Authored by: Representative Alex Burton Referred to: House Committee on Natural Resources
The gist: HB 1043 seeks to require that owners or developers of AI data centers submit a water consumption permit application to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that discloses the center’s estimated water usage. It is a welcome step toward transparency regarding water usage by AI data centers.
HEC’s analysis: HB 1043 seeks to address the challenge of extractive water usage by hyperscale AI data centers in Hoosier communities. As defined in Burton’s bill, a “data center” is any facility with the capacity to consume 10 million gallons of water in month. Under 1043, prior to beginning operations, the owners or developers of such a data center would be required to apply for and obtain a water usage permit from DNR; the bill stipulates that the permit application include estimates of maximum water usage by day, month, and year and requires applicants to identify the anticipated source of water.
Update 2/5/26: HB 1043 did not receive a hearing and does not have a clear path forward in this session.
To access the full text of this bill, click here. To see the latest actions on this bill, click here.
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