SB 378

As Introduced
136th General Assembly
   Regular Session  S. B. No. 378
       2025-2026
  Senators Blackshear, Weinstein
  Cosponsor: Senator Smith
  To amend sections 1521.01 and 1521.99 and to enact  1
  sections 9.72 and 1521.232 of the Revised Code  2
  regarding the withdrawal and consumptive use of  3
  water by data centers and to name the act the  4
  Responsible Water Use by Data Centers Act.  5
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
     Section 1. That sections 1521.01 and 1521.99 be amended  6
and sections 9.72 and 1521.232 of the Revised Code be enacted to       7
read as follows:  8
     Sec. 9.72. (A) As used in this section:  9
     (1) "Water or sewer system" means a system operated by an  10
entity authorized to provide water services to consumers or  11
authorized to provide sewer services to consumers under Chapter        12
504., 729., 735., 743., 4905., 4909., 6101., 6103., 6115.,  13
6117., or 6119. of the Revised Code.  14
     (2) "Data center" means a facility consisting of one or  15
more buildings dedicated to housing computer systems, servers,  16
storage, and network equipment to collect, process, store, and  17
distribute large amounts of data.  18
     (3) "Infrastructure costs" means direct and indirect water        19
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As Introduced
and sewer services infrastructure costs.  20
       (B) The owner or operator of a data center is responsible  21
for payment to a water and sewer system of all infrastructure  22
costs incurred by the water and sewer system that are  23
attributable to the establishment and operation of the data  24
center. The water and sewer system may collect payment for such  25
costs from the data center in a manner determined appropriate by  26
the system. No other ratepayer within the service area of the  27
water and sewer system is responsible for payment of  28
infrastructure costs that are the responsibility of the owner or  29
operator of the data center under this division.  30
       Sec. 1521.01. As used in this chapter:  31
       (A) "Consumptive use" means a use of water resources,  32
other than a diversion, that results in a loss of that water to  33
the basin from which it is withdrawn and includes, but is not  34
limited to, evaporation, evapotranspiration, and incorporation  35
of water into a product or agricultural crop.  36
       (B) "Diversion" means a withdrawal of water resources from  37
either the Lake Erie or Ohio river drainage basin and transfer  38
to another basin without return. "Diversion" does not include  39
evaporative loss within the basin of withdrawal.  40
       (C) "Other great lakes states and provinces" means states  41
other than this state that are parties to the great lakes basin  42
compact under Chapter 6161. of the Revised Code and the Canadian  43
provinces of Ontario and Quebec.  44
       (D) "Water resources" means any waters of the state that  45
are available or may be made available to agricultural,  46
industrial, commercial, and domestic users.  47
       (E) "Waters of the state" includes all streams, lakes,  48
S. B. No. 378  Page 3
As Introduced
ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, wells, springs,  49
irrigation systems, drainage systems, and other bodies or  50
accumulations of water, surface and underground, natural or  51
artificial, regardless of the depth of the strata in which  52
underground water is located, that are situated wholly or partly  53
within or bordering upon this state or are within its  54
jurisdiction.  55
       (F) "Well" means any excavation, regardless of design or  56
method of construction, created for any of the following  57
purposes:  58
       (1) Removing ground water from or recharging water into an  59
aquifer, excluding subsurface drainage systems installed to  60
enhance agricultural crop production or urban or suburban  61
landscape management or to control seepage in dams and levees;  62
       (2) Determining the quantity, quality, level, or movement  63
of ground water in or the stratigraphy of an aquifer, excluding  64
borings for instrumentation in dams, levees, or highway  65
embankments;  66
       (3) Removing or exchanging heat from ground water,  67
excluding horizontal trenches that are installed for water  68
source heat pump systems.  69
       (G) "Aquifer" means a consolidated or unconsolidated  70
geologic formation or series of formations that are  71
hydraulically interconnected and that have the ability to  72
receive, store, or transmit water.  73
       (H) "Ground water" means all water occurring in an  74
aquifer.  75
       (I) "Ground water stress area" means a definable  76
geographic area in which ground water quantity is being affected  77
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As Introduced
by human activity or natural forces to the extent that  78
continuous availability of supply is jeopardized by withdrawals.  79
       (J) "Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of  80
the Revised Code and also includes the United States, the state,  81
any political subdivision of the state, and any department,  82
division, board, commission, agency, or instrumentality of the  83
United States, the state, or a political subdivision of the  84
state.  85
       (K) "State agency" or "agency of the state" has the same  86
meaning as "agency" in section 111.15 of the Revised Code.  87
       (L) "Cone of depression" means a depression or low point  88
in the water table or potentiometric surface of a body of ground  89
water that develops around a location from which ground water is  90
being withdrawn.  91
       (M) "Facility" has the same meaning as in section 1522.10  92
of the Revised Code.  93
       (N) "Hydrologic study area" means the area within a four-  94
mile radius from the boundary of the withdrawal area.  95
       (O) "Well field" means a contiguous land area containing  96
two or more wells that provide water to a facility.  97
       (P) "Withdrawal area" means the proposed well or well  98
field location or locations.  99
       (Q) "Development" means any artificial change to improved  100
or unimproved real estate, including the construction of  101
buildings and other structures, any substantial improvement of a  102
structure, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving,  103
excavating, and drilling operations, and storage of equipment or  104
materials.  105
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       (R) "Floodplain" means the area adjoining any river,  106
stream, watercourse, or lake that has been or may be covered by  107
flood water.  108
       (S) "Floodplain management" means the implementation of an  109
overall program of corrective and preventive measures for  110
reducing flood damage, including the collection and  111
dissemination of flood information, construction of flood  112
control works, nonstructural flood damage reduction techniques,  113
and adoption of rules, ordinances, or resolutions governing  114
development in floodplains.  115
       (T) "One-hundred-year flood" means a flood having a one  116
per cent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.  117
       (U) "One-hundred-year floodplain" means that portion of a  118
floodplain inundated by a one-hundred-year flood.  119
       (V) "Structure" means a walled and roofed building,  120
including, without limitation, gas or liquid storage tanks and  121
manufactured homes.  122
       (W) "Substantial improvement" means any reconstruction,  123
rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure,  124
the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty per cent of the market  125
value of the structure before the start of construction of the  126
improvement. "Substantial improvement" includes repairs to  127
structures that have incurred substantial damage regardless of  128
the actual repair work performed. "Substantial improvement" does  129
not include either of the following:  130
       (1) Any project for the improvement of a structure to  131
correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary,  132
or safety code specifications that have been identified by the  133
state or local code enforcement official having jurisdiction and  134
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As Introduced
that are the minimum necessary to ensure safe living conditions;  135
       (2) Any alteration of an historic structure designated or  136
listed pursuant to federal or state law, provided that the  137
alteration will not preclude the structure's continued listing  138
or designation as an historic structure.  139
       (X) "Substantial damage" means damage of any origin that  140
is sustained by a structure if the cost of restoring the  141
structure to its condition prior to the damage would equal or  142
exceed fifty per cent of the market value of the structure  143
before the damage occurred.  144
       (Y) "National flood insurance program" means the national  145
flood insurance program established in the "National Flood  146
Insurance Act of 1968," 82 Stat. 572, 42 U.S.C. 4001, as  147
amended, and regulations adopted under it.  148
       (Z) "Conservancy district" means a conservancy district  149
established under Chapter 6101. of the Revised Code.  150
       (AA) "Data center" has the same meaning as in section 9.72  151
of the Revised Code.  152
       Sec. 1521.232. (A) In addition to any other applicable  153
permit required under this chapter or Chapter 1522. of the  154
Revised Code, no person shall allow a data center that the  155
person owns or operates to withdraw waters of the state that  156
results in the consumptive use of any amount of water without  157
first obtaining a data center consumptive use permit from the  158
chief of the division of water resources under this section.  159
       (B) An owner or operator of a data center shall submit an  160
application for a data center consumptive use permit to the  161
chief on a form the chief prescribes. In the application, the  162
applicant shall declare and document all of the information  163
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As Introduced
specified in division (B) of section 1521.23 of the Revised Code  164
and any other information the chief may require by rule.  165
       (C) The chief shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter  166
119. of the Revised Code that establishes criteria for issuing a  167
data center consumptive use permit under this section. Such  168
rules shall include all criteria described in division (A) of  169
section 1521.29 and any other criteria the chief may require.  170
       (D)(1) The chief shall determine the period for which each  171
permit approved under this section will be valid and specify the  172
expiration date.  173
       (2) The chief shall establish rules providing for the  174
transfer of permits. A permit may be transferred on the  175
conditions that the quantity of water withdrawn not be increased  176
and that the purpose of the withdrawal not be changed.  177
       (E) The chief may hold public hearings upon any  178
application for a permit.  179
       (F)(1) Within a time established by rule, the chief shall  180
do one of the following:  181
       (a) Notify the applicant that an application the applicant  182
filed under this section is approved or denied and, if denied,  183
the reason for denial;  184
       (b) Notify the applicant of any modification necessary to  185
qualify the application for approval.  186
       (2) Any person who receives notice of a denial or  187
modification under division (F)(1) of this section is entitled  188
to a hearing under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code if the  189
person sends a written request for a hearing to the chief within  190
thirty days after the date on which the notice is mailed or  191
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As Introduced
otherwise provided to the applicant.  192
       (3) The chief shall issue a permit to an applicant whose  193
application is approved under this section. However, the chief  194
shall not issue a permit to a data center that proposes to  195
withdraw waters of the state in an amount that would result in a  196
new or increased consumptive use of more than an average of five  197
million gallons of water per day in any thirty-day period.  198
       (G) No person shall allow a data center that the person  199
owns or operates to withdraw waters of the state in an amount  200
that would result in a new or increased consumptive use of more  201
than an average of five million gallons of water per day in any  202
thirty-day period.  203
       (H)(1) The chief shall revoke a permit under this section  204
without a prior hearing if the chief determines that the  205
quantity of water being withdrawn exceeds the quantity stated in  206
the permit application.  207
       (2) The chief may suspend a permit if the chief determines  208
that the continued withdrawal of water will endanger the public  209
health, safety, or welfare. Before suspending a permit, the  210
chief shall make a reasonable attempt to notify the permittee  211
that the chief intends to suspend the permit. If the attempt  212
fails, notification shall be given as soon as practicable  213
following the suspension. Within five days after the suspension,  214
the chief shall provide the permittee an opportunity to be heard  215
and to present evidence that the continued withdrawal of water  216
will not endanger the public health, safety, or welfare.  217
       If the chief determines before the expiration date of a  218
suspended permit that the withdrawal of water can be resumed  219
without danger to the public health, safety, or welfare, the  220
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As Introduced
chief shall, upon request of the permittee, reinstate the  221
permit.  222
        (I) Any six or more residents of this state may petition  223
the chief for an investigation of a withdrawal of water  224
resources that they allege is in violation of a permit issued  225
under this section.  226
        The petition shall identify the permittee and detail the  227
reasons why the petitioners believe that grounds exist for the  228
revocation or suspension of the permit under this section.  229
        Upon receipt of the petition, the chief shall send a copy  230
to the permittee and, within sixty days, make a determination  231
whether grounds exist for revocation or suspension of the permit  232
under this section.  233
        (J) Each permittee shall submit to the chief an annual  234
report containing such information as the chief may require by  235
rule.  236
        Sec. 1521.99. (A) Whoever violates division (E)(1) of  237
section 1521.05 or division (E)(1) of section 1521.16 of the  238
Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.  239
All fines collected pursuant to this division shall be deposited  240
in the state treasury to the credit of the water management fund  241
created in section 1521.22 of the Revised Code.  242
        (B) Whoever violates section 1521.06 or 1521.062 of the  243
Revised Code shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars  244
nor more than one thousand dollars for each offense. Each day of  245
violation constitutes a separate offense. All fines collected  246
pursuant to this division shall be deposited in the state  247
treasury to the credit of the dam safety fund created in section  248
1521.06 of the Revised Code.  249
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As Introduced
        (C) Whoever violates section 1521.22 of the Revised Code  250
or the terms or conditions of a permit issued under that section  251
shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars for each day  252
of violation. All fines collected pursuant to this division  253
shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the  254
water management fund created in section 1521.22 of the Revised  255
Code.  256
        (D) Whoever violates section 1521.23   or 1521.232 of the  257
Revised Code or the terms or conditions of a permit issued under  258
section 1521.232 or 1521.29 of the Revised Code is guilty of a  259
misdemeanor of the fourth degree. All fines collected pursuant  260
to this division shall be deposited in the state treasury to the  261
credit of the water management fund created in section 1521.22  262
of the Revised Code.  263
        Section 2. That existing sections 1521.01 and 1521.99 of  264
the Revised Code are hereby repealed.  265
        Section 3. This act shall be known as the Responsible  266
Water Use by Data Centers Act.  267