The requirements apply to AI-optimized data centers with at least 100 MW of capacity that are constructed, expanded, or permitted on or after August 28, 2027. They also apply to existing centers that increase capacity by at least 25% after that date and reach at least 100 MW.

Covered centers must use closed-loop water cooling or an alternative system with equal or lower water-withdrawal and discharge intensity per megawatt-hour of compute load.

Covered centers must continuously monitor make-up water, discharge temperature, and chemical concentrations, and maintain emergency and redundancy protocols to prevent thermal pollution or water contamination.

The Department must establish maximum permissible water-use intensity and require compliance testing and certification before operation, with annual verification.

Operators must submit an environmental and health report to the Department of Natural Resources by April 1 each year for the preceding calendar year, covering specified water, energy, emissions, waste, chemical-use, local environmental quality, health complaints, community impacts, and compliance information.

The Department must publish reports within 60 days, prepare a statewide annual summary of cumulative impacts, and schedule a hearing or provide an opportunity for public comment if significant environmental or health risks are identified.

Failure to install a required cooling system or submit an annual report can result in civil penalties of up to $50,000 per day.

After a hearing before the Administrative Hearing Commission, the Department may suspend or revoke operational permits for repeated or willful noncompliance.

Existing data centers are not subject to the requirements unless, beginning August 28, 2027, they increase capacity by at least 25% and reach 100 megawatts or more (existing data center undergoing a capacity increase of twenty-five percent or more).

A covered data center may use a cooling system other than a closed-loop system if the Department verifies that the alternative achieves equal or lower water-withdrawal and discharge intensity per megawatt-hour of compute load (an alternative system verified by the department).

Municipally owned electric utilities and electric cooperatives must establish special tariffs for customers projected to have an annual peak demand of 50 MW or more, with rates reflecting the customer’s representative share of service costs.

Electric providers must make load-shedding plans with large-load customers to protect or restore system operations, prioritizing critical facilities and residences. A large-load customer is one with demand of at least 100 MW for a provider serving more than 250,000 customers, or more than 50 MW but less than 100 MW for a provider serving 250,000 customers or fewer.

Municipally owned utilities and public water supply districts must establish special water-service tariffs for customers projected to use more than 2 million gallons per day or more than 80% of the system’s available daily capacity; rates must reflect the customer’s representative share of service costs.

Water corporations must enter into a Public Service Commission-approved contract with customers projected to use more than 2 million gallons per day or more than 80% of the system’s available capacity. The contract must address the customer’s share of service costs.

A person generally must obtain a major industrial water-user permit to withdraw and use more than 2 million gallons of water per day on average in a single month. The requirement does not apply to public water systems or water used for agriculture.

A major industrial water-user permit may be approved only if the requested water is available and feasible to withdraw, does not exceed 80% of the water resource’s capacity, and will not interfere with existing or projected in-state beneficial uses.

Permit applications are subject to review deadlines and public input: the director must determine compliance within 120 days after receiving a complete application, allow 30 days for public comment, and approve or deny the application within 60 days after the comment period. The department must notify the relevant county commission within 30 business days after receiving an application or renewal.

Major industrial water-user permits last five years, require annual public reporting of water-use volumes and withdrawal rates, and must be renewed through an application filed at least 271 days before expiration.

The department may reevaluate a permit at another major water user’s request and, subject to commission approval, impose conditions if the permit negatively affects that user’s beneficial use. A drought emergency also requires reevaluation; the department may impose additional conditions or revoke a permit to protect beneficial uses.

A data center with a major industrial water-user permit may continue operating under the expired permit while the department reviews a timely renewal, if review is underway before the permit expires. The renewal application must be filed at least 271 days before expiration.

Municipally owned electric utilities and cooperatives must establish a tariff for customers reasonably projected to have an annual peak demand of at least 50 MW. The tariff must reflect the customer’s share of service costs and prevent those costs from being unfairly shifted to other customer classes.

Municipally owned utilities and public water supply districts must establish a tariff for customers reasonably projected to use more than 2 million gallons per day or more than 80% of the system’s available daily capacity. Rates must reflect the customer’s share of costs and prevent unfair cost shifting.

Water corporations must obtain Public Service Commission approval for contracts with customers reasonably projected to use more than 2 million gallons per day or more than 80% of the system’s available capacity. The contract must reasonably reflect the customer’s share of service costs.

Electric providers must establish a load-shedding plan with large-load customers: those with peak demand of at least 100 MW at providers with more than 250,000 customers, or more than 50 MW but less than 100 MW at providers with 250,000 or fewer customers. Plans must prioritize continued service to critical facilities and residential customers.

A major industrial water-user permit is required to withdraw and use an average of more than 2 million gallons per day in a single month. Public water systems and agricultural water use are exempt. Approval requires findings that water is available, the withdrawal does not exceed 80% of the resource’s capacity, it will not interfere with existing or projected in-state beneficial uses, and the withdrawal is feasible.

Major industrial water-user permit applications undergo a set review process: the director determines compliance within 120 days after receiving a complete application, followed by a 30-day public-comment period and a decision within 60 days after that period. The department must notify the county commission within 30 business days after receiving an application.

A major industrial water-user permit lasts five years. Permit holders must report water-use volumes and withdrawal rates annually, with reports made public online. Renewal applications must be filed at least 271 days before expiration and follow new-permit procedures and timelines; a holder with a timely renewal under review may continue operating under the existing permit until a final decision.

Another major water user may ask the department to reevaluate an existing major industrial water-user permit. The department must provide findings within 120 days and may impose additional conditions if the permit negatively affects the requesting user’s beneficial use of water; the decision is subject to commission approval.

When the governor declares a drought-based state of emergency for all or part of Missouri, the department must reevaluate existing major industrial water-user permits and may impose additional conditions or revoke a permit as needed to protect beneficial uses of water resources.

A data center with a major industrial water-user permit covering withdrawals of at least 2 million gallons per day may continue operating under its existing permit while a timely renewal is under review, even if the permit expires first. The renewal must be filed at least 271 days before expiration and still be under review when the permit expires. Operate under the terms of the expired permit.

For a large-load facility intending to operate in Missouri after August 28, 2026, its owner or operator must file a detailed disclosure with the commission before signing a binding contract with a public utility. The commission may approve, provisionally approve, or deny it based on infrastructure requirements. File a disclosure before signing a binding contract.

The disclosure must show that the facility will have a minimum 20-year contract with an electrical corporation and a five-year termination period with five years’ disconnection notice. A minimum contract term of twenty years.

After disclosure approval, the owner or operator must complete and submit preconstruction and postconstruction studies covering specified operational and resource issues. Results must be made public before and after construction and reported annually thereafter; the owner or operator must pay for mitigation if the postconstruction study identifies deficiencies or disparities. Conduct a preconstruction study.

After disclosure approval, the owner or operator must maintain a deposit equal to 24 months of minimum electric payments and provide collateral equal to five years of minimum monthly bills. The facility must pay for capacity even if consumption falls below 90% of capacity, as well as specified transmission, infrastructure, power-quality, and water-quality costs; certain upgrade and mitigation costs cannot be shifted to other ratepayer classes in a general rate proceeding. Deposit and maintain.

The owner or operator must pay the facility’s interconnection and study costs, which cannot be shifted to ratepayers in a general rate proceeding. Pay for the facility’s interconnection and study costs.

Once operational, a facility must make an annual contribution to a qualifying low-income energy-assistance organization or plan: $250,000 for consumption up to 25 MW, $500,000 for consumption between 25 and 50 MW, or $1 million for consumption above 50 MW. Shall contribute to a statewide organization.

A facility with peak electrical demand greater than 25 MW must implement an emergency curtailment system allowing its electrical corporation to temporarily reduce or suspend service during firm-load emergencies. The facility may use self-supported backup generation; facilities serving critical services, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, or first-responder facilities, are exempt. Peak electrical demand of greater than twenty-five megawatts.

Facilities may not receive a refund relating to a capacity adjustment; the refund is to be processed through a fuel adjustment clause. Shall not get a refund.

Electrical corporations must develop tariff schedules for customers reasonably projected to have annual peak demand of 50 MW or more, so those customers reflect their representative service costs and do not impose unjust or unreasonable costs on other customer classes. The requirement applies to utilities with more than 250,000 customers and, separately, to utilities with 250,000 or fewer customers as of January 1, 2025. Annual peak demand of fifty megawatts or more.

During a firm-load emergency, a facility with peak demand above 25 megawatts may use self-supported backup generation while curtailing its electricity use.

Facilities serving hospitals, long-term care facilities, or first-responder facilities are exempt from the emergency-curtailment requirement.

The commission may provisionally approve a facility’s disclosure and specify metrics needed for full approval, allowing the review process to proceed before full approval.

Beginning August 28, 2026, hyperscale data centers are prohibited in comprehensive-plan agricultural, conservation, environmental-stewardship, mixed-use, and residential categories; in agricultural zoning districts in unincorporated areas; on land classified as agricultural; within 10 miles of agricultural, recreational, or conservation land use; in state waters; or within 5 miles of state waters. Plan-category and zoning restrictions and other location restrictions.

A hyperscale data center must maintain a setback of at least 500 feet using plants native to Missouri, unless the political subdivision requires a stricter setback. The barrier may include an ornamental barrier as tall as the center’s tallest point when construction is completed. Setback requirement.

Before construction and operation, the local governing body must hold a public hearing and approve the project. The hearing must be advertised in local newspapers and allow public comment; at least 30 days beforehand, certified-mail notice must go to each property owner within 10 miles, and a copy of the published notice must be posted on the project property. Local hearing and notice requirements.

After local approval, the political subdivision must request approval from the state Hyperscale Data Center Siting Board. The board must hold a hearing no later than 30 days after notice is published in the Missouri Register and legislators are notified. If the board denies the request, the center cannot be built and the denial cannot be appealed. State board approval requirements.

Construction projects must conform to specified federal noise-abatement standards. The department must require noise-control methods for projects adjacent to or along a highway, or when requested by an adjacent property owner or political subdivision; requirements include noise abatement, information for local officials, and construction noise. Noise-control requirements.

A governmental entity may not enter into an economic-incentive agreement or contract to support a hyperscale data center’s siting, construction, powering, or operation. Before providing an economic incentive, it must obtain an applicant or recipient affidavit, signed under penalty of perjury, stating that the entity is not a hyperscale data center. Economic-incentive restriction.

A person withdrawing more than 2.4 million gallons of water per day on average in a single month must obtain a major industrial water-user permit, except for water used for agricultural purposes. Approval requires findings that the water is available and feasible to withdraw, the withdrawal does not exceed 80% of the water resource’s capacity, and it will not interfere with existing or projected in-state beneficial uses. The process includes county notice, a 120-day determination period after a complete application, a 30-day public-comment period, and a decision within 60 days after that period. Permits last five years, require annual public reporting, and renewal applications must be filed at least 271 days before expiration. Water-use threshold and permit requirements.

A data center seeking to withdraw an average of at least 2.4 million gallons of water per day in a month may apply for a major industrial water user permit. The director must decide on a complete application within the bill’s review and comment-period timelines and may approve it in whole or in part, but approval is limited to applications meeting the bill’s water-availability, capacity, beneficial-use, and feasibility criteria.

A permit holder that applies to renew on time may continue operating under its expired permit while the renewal is under review, until the director makes a final decision.