West Virginia Legislature Denies Water Quantity Amendment to Data Center Rule
During last year’s Legislative Session, the West Virginia Legislature passed House Bill 2014 which laid the framework for data centers to be developed across the state. Initially, this bill seemed like a routine economic development initiative of the Morrisey administration. However, its true impact has become more clear.
The bill established that data centers could be sited without being subject to local control, requiring a majority of the taxes to be sent to the state rather than kept in the county, and included no safeguards for water use.
Facing bipartisan opposition, the bill passed on the last day of the 2025 session, sparking conversations about the need to revisit the legislation during the 2026 session to address consistent concerns around local control, the tax structure and water use.
The bill tasked the Department of Commerce with creating rules for how the agency would certify high-impact data centers and microgrids and what information should be considered as part of the application process. Water concerns dominated the hundreds of public comments submitted against the proposed rules.
The legislative rulemaking committee met on Jan. 28 to unveil a new rule to the legislature. Proposed changes clarify that any high-impact data center or energy microgrid must comply with state and federal environmental laws, grant the Secretary of Commerce explicit authority to request information and coordinate with other agencies before certification and establish a process for addressing any potential “inordinate burden” posed by such projects. But among those changes, one crucial piece was still missing: water use.
The rule was taken up as HB 4983 and was introduced on Jan. 30, and recently ran in the House Energy Committee on Feb. 10. In committee, an amendment was proposed that would direct high-impact data centers to provide an assessment of water quantity impacts, including impacts to current or future uses. The amendment was debated at length and was ultimately defeated 12-8 with the Department of Commerce opposing the language. Six Republicans joined the two Democrats on the committee in voting for the amendment, with five delegates absent.
The denial to respond to the issue of water use comes at a particularly concerning time as communities are facing unique water challenges in every corner of the state. From water quality in the southern coalfields to water quantity in the growing Eastern Panhandle, citizens continue to plead with the state to enact protections around water use.
Not only is the Eastern Panhandle facing residential and economic growth, we are also located in a drought prone region of the state, reinforcing the need for industries that locate and operate in our region to be accountable to their water use and impact on existing users. Farmers and landowners are already experiencing wells and creeks running dry from droughts over recent years. Currently, we’re still categorized as D2, which is an area experiencing severe drought.
As a lifelong resident of Jefferson County, I have seen firsthand how rapidly our region has changed over the last decade. I believe it is crucial that we focus on responsible growth and closely look at how to strike a balance between growth and protecting not just our resources, but our rural landscape as well, especially as new industries move into our state.
We need common sense safeguards to manage data center development so that they won’t be the next chapter in our long history of natural resource exploitation that benefits outside investors more than local communities.
This article was originally published as an Op-Ed in the Spirit of Jefferson, Feb. 13, 2026.
