Committee orders state engineer study of consumptive water use; extends timeline after agency request

A legislative committee on Monday approved House Bill 90 directing the State Engineer to study consumptive water uses that permanently remove water from the cycle, citing concerns about emerging industries such as data centers, carbon capture and hydrogen production.

Representative Stro, sponsor of the bill, said the measure is intended to establish a baseline for how new industrial water uses could affect Wyoming’s limited water supplies. “We need to check in to see how all these industries are going to be using our water,” he said.

State Engineer Brandon Gilbert told the committee the study would be valuable but that the schedule in the draft is aggressive given procurement and research needs. He recommended extending the completion and appropriation reversion dates (proposing completion in 2028 and appropriation reversion in 2029) to accommodate an appropriate procurement process and a roughly one‑year study timeline. Gilbert also suggested presenting a draft scope to the committee before contracting so the legislature and the agency align on study objectives.

Public commenters urged a broader scope and more funding. Donna Bols of Powder River Basin Resource Council said the bill’s current appropriation may be insufficient for a comprehensive study and recommended mapping existing and proposed large‑scale industrial water users, modeling streamflow and aquifer impacts and including closed‑loop cooled data centers in the analysis.

After debate and adoption of the State Engineer’s date amendments, the committee voted 8‑1 to report HB90 do‑pass with amendments. Members directed the State Engineer to return to the committee with a proposed scope before contracting for the work.