Negotiate The Future

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10487

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 15, 2026
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation

        AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
          requiring  large-capacity data-center facilities to implement advanced
          water recycling, reuse, closed-loop cooling and  reporting  standards;
          to  provide  incentives  and  technical  assistance;  and to establish
          enforcement mechanisms;  and  to  amend  the  state  finance  law,  in
          relation to establishing the data center water stewardship fund

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "data center water stewardship and reuse act".
     3    §  2.  Legislative  findings and intent. In accordance with the policy
     4  declared in section 1-0101 of the environmental  conservation  law  that
     5  "the  quality of our environment is fundamental... to prevent, abate and
     6  control water, land and air pollution..." -- the legislature finds that:
     7    1. Large-scale computing and data-center facilities are becoming major
     8  users of water-resources for cooling and process use.
     9    2. Reducing reliance  on  potable  public  water  supply  systems  and
    10  increasing  use  of  recycled  or reclaimed water is consistent with the
    11  state's environmental policy and the  functions  of  the  department  of
    12  environmental  conservation  ("DEC") to promote reuse and water-resource
    13  protection.
    14    3. It is therefore the intent of this  act  to  integrate  data-center
    15  water-use  management into the state's environmental conservation frame-
    16  work, ensuring sustainability, watershed protection,  and  technological
    17  innovation.
    18    §  3.  Article  15 of the environmental conservation law is amended by
    19  adding a new title 35 to read as follows:
    20                                  TITLE 35
    21            DATA CENTER WATER STEWARDSHIP AND REUSE REQUIREMENTS
    22  Section 35-0101. Definitions.
    23          35-0103. Applicability and phasing.
    24          35-0105. Water-reuse and conservation standards.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14016-01-5

        S. 10487                            2

     1          35-0107. Permitting, review and certification.
     2          35-0109. Reporting, transparency and public disclosure.
     3          35-0111. Incentives and technical assistance.
     4          35-0113. Enforcement, penalties and remedies.
     5          35-0115. Exemptions, variances and hardship relief.
     6          35-0117. Technical standards and regulatory updates.
     7  § 35-0101. Definitions.
     8    As  used  in  this title, the following terms shall have the following
     9  meanings:
    10    1. "Data-center facility" means a building or group of  buildings,  or
    11  campus,  primarily  used  to  house  computer  servers, storage systems,
    12  network equipment, power distribution and cooling infrastructure,  oper-
    13  ating  continuously or near-continuously for cloud computing, artificial
    14  intelligence processing, large-scale computing  services,  or  analogous
    15  operations.
    16    2.  "Large-capacity  computing  facility (LCCF)" means any data-center
    17  facility that either:
    18    (a) has an aggregate electrical demand of ten megawatts or more; or
    19    (b) utilizes more than five million gallons of potable water  annually
    20  for cooling, humidification or other facility-related uses; or
    21    (c) is part of a campus comprised of multiple facilities each of which
    22  meets paragraphs (a) or (b) of this subdivision.
    23    3."Potable  water  source"  means  water withdrawn from a public water
    24  supply system or private water system treated to  drinking-water  stand-
    25  ards.
    26    4.  "Non-potable recycled water" means water treated for reuse on-site
    27  or via off-site reclaimed water system, not  treated  to  drinking-water
    28  standards but suitable for cooling, humidification, landscaping, process
    29  use or other facility uses as approved by the commissioner.
    30    5. "Closed-loop cooling system" means a system in which the same water
    31  or  other coolant is recirculated, with only make-up and blow-down loss-
    32  es, and minimal fresh water intake.
    33    6. "Baseline water intake" means the facility's annual  potable  water
    34  intake  in  gallons  in  the year immediately prior to enactment of this
    35  title or,  for  new  facilities,  the  projected  potable  water  intake
    36  approved under permit.
    37  § 35-0103. Applicability and phasing.
    38    1.  This  title  applies to any LCCF located within the state, whether
    39  new construction, major expansion defined as increase in capacity great-
    40  er than thirty percent of electrical demand or water  use,  or  existing
    41  facility.
    42    2.  For  new  construction  or  major  expansion with site-preparation
    43  commencement after January first,  two  thousand  twenty-eight:  permits
    44  shall  require  incorporation  of  non-potable  recycled  water systems,
    45  closed-loop cooling and potable water intake offset measures  consistent
    46  with section 35-0105 of this title.
    47    3.  For  existing LCCFs in operation as of January first, two thousand
    48  twenty-eight:
    49    (a) By January first, two thousand  thirty-one:  each  facility  shall
    50  have reduced potable water intake by at least fifty percent of its base-
    51  line.
    52    (b)  By  January  first,  two thousand thirty-five: each facility must
    53  have reduced potable water intake by at least  seventy-five  percent  of
    54  its  baseline,  unless  such facility is exempt under section 35-0115 of
    55  this title.

        S. 10487                            3

     1    4. The commissioner may adopt regulations to phase in  compliance  for
     2  smaller capacity facilities or establish tiered compliance schedules.
     3  § 35-0105. Water-reuse and conservation standards.
     4    1.  New  or expanded LCCFs shall ensure that at least sixty percent of
     5  process/cooling water intake, excluding domestic potable use, is derived
     6  from non-potable recycled water or other approved non-potable sources at
     7  initial build.
     8    2. Existing LCCFs shall meet by January first, two thousand thirty-one
     9  a minimum of forty percent  recycled/non-potable  water  intake  and  by
    10  January  first,  two  thousand  thirty-five  a  minimum of sixty percent
    11  recycled/non-potable water intake.
    12    3. Facilities shall design closed-loop or hybrid  cooling  systems  in
    13  which  make-up water intake is less than five percent annually of system
    14  flow, and avoid discharge of warm water or increased  thermal  loads  to
    15  surface  waters  unless  approved under best available technology stand-
    16  ards.
    17    4. Facilities shall calculate and publicly report a  water-use  effec-
    18  tiveness  (WUE) metric, gallons of potable water per kilowatt-hour of IT
    19  load, and benchmark against peer facilities.
    20    5. Facilities located in watersheds designated by  the  department  as
    21  water-stress  or  water-scarce  shall prioritize non-evaporative cooling
    22  technologies, including, but not limited to, air-cooled,  immersion,  or
    23  other  low-water approaches, and use reclaimed water rather than potable
    24  makeup water.
    25    6. Recycled water systems must  comply  with  treatment,  quality  and
    26  reuse standards promulgated by the department and consistent with feder-
    27  al  guidelines  such as the United States Environmental Protection Agen-
    28  cy's industrial water reuse guidance.
    29  § 35-0107. Permitting, review and certification.
    30    1. The commissioner, in consultation with the New  York  state  energy
    31  research  and  development  authority  (NYSERDA)  and the New York state
    32  public service commission (PSC), shall promulgate  any  necessary  rules
    33  and regulations establishing:
    34    (a)  criteria  and  procedures  for  permit review of LCCFs, including
    35  water intake estimates, water-reuse plans,  watershed  impact  analyses,
    36  cooling  system  design,  energy-water trade-off analysis and heat-reuse
    37  potential;
    38    (b) certification protocols for non-potable water treatment and  reuse
    39  systems; and
    40    (c)  procedures for verification of compliance, interim benchmarks and
    41  periodic audits.
    42    2. No local zoning, planning or building permit for an LCCF  shall  be
    43  issued  unless the approving authority receives a certification from the
    44  department that the facility's water reuse/cooling  plan  complies  with
    45  this article and implementing regulations.
    46    3.  For existing facilities, the department shall issue a "data center
    47  water stewardship certificate" once  the  facility  verifies  compliance
    48  with  reduction  and reuse targets under sections 35-0103 and 35-0105 of
    49  this title; certificates shall be renewed every five years.
    50    4. The department may impose conditions  on  permits  or  certificates
    51  including,  but  not limited to, monitoring instrumentation, third-party
    52  verification, adaptive remediation plans and periodic audits.
    53  § 35-0109. Reporting, transparency and public disclosure.
    54    1. Each LCCF shall submit annually to the department a report  includ-
    55  ing, but not limited to:
    56    (a) total potable water withdrawn;

        S. 10487                            4

     1    (b) total non-potable recycled water used;
     2    (c)  total  water  discharged  (volume,  destination,  temperature  or
     3  conductivity, makeup losses);
     4    (d) the facility's water-use effectiveness metric;
     5    (e) description of cooling system, water treatment/reuse system, make-
     6  up strategy, heat reuse, if any;
     7    (f) any variances or exemptions granted; and
     8    (g) summary of community/watershed engagement and mitigation measures.
     9    2. The department shall publish an annual "data center water  steward-
    10  ship  report" summarizing aggregated data and facility-specific results,
    11  subject to confidentiality protection, and make such report available on
    12  the department's website.
    13    3. Each facility shall post on its  website  a  summary  of  its  most
    14  recent  report  and  certificate status and provide a direct link to the
    15  department's public portal.
    16  § 35-0111. Incentives and technical assistance.
    17    1. Subject to appropriation, NYSERDA and the department shall  jointly
    18  establish  a  data  center  water  efficiency  grant and loan program to
    19  provide cost-sharing grants, low-interest loans or tax credits for:
    20    (a) retrofits of existing LCCFs to upgrade  cooling  systems,  install
    21  on-site non-potable water treatment and closed-loop infrastructure; and
    22    (b)  pilot  projects  demonstrating novel low-water cooling, immersion
    23  cooling,  heat-reuse  integration  or  shared  infrastructure  (regional
    24  reclaimed water lines).
    25    2.  The  department may offer expedited permitting or reduced fees for
    26  LCCFs that exceed the statutory minimums.
    27    3. The state supports inclusion of reclaimed/non-potable water infras-
    28  tructure in regional water planning, and may  assist  municipalities  or
    29  utilities partnering with LCCFs to build shared reuse infrastructure.
    30  § 35-0113. Enforcement, penalties and remedies.
    31    1.  If  an  LCCF  fails  to  meet required targets or submits false or
    32  misleading reports, the commissioner may:
    33    (a) issue a notice of violation;
    34    (b) impose civil penalties up to fifty thousand  dollars  per  day  of
    35  non-compliance;
    36    (c) suspend or revoke its water-related permit or certificate; or
    37    (d) require submission and implementation of a corrective action plan,
    38  subject to department approval.
    39    2. The department may remove certificate status and the facility shall
    40  lose eligibility for incentives under section 35-0111 of this title.
    41    3. The state may bring civil action to enjoin non-compliance or compel
    42  implementation of required measures.
    43    4.  All  monetary penalties collected shall be deposited into the data
    44  center water stewardship fund pursuant to  section  eighty-five  of  the
    45  state  finance  law  to  be  used  for technical assistance, water-reuse
    46  research grants and watershed restoration.
    47  § 35-0115. Exemptions, variances and hardship relief.
    48    1. The commissioner may grant a variance or temporary  exemption  from
    49  one or more standard or standards upon written application showing:
    50    (a) technical/geologic/hydrologic constraints prevent full compliance;
    51    (b) the facility has implemented all commercially feasible water reuse
    52  measures  and  additional reduction would cause disproportionate cost or
    53  energy penalty; or
    54    (c) the facility proposes an alternate plan providing equivalent pota-
    55  ble water reduction, including but not limited to, co-located waste-heat
    56  reuse or alternate cooling medium.

        S. 10487                            5

     1    2. Variance approval shall include a time-bound schedule  for  compli-
     2  ance, be publicly posted, and may be subject to conditions.
     3    3.  Facilities  located  in watersheds designated by the department as
     4  critical water-stress zones may be subject  to  stricter  standards  and
     5  less likely to obtain waivers.
     6  § 35-0117. Technical standards and regulatory updates.
     7    1.  The  department  shall  adopt  rules  and regulations establishing
     8  treatment standards, quality specifications and monitoring protocols for
     9  non-potable recycled water used by LCCFs, consistent with federal indus-
    10  trial reuse guidance.
    11    2. The department shall review cooling-  and water-reuse  technologies
    12  at  least  every  three  years,  and  may update regulations or guidance
    13  accordingly, including but not limited to, immersion cooling, direct-to-
    14  chip cooling, and heat recovery systems.
    15    3. The department, in  coordination  with  NYSERDA,  shall  publish  a
    16  "water-smart data center design guidelines" document, including, but not
    17  limited  to,  benchmarking tools, best practice case studies and metrics
    18  for industry use.
    19    § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new  section  85  to
    20  read as follows:
    21    §  85.  Data  center water stewardship fund. 1. There is hereby estab-
    22  lished in the custody of the state comptroller and the  commissioner  of
    23  taxation  and  finance  a  fund  to  be  known as the "data center water
    24  stewardship fund."  The department of environmental  conservation  shall
    25  administer such fund.
    26    2. Such data center water stewardship fund shall consist of all reven-
    27  ue  collected  from  any  civil  penalties  imposed  pursuant to section
    28  35-0113 of the environmental  conservation  law  and  any  other  monies
    29  deposited  into  such fund pursuant to law. Such funds shall be used for
    30  technical assistance, water-reuse research grants and watershed restora-
    31  tion.
    32    3. Moneys of the fund, following  appropriation  by  the  legislature,
    33  shall be used for execution of data center water stewardship pursuant to
    34  title  thirty-five  of article fifteen of the environmental conservation
    35  law, and expended for the purposes as set forth in  such  title  of  the
    36  environmental conservation law.
    37    §  5.  Severability.  If  any provision of this act or the application
    38  thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder  of
    39  the  act  and  the  application  of  its  other  provisions shall not be
    40  affected.
    41    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately. The commissioner of envi-
    42  ronmental conservation shall adopt  the  implementing  rules  and  regu-
    43  lations no later than January 1, 2027. The provisions of subdivision two
    44  of  section  35-0103  of  the environmental conservation law as added by
    45  section three of this act  regarding  new  facilities  for  new/expanded
    46  construction  shall  apply to projects with site preparation on or after
    47  January 1, 2028. The provisions of subdivision three of section  35-0103
    48  and subdivision two of section 35-0105 of the environmental conservation
    49  law  as added by section three of this act regarding existing facilities
    50  shall apply to projects on and after January 1, 2031.