After a report earlier this week indicated continued data center permitting, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has taken steps to address accusations of noncompliance with Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to pause those permits.
The report from Sam Law of FracTracker Alliance, in conjunction with Public Citizen, tracked four different development process checkpoints and found that data centers across 23 Texas counties have passed through those checkpoints since Abbott’s moratorium was initiated in late September.
Abbott issued a letter on September 21 “directing [TCEQ] to halt all permits sought by data centers.” Abbott reiterated in the letter that TCEQ was to “pause the issuance of all permits related to data center projects until ERCOT completes its review.”
In August, Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and ERCOT to “conduct a comprehensive verification and audit of all data centers advancing through ERCOT’s interconnection process” before any data center project could move forward.
TCEQ responded to the letter on the same day the FracTracker report was released, stating that the agency “paused the issuance of all permits related to the construction or development of infrastructure directly supporting data centers,” and that “if a permit application is subject to the directive, TCEQ has paused that permit application in accordance with [Abbott’s] directive.”
“In addition, TCEQ is screening claimed authorizations that do not require the agency to affirmatively issue a permit and, where possible, is suspending such authorizations for data center activities,” TCEQ’s Steven Schar added in the letter to Abbott.
Law’s report notes that, when asked for clarification on October 14, TCEQ told FracTracker that the agency “has paused the issuance of all air and water permits and authorizations related to the construction or development of infrastructure directly supporting data centers while ERCOT completes its comprehensive grid and community impact audit.”
“Companies can submit applications, but their applications will not advance through the review process,” TCEQ added, according to Law.
Despite the directives from Abbott and the comments from TCEQ, the FracTracker report found that TCEQ “continued moving data center projects forward: mailing public notices for major-source air permit applications, advancing applications through review, issuing air emission-limit certifications, and approving construction stormwater coverage.”
“Since September 21, TCEQ has continued reviewing applications and issuing approvals that allow data center development to proceed,” Law noted in the report.
The timing of some of these continued steps is notable.
Three preliminary-decision notices were mailed out by TCEQ on September 22, the day after Abbott sent his letter. These notices allow the public time to comment on the projects and make their opinions known.
“Given the Governor’s order, people could reasonably have assumed that permitting had stopped while deadlines were actually continuing. That could mean people miss their opportunity to comment or request a public meeting or contested case hearing,” Law noted.
“Data-center developments moving through permitting despite the Governor’s order show why Texas needs a statewide moratorium,” Law wrote, adding that “TCEQ needs to comply with its stated pause on reviewing applications and issuing authorizations for data centers and the infrastructure supporting them.”
In response to the report, Abbott’s Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris told Inside Climate News (ICN) that “no permits have been approved.”
“In line with the Governor’s directive, TCEQ has not taken and will not take any proactive actions related to the approval of data center permits,” Mahaleris added. ICN interprets Mahaleris’ comments to mean “that the pause applied to approval, not processing, of permits.”
In a statement to Texas Scorecard, Mahaleris reiterated Abbott’s compliance standards for data centers, adding that “TCEQ will issue no data center permits until ERCOT completes its review.”
“No other state agency will approve data centers until the Public Utility Commission, ERCOT, and the Water Development Board have the information they need to make informed decisions,” Mahaleris stated.
TCEQ Media Relations Specialist Victoria Cann told Texas Scorecard that, “per Governor Abbott’s September 21 directive to TCEQ that the agency should halt all permits and provide an update to his office by Oct. 19th, the Commission has not issued any permits related to data centers and is complying with Governor Abbott’s directive.”
After multiple media outlets picked up the report this week, Public Citizen alleged Thursday that 17 permits labeled as “approved” or “active” by TCEQ, with start dates after September 21, were subsequently suspended by the agency.
Additionally, TCEQ has since closed its online permit application database, STEERS, which was still labeled as “temporarily shut down” at the time of publishing.
“Critics argue that without new legislation signed into law, Abbott’s attempt to address the [data center] issue through press releases and letters to state agencies will not be enough to protect people from the resource-intensive industry,” Public Citizen stated.
“TCEQ’s actions after Sept. 21 and its sudden backtracking this week further show that state leaders like Abbott need to act with urgency.”
Several issues related to data centers are expected to be taken up by lawmakers in the next legislative session, scheduled to begin on January 12, 2027.
