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Ohio Farm Bureau says current data center permitting process protects state’s water resources

The director of state policy for Ohio Farm Bureau says protecting water quality remains a top priority as data center development continues across the state.

Evan Callicoat tells Brownfield, “How much water are these taking in daily,” he says. “Are they plugged into a municipal water system? As long as our members are asking these questions and not getting answers, that continues to be a major concern.”

Ohio EPA recently decided to not move forward with a legislative proposal that would have streamlined water permitting requirements for large data centers.

Callicoat says maintaining the current permitting process helps preserve local community oversight.

“We believe that the current regulations have done a good job of protecting water quality,” he says. “We want to continue with the work that we have done through H2Ohio. We want to make sure that these data centers have to have a discharge and it’s being done on a site-by-site basis.”

Callicoat says protecting rural agricultural interests will be key as new developments continue to come online. 

AUDIO: Evan Callicoat, Ohio Farm Bureau