'It Ain't Right:' Texas Said It Would Halt Data Center Permits. The State is Pushing Ahead Anyway

Data center construction permits continue to be issued in Texas despite a stated pause, allowing projects to advance.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott's directive to halt data center permits, issued on September 21, appears not to have stopped the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) from continuing to process and approve permits for such projects. Nonprofits Public Citizen and FracTracker Alliance, along with local activists, analyzed the TCEQ's public database and found evidence of the agency reviewing documents and assigning engineers to over a dozen data center-related permits after Abbott's call for a pause. While Abbott's office denies approving new permits, documentation indicates TCEQ issued air-emission limit certificates, approved stormwater coverage for data centers in multiple locations, and expedited reviews for gas power plants intended to support these facilities. Some of these applications, including those for gas plants and generators, were filed and reviewed in October, after the governor's directive. Activists claim this indicates "business as usual" for data centers, undermining promises of a freeze and leading to distrust in state regulatory processes.

The findings suggest a disconnect between executive directives and agency action in Texas regarding data center development, potentially driven by ongoing industry influence and regulatory loopholes. The continued processing of permits, particularly expedited reviews for essential power infrastructure, indicates that the physical construction of data centers and their support systems is largely unaffected by the governor's stated pause. This regulatory ambiguity may allow data center operators to proceed with development plans, potentially bypassing the intended environmental and resource review.

This situation highlights the challenges of implementing broad regulatory halts in complex industrial sectors, especially when multiple permits are required and some may fall outside the direct scope of an executive order or be covered by generic, pre-existing permits. The findings raise questions about the effectiveness of "governing by press release" and the potential for industries to continue operations under the guise of procedural continuity, while impacting local communities and environmental oversight.