404 Media reported on 19 October that Texas’s environmental agency had continued processing data centre permits after Governor Greg Abbott’s 21 September directive to halt them pending a grid audit. The nonprofits Public Citizen and FracTracker Alliance examined the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s public database and found that the agency had reviewed documents and assigned engineers to more than a dozen applications. Public Citizen identified more than 15 permits, while FracTracker found 35.
Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, told 404 Media that no permits had been approved and that the agency had taken no proactive steps towards approving data centre permits. The nonprofits found stormwater construction projects marked “approved” in the agency’s system. FracTracker’s Sam Law said developers obtain that coverage by filing a notice of intent under an existing general permit. He identified Caldwell Technology Park and the Stargate facility among projects that had received such approvals.
Of 14 applications for gas plants and generators examined by 404 Media, 12 were filed in October and eight received expedited review. The agency’s records also showed a water quality permit for an Abilene data centre issued on 23 September.
