Artificial intelligence\u00a0data center development is rapidly expanding in Texas, but so too are concerns about whether the state\u2019s environmental agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, can effectively regulate the industry.<\/p>\n
Texas will soon lead the nation in the number of data centers, with Dallas-Fort Worth as the epicenter of resource-intensive operations. State leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, are touting the economic benefit of massive AI data centers, while handing over billions in tax breaks to tech industry giants in recent years.<\/p>\n
If\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0one of the many Texans concerned about Big Tech\u2019s rapid expansion, the TCEQ\u2019s most recent performance metrics may give\u00a0you\u00a0reason to wonder if it is up to the job.<\/p>\n
TCEQ issues the permits that AI data centers need to\u00a0operate\u00a0gas-powered turbines and diesel generators and to discharge wastewater from cooling operations. Issuing permits\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0a problem for the state regulator, which handed out 9,000\u00a0new\u00a0permits\u00a0last year, according to the agency\u2019s own reporting.\u00a0But one of TCEQ\u2019s primary functions \u2013 and struggles \u2013 is conducting on-site compliance inspections.<\/p>\n
In 2025, the agency conducted the fewest on-site inspections in eight years, including years when the pandemic made in-person investigations challenging.\u00a0Each year, it performs fewer total inspections. In 2025, there were\u00a03,600 fewer\u00a0inspections\u00a0than in 2024 and 5,200 fewer than in 2023, based on annual enforcement reports.<\/p>\n
The agency also lagged in response to reported environmental concerns, another core function, which typically comes after significant delays, if at all. In 2025, the agency received 9,200 complaints. More than 2,000 of\u00a0those\u00a0came from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the\u00a0most of\u00a0any\u00a0region.\u00a0TCEQ responded to just\u00a0300 of those complaints in 24 hours. More than half of the complaints took\u00a030 days\u00a0or longer for\u00a0an initial\u00a0response.<\/p>\n
When a facility violates its permits, the TCEQ\u2019s enforcement process is slow, often taking several years. The agency has a backlog of\u00a0nearly\u00a01,400\u00a0enforcement cases and resolved just 39 last year, according to the\u00a0agency\u2019s\u00a0internal reporting. It will take 35 years to clear the backlog at that rate.<\/p>\n
For neighbors wanting to challenge data center permits,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0more\u00a0bad news. TCEQ commissioners regularly dismiss public comments on permits and rulemakings and deny hearing requests for permits to undergo\u00a0additional\u00a0scrutiny.<\/p>\n
TCEQ\u2019s own annual performance metrics are modest, aiming for just 43%\u00a0of Texans to live in areas where air quality meets federal standards and for just 55%\u00a0of Texas\u2019 surface waters to meet water quality standards. The agency fell just short of both those goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other outcomes are far more concerning, especially given that state agency budgets are\u00a0performance-driven. In one example, the TCEQ aimed to reduce wastewater pollution dumped into state waters and missed its goal by 110%. TCEQ also missed its goal of reducing air pollution in areas that already\u00a0fail to\u00a0meet federal air quality standards by 147%.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While state leaders might see data centers as the future of economic growth, it\u2019s clear: Every permit the TCEQ issues is one more than it can effectively regulate.<\/p>\n
If you ask TCEQ\u2019s leadership about the agency\u2019s performance, they would likely tell you what they told us at Public Citizen, a\u00a0consumer advocacy nonprofit. During a recent hearing, Abbott-appointed TCEQ Chair Brooke Paup told us at a March 11 public\u00a0hearing that she found Public Citizen’s requests\u00a0that TCEQ\u00a0leadership improve the agency\u2019s\u00a0poor performance\u00a0\u201cincredibly offensive.\u201d At\u00a0a\u00a0subsequent\u00a0meeting,\u00a0Paup interrupted public comments\u00a0to reiterate she was still \u201cvery offended.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioners don\u2019t have similarly strong words for permit applicants seeking massive authorizations to pollute the environment.<\/p>\n
Commissioners don\u2019t seem put off when denying neighbors the legal standing to receive hearings on the potential harms of proposed permits. <\/p>\n
Commissioners don\u2019t protest loudly when approving paltry fines against the worst polluters in our state.<\/p>\n
We can only assume that TCEQ\u2019s commissioners are more offended by hearing their own performance data than by signing off on the pollution that harms Texans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unfortunately,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0not a problem AI can solve.<\/p>\n
Kathryn Guerra is the TCEQ Watchdog Campaign director for Public Citizen.<\/p>\n
Have thoughts about this?\u00a0Send a letter to the editor\u00a0using our letters form<\/a>\u00a0or email\u00a0letters@dallasnews.com<\/a>. Letters should be no more than 200 words and include the first and last name of the writer and city of residence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Artificial intelligence\u00a0data center development is rapidly expanding in Texas, but so too are concerns about whether the state\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2353,1631,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-267905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-commentary","tag-opinion","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}