BOMBSHELL: Greg Abbott is Still Approving Permits for Data Centers across Texas

1 day ago

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DALLAS, TX – One day after new reporting showed career politician Greg Abbott has continued to accept millions of dollars in political donations from data center special interests, he’s just been caught lying to Texans about his election-year charade to appear tough on the industry.

Last month, Abbott ordered the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to pause all data center permitting until the state finishes an audit of the state’s data centers, promising that TCEQ would issue “no permits” sought by data center developments while the audit is underway.

But according to a bombshell investigation from the nonpartisan nonprofit consumer watchdog group Public Citizen, Abbott has continued approving new permits for data center projects even after his directive was issued, including permits approved the very next day and as recently as this month.

Public Citizen identified at least 16 data center permits that the Abbott administration approved or advanced in recent weeks, including major and minor air permits, industrial wastewater permits, and construction stormwater authorizations.

You can find a record for each permit HERE, an interactive map of the permits HERE, and a full accounting of Public Citizen’s investigation HERE.

“After 30 years in public office, Greg Abbott’s lost his way and lost sight of the working families and communities he’s supposed to serve. He promised Texas that he was going to put a pause on data centers. But as this investigation makes clear, that was a lie. Not only is his administration continuing to push data center permits forward, but Abbott continues to accept millions of dollars from the data center industry. That should tell Texans everything they need to know about who Greg Abbott is really working for – the billionaires and big corporations lining his pockets,” said Texas Democratic Party Spokesman Jacob Long.

Other relevant background:

Greg Abbott has spent more than 10 years rolling out the red carpet for massive AI data centers, inviting them to Texas with some of the largest tax breaks in the nation that now cost the state more than $1 billion a year in lost revenue.
Just last November, he vowed to make Texas the global “epicenter” of AI development, even as local communities increasingly voiced concerns about water shortages and skyrocketing utility bills.
In total, Abbott has accepted more than $22 million in political contributions from data center special interests over his entire time in office.
The Texas Tribune reported on several limitations to Abbott’s data center “crackdown,” including the fact that penalties for water-reporting violations top out at just $500 and his administration lacks authority to prosecute violators while at the same time his administration is in court fighting to withhold information from the public about where Texas data centers are located and how much water and energy they’re using.