President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure” on July 23 to support expanding use of artificial intelligence data centers, citing manufacturing and technology purposes.
Water permitting is identified as an essential step in the order, and it mentions specifically:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is directed to expedite permitting on federal and non-federal lands by developing or modifying regulations promulgated under the Clean Air Act; the Clean Water Act; the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and other relevant applicable laws.
- The Secretary of the Army is to review the nationwide permits issued under the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act to determine whether an activity-specific nationwide permit is needed to facilitate the efficient permitting of water activities related to qualifying projects.
While the executive order does not identify groundwater use specifically, recognition of use of the Clean Water Act offers the potential of water reuse and application of managed aquifer recharge to support significant water demand in communities with data centers.
NGWA’s Managed Aquifer Recharge Work Group is developing a list of states’ methods and actions to identify potential recharge sites.
NGWA will host the “Managed Aquifer Recharge Conference: Unleashing Resiliency, Protecting Groundwater Quality” on September 23-24 in Denver, Colorado.
Click here to read the executive order.