Texas Environmental Agency Disables Online System After Permit Scandal

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) disabled its State of Texas Environmental Electronic Reporting System (STEERS) on October 22 after watchdog groups revealed the agency continued issuing permits for data center projects. This action followed a September 21 directive from Governor Greg Abbott to halt all such permits to evaluate their impact on water resources and grid stability.

An analysis by FracTracker Alliance and Public Citizen identified 35 permitting actions taken after the order, including 14 fast-tracked permits and 11 stormwater coverage approvals. Many of these permits concerned gas power facilities intended to support artificial intelligence data centers. While the Governor's office argued the pause applied to final approvals rather than application processing, watchdog groups noted that automated stormwater permits—known as notices of intent—were being granted automatically through the online system.

In response to the scrutiny, the TCEQ suspended at least 17 stormwater and wastewater permits and shifted to a manual review process, requiring applications to be physically submitted. The agency clarified that stormwater permits regulate construction erosion and do not grant authority to operate a data center. However, FracTracker Alliance and Public Citizen characterized the agency's failure as a sign that a legislative moratorium is necessary to handle the regulatory challenges posed by data centers.