Ohio EPA could allow data centers to send wastewater into state lakes

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is considering a permit that would allow new data centers to discharge water used to cool servers directly into Ohio waterways, prompting Ohioans to protest the potential decision that would allow the centers to access central sewerage systems.

On Dec. 17, the Ohio EPA held a public hearing on the permit at its downtown Columbus office. People who attended the hearing protested the proposal, especially highlighting that the people who wrote the draft of the permit think that lowering water quality “is necessary to accommodate important social and economic development in the state of Ohio,” according to the Columbus Dispatch.

“If you’re really concerned about our safety, safety comes first – not economic values that the data centers are going to promise us,” Barry Blankenship, who has opposed a data center in Trenton, Butler County, said. “Because I can tell you, our lives are more important than a data center.”

The Ohio EPA said that if the proposal is approved, the permit would be in effect for five years and would not apply to most data centers in the state. According to the agency, the permit would apply only to data centers that can’t connect to a sewerage system capable of treating the cooling wastewater.

Additionally, any data center that uses the permit would be required by the Ohio EPA to comply with all state water quality standards for discharging water into Ohio lakes, rivers, and streams. According to the agency’s officials, one requirement is to cool the released water or remove any added chemicals.

State and local economic development officials told the Columbus Dispatch that the reason why Ohio lawmakers allowed companies, like Amazon, to build their data centers in the state was to bring more money to Ohio, raise the state’s profile on a national level, bring high-paying technology jobs, and provide long-term work for people in the trades.

Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy at the trade association Data Center Coalition, said that, on the other hand, companies wanted to build their data centers in central Ohio because the state offered various tax incentives and available land with access to water and electricity. There were also fiber line access, affordable energy, and a skilled construction and trades workforce.

Ohio.News previously wrote about Amazon-operated data centers in Morrow County, Oregon, being potentially linked to rare cancers and miscarriages.