(2) and paragraph (1)(A) for the calendar year

covered by the report, the aggregated projection of energy

use and water use by data centers for the 5 years following

that calendar year; and

and the Secretaries jointly determine is proprietary.

(d) Rulemaking.—

(1) Federal authority.—The Administrator and the

Secretaries may jointly promulgate such regulations as may be

necessary to carry out this section.

(2) State authority.—A State may promulgate such

regulations in accordance with the laws of the State as may

be necessary to carry out this section.

(e) Enforcement.—

(1) State enforcement.—If a State establishes a program

for collecting data pursuant to subsection (a)(1) and (b)(1),

the State may issue fines and otherwise engage in other

enforcement activities to comply with the requirements of

this Act and applicable State laws.

(2) Federal enforcement.—

(A) In general.—Subject to paragraph (2), the

Administrator and the Secretaries shall jointly fine a data

center operator that negligently violates a requirement of

subsection (a)(2) or (b)(2) $20,000 for each day that the

data center operator is in violation of that requirement.

(B) Inflation adjustment.—On the date that is 3 years

after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years

thereafter, the Administrator and the Secretaries shall

jointly adjust the amount described in subparagraph (A) to

reflect changes for the 36-month period ending the preceding

November 30 in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban

Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the

Department of Labor.

SEC. 4. FEES.

The Administrator and the Secretaries shall jointly assess

fees on data center operators that submit a report under

subsection (a)(2) or (b)(2) of section 3 in an amount

necessary to carry out this Act and may, without further

appropriation, use the amounts collected to carry out those

subsections.

Official source

Download the official section PDF

Readable version of the official text

Linked Context

Official Record

Quick facts

Linked context

Readable version of the official text

Official source