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Committee hears dueling views on bills to require water assessments and reporting for data centers
Summary
Two related bills — AB 24 69 (pre-entitlement water supply assessments) and AB 26 19 (ongoing reporting) — were presented and advanced after testimony from environmental groups and water agencies supporting local planning, and from data center and industry groups opposing burdensome, asymmetric reporting and confidentiality gaps.
Assemblymember Papen presented a pair of bills aimed at giving local governments reliable information about data-center water demand before and after projects are approved.
AB 24 69 would require a water supply assessment for any proposed data center before a local government approves siting or entitlements, restrict approvals in critically overdrafted basins unless sufficiently justified, and make projects pay for necessary infrastructure upgrades triggered by their demand. Proponents including Sean Bothwell of the California Coastkeeper Alliance and local water districts argued the bills address gaps…
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