SALEM, Ohio — The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency scrapped a proposed statewide general permit on July 21 that would’ve allowed data centers to discharge wastewater into local waterways.
The agency dismissed the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System general permit “after carefully reviewing the significant volume of public comments received on the draft” — over 7,000.
The general permit would’ve approved all data centers with similar operations and types of discharge without requiring chemical measurements from the water prior to discharge and with limited public participation. The general permit also has a reduced processing and quicker review time, according to the Ohio EPA.
Under an individual permit, these projects undergo a public participation process for each discharge application — under a general permit, this would’ve occurred once when the original general permit rule was adopted.
What is discharge and where does it go?
Data centers in Ohio currently discharge to wastewater treatment plants.
“After cooling, about 80% of this water evaporates, and the remainder is discharged to wastewater treatment,” according to an Ohio Chamber of Commerce report released in June.
There are two methods to cool data center servers: air cooling and water cooling. Discharge from water cooling methods can contain hazardous chemicals needed to cool the servers — including chemicals linked to PFAS.
Known as forever chemicals, PFAS are said to exist “forever” as they contain toxic chemicals that break down slowly, remaining indefinitely in the environment and accumulating in the human body, leading to negative health impacts.
If approved, this data center discharge would have polluted local waterways with these chemicals and led to thermal pollution, increasing harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie and the Ohio River, according to Helena Volzer, senior source water policy manager at the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
“It’s heated wastewater, it’s warm, and (when) it comes out, it creates that environment that harmful blooms like to grow in. So that’s their risk with increased thermal pollution,” Volzer told Farm and Dairy.
“Why continue to increase the potential risk for harmful algal blooms, especially given that Ohio has spent millions of dollars on the H2Ohio program to implement farmer best practices to help prevent harmful algal blooms?” she said.
The state has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the H2Ohio program since its inception in 2019, including $165 million in the recent 2026-2027 budget. The program aims to address legacy water quality issues.
Comments
The Ohio Farm Bureau applauded the EPA’s dismissal of the general permit; the organization submitted public comments on the draft proposal, which included concerns “that a general permit would undermine years of progress made by Ohio farmers and conservation partners to improve water quality,” said OFB in a statement.
“This is the right decision for our state, and we appreciate Ohio EPA’s willingness to listen to our members’ concerns and maintain their current permitting approach,” said Jack Irvin, vice president of public policy for Ohio Farm Bureau.
Several Ohio lawmakers have also supported the dismissal, including Ohio Sen. Kent Smith (D-Euclid).
“In a time when data centers are straining the electric grid and increasing ratepayers’ bills, the last thing that Ohioans need is for multi-billion dollar corporations to also pollute their water,” Smith said in a statement.
While Volzer is pleased with the result, she says there is more work to be done, including adopting more transparency standards for data centers on their water and electricity usage.
She adds that an individual data center permit could still directly discharge into a waterway, but for now, the general permit dismissal is a big win.
“This is a signal that Ohioans really care about their water quality, they want to see this done right, and they want public participation in the process,” Volzer said. “It shows how individual voices, when people speak up and provide their feedback, can make a difference.”
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)
