Shannon Watts worries that AI data centers are a threat to public health.
Jacob Herbold has concerns about noise and pollution.
And Carolyn Reeves doesn't like how much water and electricity could be drained by having a data center nearby.
As Texas aggressively recruits AI data centers in a broader push to attract tech investment, critics warn that regulation has not kept pace with growth — and Texans will suffer the consequences.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is responsible for permitting and enforcing environmental regulations data centers are required to adhere to, including air emissions, wastewater discharge, hazardous material storage and water use.
But advocates say the agency is already stretched thin and emerging technologies like large-scale Al facilities could add to that strain.
"If we want our regulatory agencies like the TCEQ to be in a position to protect us from major environmental impacts of data centers, then we need policy," said Kathryn Guerra, a former TCEQ employee who now works with Public Citizen. "The TCEQ doesn't have near the resources it needs to enforce the permits that it's issuing."
More than 400 data centers have already been established in the Lone Star State, and Guerra said once a data center applies for federal air or water permits, communities have limited ability to stop the project from moving forward.
"We have a weak agency because state lawmakers want it that way," she said. "We can't expect the TCEQ to be a check on the growth of industry or the environmental harm that data centers are bringing to Texas."
A 2024 study examining data center's impacts of public health shows that centers like the ones in Ellis County are already creating hidden health risks from air pollution that industry reports often overlook.
According to the researchers, training a single large Al model produces as much pollution as driving across the country 10,000 times — meaning these facilities could eventually be as harmful to the air as heavy highway traffic.
Ahead of the 2025 Legislative Session, the TCEQ asked the state legislature for $60 million in additional funding in order to efficiently enforce its duties.
“Without additional resources, it will be difficult for TCEQ to meet the increasing demands placed on the agency, including emerging technologies, and maintain state primacy for many of its programs,” the agency wrote to the legislature. “If TCEQ does not have sufficient resources, permit timeframes will lag and TCEQ’s ability to timely respond to the needs of regulated entities and the public will be hindered.”
KERA News reached out to the TCEQ to see if agency leaders believe it can execute its investigative duties at its current funding level.
In its response, the agency said, "TCEQ follows all state and federal regulations including compliance when handling new technologies."
Data centers that support artificial intelligence also require enormous amounts of electricity and water to operate. SMU professor Venky Shankar said the scale of demand is unprecedented.
“You need five or six nuclear power plants to get eight megawatts,” said Shankar. “We're anticipating, if the state is friendly, if a lot of these things go according to plan, you might see as high as 200 megawatts by the end of 2030.”
Shankar said water use could also affect surrounding communities.
"You may need an average of two million gallons of water per one megawatt," he said. "That has implications for the communities because there could be water shortages at peak times of summer."
Most recently, citizens from the City of Granbury have become weary of the city’s decision to annex over 2,000 acres of unincorporated land from Hood County.
The city asserts they have no plan for the annexed land.
“I understand there's been a lot of speculation, but what I can tell the council and the public is that there is absolutely no application for any development received by the city as to that property,” said City Attorney Jeremy SoRelle. “Whether that be 5,000 homes or some sort of commercial industry or, as I've heard, data centers, that will be looked at.”
But during a council meeting Tuesday night, dozens of residents voiced their opposition to the annexation, fearing the land could open the doors for data centers to move in.
"I've yet to meet anybody who wants to live next to a data center because of the reported air, light, noise pollution, as well as the water and energy consumption," said Granbury resident Jacob Herbold. "My question is, ‘Do data centers fit with our identity as a town?’ I say no."
Other residents questioned whether economic development should outweigh potential public health concerns.
"Y'all can pretend that you don't know what it's for and you may not, but I'm not sure I believe that," said pediatrician Shannon Watts. "But I just need to point that out, that I don't think there's any reason that you should sacrifice the health of our community for any amount of money."
Several residents say they fear development could change the character of the city.
"You're pushing the city into our country living where we want to be left alone," said Carolyn Reeves. "We're concerned about noise, we're concerned about air pollution, we are concerned about our water and our electricity."
While the TCEQ can issue fines or require corrective action for permit violations, Guerra said enforcement is often slow, making it difficult to document problems like emissions or nuisance conditions.
"Often, the thing that they're complaining about isn't happening three or four or five days later when the investigator is finally able to go out," she said.
In its 2025 enforcement report, the TCEQ reported that only 6% of claims made were investigated within five days. Most claims were investigated a month after a claim was made.
Guerra believes the TCEQ is nowhere near capable of enforcing the large influx of AI data centers.
"We really can't depend on the TCEQ to be the entity that's checking that growth and ensuring that it's protective of the environment and of communities," she said.
Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela is KERA's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Emmanuel at erivas@kera.org.
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