Policy Directive: The East Texas Dry-Cooling Mandate

Presented by the East Texas Legacy Coalition. Effective draft date: Aug. 28, 2026.
To: The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and regional groundwater conservation districts (GCDs).

I. Executive Summary: The 10-Year Survival Window

The State of Texas and the Federal Government have identified AI infrastructure and domestic energy superiority as matters of National Security.

The East Texas Legacy Coalition recognizes this reality. We anticipate a rapid expansion of Data Centers and Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT) in our region.

However, East Texas will not serve as a sacrificial resource colony for this expansion.

Current corporate standards rely on open-loop evaporative cooling, which evaporates billions of gallons of pristine groundwater into the atmosphere to shed heat. While next-generation zero-water energy (geothermal, hydrogen) is a decade away, the technology to decouple power generation from our water supply exists today. We demand the immediate, mandatory implementation of that technology.

II. The Policy Mandates

To protect the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer and ensure long-term regional stability, the East Texas Legacy Coalition demands the following binding requirements for all new infrastructure permits:

  1. Mandatory Air-Cooled Condensers (ACC) for Power Generation: No new CCGT power plants shall be permitted or connected to the Texas grid within the Carrizo-Wilcox footprint unless engineered with 100% Air-Cooled Condensers (Dry Cooling).
  2. Zero-Evaporative Cooling for Data Centers: No new data centers exceeding 5 megawatts (MW) shall be approved unless they utilize entirely closed-loop liquid cooling or direct-to-chip air cooling. The use of traditional wet-cooling towers and evaporative pads using local groundwater is permanently barred.
  3. Internalization of Efficiency Costs: We recognize that ACC and dry cooling result in a minor reduction in power efficiency during peak summer heat. Corporations must absorb this cost. The slight loss of thermodynamic efficiency is the required price of doing business in a water-stressed region.

III. Statutory and Legal Authority

The TWDB and local GCDs possess the absolute legal authority—and the obligation—to enforce this mandate immediately, based on the following:

Prevention of Waste (Texas Water Code, Chapter 36.0015): The explicit statutory purpose of groundwater districts is the "prevention of waste." Evaporating constitutionally protected drinking water into the atmosphere for corporate cooling—when proven dry-cooling technology is readily available—constitutes administrative waste. Approving wet-cooling permits is a direct violation of Chapter 36.

Protection of Vested Property Rights (EAA v. Day): Groundwater in place is the private property of East Texas landowners. The state cannot legally permit foreign or domestic corporations to liquidate adjacent citizens' property rights simply because wet cooling is a cheaper business model than dry cooling.

IV. Strategic Resolution

True National Security is not achieved by hollowing out the domestic foundation to build a digital roof. Securing American AI superiority requires an infrastructure that can survive longer than a decade.

If the tech and energy sectors wish to operate in East Texas, they will respect the limits of our ecosystem. The technology exists. The state has the authority. We demand the mandate.

— Austin, Texas

Policy proposal by the East Texas Legacy Coalition, drafted by Fawn Elizabeth Zion. Published as written.