No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings that data centers accounted for 4.4% of U.S. electricity use in 2023 (projected to 6.7-12%), tripled in energy usage over the last decade (projected to double or triple by 2028), consumed 17 billion gallons of water for cooling and an estimated 211 billion gallons to generate their electricity in 2023, disproportionately burden communities of color, low-income communities, and other vulnerable populations with environmental and health impacts (including in cases such as a facility near a predominantly Black neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee), and require federal protection of public health and community safety under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
This section directs the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Commerce, the Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Council on Environmental Quality, to conduct a study on the effects of data centers on communities of color and low-income communities. The study must assess (1) water consumption and effects on local supplies and drought-prone regions; (2) energy consumption, including fossil fuel generation and grid peak load impacts; (3) air quality effects, including emissions from backup diesel generators; (4) soil and land-use effects, including on agriculture and local food sources; (5) electric grid effects, including electricity rate increases; (6) cooling process impacts on wastewater systems; (7) job creation and displacement; (8) state and local tax revenue effects, including from tax incentives; (9) nearby residential property values; and (10) public health risks from pollution, resource stress, summer heat, and heat island effects. In conducting the study, the Secretary must consult relevant local governments and Indian Tribes. Not later than 18 months after enactment, the Secretary must submit to Congress a report including an assessment of the study, a map of data center locations relative to such communities, recommendations for federal coordination to mitigate harms, and proposed guidelines or best practices for states and localities.
This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) "community of color," as a geographically distinct area where the population of specified groups (i.e., Black, African American, Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Latino, or Middle Eastern or North African individuals) exceeds the state average; (2) "data center," adopting the meaning in section 453(a) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17112(a)); (3) "Indian Tribe," adopting the meaning of "Indian tribe" in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); (4) "local governmental entity," as any municipal or county government with jurisdiction over local land use decisions; (5) "low-income community," as any census block group where 30% or more of the population have annual household incomes at or below the greater of 80% of area median income (per HUD) or 200% of the federal poverty line; and (6) "State," to include the District of Columbia and any U.S. territory.