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Subcommittee reports bill directing DEQ to study standby generators after wide environmental support

House Natural Resources subcommittee (Chair Tran) · February 11, 2026

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Summary

A House subcommittee voted 9–1 to report a substitute for House Bill 15-02, which directs the Department of Environmental Quality to study pollution from commercial standby generators, including those at data centers, and describe pollutants and quantities over a one-year study period.

A House subcommittee on Thursday voted to report, as substituted, House Bill 15-02, a measure directing the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a one-year study of standby generators used by commercial facilities, including data centers, and to identify pollutant types and estimate emissions.

"House Bill 15 o 2 directs the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a 1 year study of all standby generators used by commercial facilities in the Commonwealth, including data centers, and explore ways to address the pollution from such generators," Delegate Dahlia Guzman said in presenting the substitute. Guzman told the panel the study will analyze pollutants and amounts emitted by those generators.

Environmental and conservation groups urged passage. "Data center diesel generators is a big issue. There are more than 10,000 individual generators currently permitted by DEQ around the state," Kyle Hart of the National Parks Conservation Association told the subcommittee, urging the panel to "get our arms around this issue." Jay Ford of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said generator emissions also affect waterways and supported the bill.

DEQ leadership said the agency is already working on similar issues and could absorb the work within its current workload. "We are already working on similar things so we can absorb with the current workload," a DEQ director told the committee. Committee members asked about fiscal impacts; supporters said the study timeline gives DEQ one year to complete the work.

The panel moved and recorded a vote to report the bill with the substitute; the motion passed 9–1. The action sends the substituted bill out of subcommittee for further consideration.

The substitute directs DEQ to identify commercial facilities that use standby generators, specify pollutant types and analyze emission amounts, and to explore ways to address pollution from those sources. Next procedural steps will depend on scheduling in the full committee and any further amendments.