Beginning January 1, 2027, a person may not operate a data center with a power capacity greater than 20 megawatts without first obtaining a permit from the Water and Wastewater Operator Board of Certification.

Permit applicants must submit extensive information, including the facility location, responsible operators, power capacity, water providers and sources, projected daily, peak, and annual water use, effects on residential and public water supplies, drought and contingency plans, cumulative water-system impacts, conservation and reuse measures, and proof that the facility will not adversely affect residential or public water use. These requirements apply even when water is supplied through a municipal or private utility.

Applicants must notify the board within 30 days of changes to submitted information before permit approval, and owners or operators must continue reporting such changes within 30 days while the permit remains valid.

The board must evaluate a proposed data center's wastewater, blowdown, and other discharges, including their chemical and thermal impacts, compatibility with municipal treatment systems, and effects on downstream water consumers.

The board may deny a permit or impose conditions when discharges are reasonably likely to degrade water quality, interfere with treatment processes, or impose additional treatment or infrastructure burdens without mitigation.

When deciding whether to approve a permit, the board must presume that residential and public access to water takes precedence over industrial and speculative water uses.

The board must hold public hearings and receive testimony from affected members of the public and local governments before approving an application.

For data centers proposing to use Tennessee Valley Authority-managed waters, the board must coordinate with TVA and other relevant agencies to evaluate water availability, residential access, cumulative impacts, and discharge quality.

The board must conduct biennial evaluations of closed-loop or recirculating water systems, including cooling-water reuse, and must require those systems when technologically and economically feasible. Feasibility is presumed unless the applicant demonstrates infeasibility.

Data centers may not shift water-treatment, infrastructure-expansion, or remediation costs onto public utilities or Tennessee ratepayers.

Water utilities serving an operating data center must report the amount of water supplied during each billing period within 30 days after the billing cycle ends, and the Department of Environment and Conservation must publish monthly reports identifying each data center's most recently reported water use.

Owners or operators must notify the board within 30 days after a data center ceases operations; the permit remains valid until the board's executive director receives that notice.

Violations may result in an administrative civil penalty of up to $1,000 per day, capped at $25,000 total, including operating without a permit or failing to timely update required information. The commissioner may also seek injunctive relief to stop continuing violations.

The board must promulgate rules implementing the data-center permitting and oversight requirements under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act.

A permit to operate remains valid until the board's executive director receives notice that the data center has ceased operations; the measure does not specify a routine expiration date. A permit issued under § 68-221-1403 is valid until notice of cessation

A party involved in a board hearing concerning permit revocation or a board order or civil-penalty assessment may appeal the board's final order to the Davidson County Chancery Court. A party to a hearing ... may appeal the final order

Civil penalties for violations are capped at $1,000 per day and $25,000 total, limiting the maximum administrative penalty exposure for a data center. not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day up to a maximum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in total

New data center projects requiring 100 megawatts or more of retail electric power are classified as high energy use facilities and face the measure’s additional requirements.

Before approving a rezoning request, special exception, or special use permit for a new high energy use facility, the locality must require the applicant to submit a site assessment analyzing the facility’s sound profile in residential areas and schools within 500 feet of the property.

A locality may require the applicant’s site assessment to examine impacts on water, agricultural resources, parks, registered historic sites, and forestland on the facility site or immediately contiguous land.

A locality may request that required permitting procedures and site assessments be conducted with guidance and oversight from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

Before approving the rezoning, special exception, or special use permit for a new high energy use facility, the locality must require the serving electric utility to submit an assessment describing required new generating units, new or existing substations that will serve the facility, and the anticipated transmission voltage.

The locality must use the submitted assessments to evaluate consistency with its comprehensive plan and compliance with noise, zoning, and other applicable laws and regulations, which can affect approval of the project.

Existing or already approved data center facilities may expand or be modified without the measure’s required site assessments when the expansion does not exceed an additional 100 megawatts of electrical power.

Beginning January 1, 2027, a person may not operate a data center in Tennessee without first obtaining a permit from the Water and Wastewater Operator Board of Certification. The requirement applies to facilities with more than 20 megawatts of power capacity. Beginning January 1, 2027, a person shall not operate a data center

Permit applicants must submit extensive information, including the facility's location, power capacity, water providers and sources, projected water use, effects on residential and public supplies, drought and contingency plans, cumulative water-system impacts, conservation measures, and proof that the facility will not adversely affect residential or public water use. an applicant shall submit the following

The permit-application requirements apply even when a data center obtains water through a municipal or private water utility, rather than directly from a natural water source. including, but not limited to, data centers that source their water through municipal or private utilities

Applicants must report changes to submitted information within 30 days before permit approval, and owners or operators must report changes within 30 days throughout the permit's validity. within thirty (30) days of the change

The board must evaluate wastewater, blowdown, and other discharges, including their chemical and thermal effects, compatibility with municipal treatment systems, and effects on downstream water consumers. It may deny a permit or impose conditions when discharges are reasonably likely to degrade water quality, interfere with treatment, or impose unmitigated treatment or infrastructure burdens. The board may deny an application

When deciding whether to approve a permit, the board must presume that residential and public water access takes precedence over industrial and speculative water uses. residential water access and the public need for water access take precedence

The board must hold public hearings and provide notice on the department website and in newspapers in the county where the proposed data center would be located. Hold public hearings to receive testimony

The board must conduct biennial evaluations of closed-loop or recirculating water systems and require those systems when technologically and economically feasible. Feasibility is presumed unless the applicant demonstrates that the systems are infeasible. require the implantation of the systems

Data centers may not shift water-treatment, infrastructure-expansion, or remediation costs to public utilities or Tennessee ratepayers, potentially requiring the facility to bear those costs itself. shall not externalize water treatment, infrastructure expansion, or remediation costs

Water utilities serving a data center must report the facility's water use to the board within 30 days after each billing cycle, and the department must publish monthly reports identifying each data center's most recently reported water use. The reports must be provided to the board within thirty (30) days

Violations may result in an administrative civil penalty of up to $1,000 per day, capped at $25,000 total, including operating without a permit or failing to update required information. The commissioner may also seek an injunction against continuing violations. not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day

Facilities with a power capacity of 20 megawatts or less are outside the measure’s definition of a data center and therefore are not subject to its new data-center permit requirement.

Once issued, a permit remains valid until the board’s executive director receives notice that the data center has ceased operations; the measure does not impose a periodic permit-renewal requirement.