Data Center Transparency Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6984 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6984

 To require reports on the effects of data centers on air quality and
     water quality, and on electricity consumption by data centers.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 8, 2026

Mr. Menendez (for himself and Mr. Casar) introduced the following bill;
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To require reports on the effects of data centers on air quality and
     water quality, and on electricity consumption by data centers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Data Center Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. REPORTS ON THE EFFECTS OF DATA CENTERS ON AIR QUALITY AND WATER
              QUALITY; REPORTS ON ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION BY DATA
              CENTERS.

    (a) Reports on the Effects of Data Centers on Air Quality and Water
Quality.--Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this
section, and not less frequently than once every 3 months thereafter,
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall submit
to Congress, and make publicly available on a website, a report that
identifies, with respect to the period of 3 months preceding the
submission and publication of the report--
            (1) the total amount of water consumed by data centers
        located in the United States;
            (2) how such data centers reuse water, and the amount of
        such reused water;
            (3) how such data centers affect local water systems,
        including with respect to--
                    (A) the availability of potable water;
                    (B) whether the data center increased demand on
                local water utilities;
                    (C) any potential data on service disruptions for
                other customers of local water utilities;
                    (D) any changes in residential rates for water
                services; and
                    (E) the type and amount of pollutants (as such term
                is defined in section 502(6) of the Federal Water
                Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362(6))) discharged
                into water by data centers;
            (4) the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted from such
        data centers; and
            (5) the effect of such greenhouse gas emissions, including
        the cumulative effect on overburdened communities.
    (b) Reports on Electricity Consumption by Data Centers.--
            (1) Collection of data.--The Administrator of the Energy
        Information Administration shall collect data on the total
        amount of energy consumed every 6 months by each data center
        located in the United States.
            (2) Reports.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
        enactment of this section, and not less frequently than once
        every 6 months thereafter, the Administrator of the Energy
        Information Administration shall submit to Congress, and make
        publicly available on a website, a report that identifies, with
        respect to the period of 6 months preceding the submission and
        publication of the report--
                    (A) the total amount of energy consumption by data
                centers, disaggregated by State;
                    (B) how such energy consumption may have changed
                during such period of 6 months;
                    (C) the number of data centers that began operating
                during such period of 6 months;
                    (D) how household energy bills may have changed
                during such period of 6 months; and
                    (E) the average household energy use and cost.
    (c) Data Center Defined.--In this section, the term ``data center''
has the meaning given such term in section 453(a) of the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17112(a)).
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