Document Type
Article
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) data centers have become one of the United States' fastest-growing and least-regulated sources of environmental stress. In 2024 alone, U.S. data centers consumed 183 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity more than the entire nation of Pakistan and consumed an estimated 17 billion gallons of water (IEA, 2025; Berkeley Lab, 2024). By 2030, electricity demand from these facilities is projected to reach 426 TWh, a 133% increase in six years (Pew Research Center, 2025). This paper examines whether the existing U.S. environmental regulatory framework put by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Clean Air Act (CAA) can meaningfully address these impacts. It concludes that the current legal architecture contains structural gaps that allow AI data centers to withdraw billions of gallons of water, consume the output of entire power grids, and site facilities in water-stressed regions without triggering any mandatory federal environmental review or reporting obligation. The paper proposes five numbered reforms including mandatory disclosure, federal water withdrawal standards, updated NEPA thresholds, EPA efficiency standards, and FERC cost-allocation reform.
Publication Date
2026
Recommended Citation
Marcu, Michael, "Powering The Machine, Draining The Planet: Whether U.S. Environmental Law Is Equipped to Regulate the Energy and Water Demands of AI Data Centers" (2026). Journal of Earth and Life Science. 99.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/j-earth-life-sci/99
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Data Storage Systems Commons, Energy and Utilities Law Commons, Energy Policy Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Law Commons, Environmental Policy Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Land Use Law Commons, Law and Society Commons, Natural Resource Economics Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Law Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Public Affairs Commons, Public Interest Commons, Public Policy Commons, Science and Technology Policy Commons, Science and Technology Studies Commons, Sustainability Commons, Water Law Commons, Water Resource Management Commons
Comments
Faculty sponsor: Dr. Paul Kivi, Department of Environmental Studies