Sec. 2. Findings
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/bill/119/hr/7858/ih/section-2·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Data centers are a significant and growing source of energy consumption in the United States, accounting for approximately 4.4 percent of total United States electricity use in 2023, with projections estimating growth to between 6.7 percent and 12 percent as demand for computing power and artificial intelligence increases. The energy usage of data centers has tripled over the last decade and is projected to double or triple again by 2028. Water-cooling infrastructure for data centers consumed approximately 17 billion gallons of water in 2023, a figure projected to increase substantially by 2028, while an estimated 211 billion additional gallons of water were used to generate the electricity consumed by data centers.
Communities of color, low-income communities, Indian Tribes, and other vulnerable populations, such as persons with disabilities, children, and the elderly, are disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards that include exposure to polluted air, waterways, and landscapes. Communities subject to environmental injustice have been subjected to systemic racial, social, and economic injustices and face a disproportionate burden of adverse human health impacts, a higher risk of intentional, unconscious, and structural discrimination, and disproportionate energy burdens.
The siting and operation of data centers have raised environmental and public health concerns for nearby communities, including in Memphis, Tennessee, where a large-scale facility was built near a predominantly Black neighborhood already burdened by existing pollution issues. The Federal Government has a responsibility to protect public health and community safety pursuant to the Clean Air Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act), including through the evaluation of emerging sources of environmental and energy-related impacts.