The Data Center Community Impact Act directs the Secretary of Energy to conduct a comprehensive study on how data centers affect communities of color and low-income communities, working with the Environmental Protection Agency, Commerce Department, and other federal agencies. The study must examine data centers' water and energy consumption, air quality impacts, effects on local electricity rates and taxes, job creation and displacement, property values, and public health risks like pollution and heat island effects. The Secretary must consult with local governments and Indian Tribes during the research and deliver a report to Congress within 18 months that includes a map showing data center locations relative to vulnerable communities, recommendations for federal coordination, and best practice guidelines for states and local governments. This bill responds to concerns that data centers—which now consume about 4.4 percent of U.S. electricity and are rapidly growing—have been disproportionately sited near communities already facing environmental burdens, citing the example of a large facility built near a predominantly Black neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee. The legislation contains no direct federal funding appropriations but mandates an interagency study to assess environmental justice issues and develop mitigation strategies.
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