Overview
- Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to halt all data-center permits in a Sept. 21 letter to the agency.
- FracTracker Alliance and Public Citizen reviewed TCEQ public records and reported that the agency processed or advanced dozens of permit actions for data-center projects after that Sept. 21 directive.
- TCEQ and the governor’s office say no permits have been formally issued for data centers and that agency staff are screening applications and pausing issuance for permits covered by the order.
- The records watchdogs flagged include stormwater notices that allow land clearing and grading, public notices for large power-plant air permits (one seeking up to 23 million tons of CO2), and assignments of engineers and expedited reviews that critics say let work move forward.
- The dispute has sharpened scrutiny of data-center siting as hundreds more facilities are planned in Texas and leaves regulators’ ongoing water and grid audits as the key determinants of whether permitting will truly stop.