Lawmakers fear Ohio EPA’s proposed data center permit could harm Lake Erie

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency wants to change the way it regulates stormwater and wastewater discharge from the state’s growing number of data centers and that has alarmed two Republican legislators from northern Ohio.

The state EPA wants to apply a general discharge permit to all data centers going forward, representing a break from the site-specific method by which the permits have previously been granted.

The new general permit would exclude Lake Erie from protections being given to other bodies of water deemed to have exceptional ecological value, a major concern of Ohio Rep. David Thomas, a Republican from Ashtabula County, and Kellie Deeter, a Republican from Huron County.

Both represent districts that border Lake Erie and both have submitted comments to Ohio EPA Director John Logue to express their displeasure with proposed permit changes.

“Ohio EPA should decline to finalize this general permit,” Thomas wrote to Logue. “The draft explicitly acknowledges that permit coverage would result in a lowering of water quality and, further, it structurally excludes Lake Erie from protections afforded to other high-quality waters and lakes.”

Thomas said in an interview with cleveland.com that he believes the Ohio EPA is seeking the changes to accommodate the wishes of President Donald Trump, who has called for regulations surrounding the construction of data centers be streamlined.

The Ohio EPA, in response to questions from cleveland.com, acknowledged that is part of the reason for the proposed one-size-fits-all permit.

“The draft general permit creates more administrative efficiency while continuing to hold companies to the highest standards,” the Ohio EPA said. “This does not weaken environmental protection, and the draft permit is protective of human health and the environment.”

Data centers have been popping up all over the country to accommodate the growing demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other online services. The state has 85 data centers that house 179 individual units, according to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

There are pros and cons to locating data centers in a community. Among the concerns is they “consume vast amounts of land, electricity and often water, depending upon their cooling technology,” states the website of law firm Bricker Graydon Wyatt, which represents data center developers in the state.

Under the proposed permit, the type of discharges allowed into Ohio waterways would include water used by data centers for cooling.

Also, “low volume wastewater discharges” such as “cooling tower blowdown, boiler blowdown, and air compressor condensate” would be allowed, as would “stormwater associated with industrial activities.”

Among the discharges that would not be allowed under the general permit would be those flowing into combined or sanitary sewer systems or into waters designated as seasonal habitats for salmon-type fish; when unacceptably high levels of certain volatile organic compounds are present; and within 500 yards upstream from a surface water intake serving a public water supply.

Discharge into lakes, except Lake Erie, would also be prohibited.

Deeter, who has been in office one year, said she has attempted to get answers to questions about the proposed permit from the Ohio EPA over the past three to four weeks but has not received “what I would consider an acceptable amount of information.”

For example, she’s not sure why Lake Erie is exempt from certain permit protections, while other bodies of water are not. “I couldn’t get that information,” she said.

The Ohio EPA, in response to a similar question from cleveland.com, said Lake Erie is treated differently because of the large volume of water it holds.

“Because of its size, it can handle certain pollutant loads while still staying healthy,” according to the Ohio EPA.

Thomas said the greater concern is probably not what’s in the water that’s discharged as much as the temperature of the outflow.

“High-temperature water in a stream or river changes the dynamic of a river and the water quality,” he said.

Thomas said it’s his impression that discharge from the data centers into Lake Erie would not change the ecology much, “but I think we still have to be very careful.”

The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, which monitors watersheds around Greater Cleveland, has similar concerns about the use of a general permit and believes it should remain site-specific.

Depending on the body of water receiving the discharge, warm temperatures and additional flows can be very disruptive to an ecosystem, according to sewer district spokeswoman Jenn Elting.

“Each water body is distinct and unique and that needs to be taken into consideration,” something a general permit would not do, she said.

Elting said general permits have fewer compliance points to consider than do site-specific permits.

Another aspect of the draft permit that both Thomas and Deeter found disconcerting is that it acknowledges there will be water degradation.

“It has been determined that a lowering of water quality of various waters of the state (under the proposed permit) is necessary to accommodate important social and economic development in the state of Ohio,” the permit reads.

The Ohio EPA asserts that while the language sounds like water quality will be degraded, “it does not mean the water becomes unsafe or polluted. Even with a new or increased source of discharge, the water still must meet all state and federal guidelines to ensure the water is safe.”

The proposed permitting change comes at the same time Deeter wants a commission to examine many aspects of data center development.

She and another state representative have introduced a bill that calls for having 13 members — appointed by the governor, house speaker and senate president — study the effects of data centers on the environment, electrical grid, water usage, noise and light pollution, impacts on the local economy, farmland, and contributions to national security and the development of artificial intelligence.

Deeter doesn’t object to the proliferation of data centers, calling them necessary. But she believes the state needs to be as thoughtful as possible in the process.

“The people I represent deserve a process that protects water resources first and ensures transparent, locally relevant review, not a blanket permitting structure that anticipates degradation and reduces the practical visibility of individual authorizations,” she wrote in her public comments to Logue.

Thomas, who also doesn’t oppose data centers, wants the same thing.

“I want more data centers. I don’t think they are bad,” Thomas said. “But they need to be done the right way with full public trust.”

The public comment period on the proposed change ended on Friday. The Ohio EPA will consider those comments before issuing a final version of the permit.