A proposed bill that would require AI data centers to disclose their water use will now also require that information to be public.
Under House Bill 79, sponsored by Republican Rep. Jill Koford, data centers would need to report the amount of diverted, discharged, and reused water at their facilities to the Utah State Engineer.
Originally, the bill made that data a protected record, giving Utahns little access to it, but after committee discussion it was amended to be public record in the interest of transparency.
It will now also require any facility 10,000 square feet or more to report their water use.
Despite the changes, conservation group Utah Rivers Council still opposed the bill for “incentivizing data centers to come to our state in this time of water crisis.”
The bill was passed out of committee unanimously on Thursday and will now go to the full House of Representatives for further debate.
