Texas counties cannot zone or ban data centers. But they sign the road agreements, tax abatements and payments in lieu of taxes these projects need, and a contract can protect what an ordinance cannot. These are the terms every county should ask for. Copy them freely.
Written by Fawn Elizabeth Zion and the East Texas Legacy Coalition for Angelina County, October 2026. Published by Grail Systems.
In July 2026, Governor Abbott called for data centers to use closed-loop cooling, report their water and electricity use every year, connect to the grid in ways that lower household bills, and give up unnecessary incentives. A Henderson County developer withdrew rather than meet those standards. Many of the terms below already appear in Texas county drafts and in agreements in Virginia and Pennsylvania. In June 2026, the City of Fort Worth proposed its own data center rules with 250-foot setbacks from homes, generators kept 300 feet away, a crypto mining ban, closed-loop cooling and stricter noise limits.
Low-water cooling is not a fantasy. Google's own reports show its air-cooled data center in Pflugerville used about 10,000 gallons of water in 2024, while its Midlothian campus used 182.3 million.
Moratoriums are risky. Hill County passed one in May 2026, was sued for $100 million, and rescinded it within weeks. Contract terms and written abatement guidelines hold up better.
With every draft posted at least two weeks before the vote.
Written into the contract, with metered public reporting.
State law requires counties to adopt guidelines before granting any abatement and review them every two years. Standards written there apply to every applicant from the start.
For every road-use agreement, road closure, tax abatement or payment in lieu of taxes for a data center, crypto mine or the power plant that serves it.
Public hearings before approval, drafts posted two weeks ahead, no secret terms.
The parent company guarantees every obligation, binding on any future owner, with proof of financing.
Disclose the real owner, certify no foreign adversary control under the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, bar crypto mining or any change in use without a new hearing, and cap the size in megawatts and acres.
Disclose every affiliate, contractor and permit across every agency, so a project cannot be split into small pieces that each escape scrutiny.
The county picks the experts and the developer pays through the county. No expert who worked for the developer in five years. Reports and raw data made public.
An independent water study, a hard daily cap, closed-loop cooling with no evaporative towers, public metered reporting, waterway setbacks and testing, conservation that saves at least as much water as the facility uses, and full payment for any sewer upgrades or damage.
Baseline testing of private wells, ongoing monitoring, repair or replacement of any well that declines, and a buyout guarantee for homes made unlivable.
A limit based on measured background levels, never above 55 decibels at any home, farm or ranch, covering low-frequency hum and generators, with permanent monitoring.
Backup generation disclosed to the county, best available emission controls, and the developer pays every grid upgrade so none of it lands on household bills.
Limit forest clearing, protect creeks and wetlands, Dark Sky lighting, and real setbacks and tree buffers next to homes.
County-set repairs and truck routes, no road closures without a hearing and an equal route, limits on years-long construction noise, and a worker housing plan.
Funding for fire and ambulance service, a hazardous materials inventory and response plan, and backup generators for rural water systems and shelters.
Real job and wage numbers, training with the local college, first consideration for truly local businesses, school support, clawbacks, published incentive values, and a secured community fund with residents deciding how it is spent.
Certified recycling of servers and batteries, secure data destruction, and no electronic waste left in the county.
A guaranteed minimum annual payment that cannot shrink on appraisal protest, bonding for roads and decommissioning, insurance, and indemnification.
Annual compliance reports, inspections, a 24-hour complaint line, escalating penalties, the right to go to court, and a reopener if the Legislature gives counties new authority.
With an application fee, and the developer paying the county's legal and engineering review.
The combined water, power, road and noise impact of all proposals at once.
County, city, groundwater district and neighboring counties, so no developer can play one against another.
A citizen advisory committee that reviews applications before votes.
County noise authority outside city limits, disclosure of backup generation and water use, data centers added to the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, a county voice in large out-of-city water sales, and protection for household electric bills.
A professional baseline sound study near existing operations, as Hood County did.
EPA Brownfields grants and TCEQ cleanup programs, and ask residents what the land should become.
Permanent local jobs in writing, weighed against what the land, water and incentives could do in other hands.
8 Texas governments have already adopted at least one piece of this Standard, and others have proposed more. Numbers match the 16 conditions above; letters match the 8 county actions. A resolution asking the Legislature for authority is a start, not a protection on its own.
Resolution 010-26 asks the Legislature for county authority over setbacks, noise, lighting and water impact.
Source: Angelina County recordsDraft abatement terms for Amp Z include closed-loop cooling, setbacks, and yearly fire ($150,000) and road ($500,000) funds.
Source: Angelina County recordsResolution 29-2026 opposes open-loop evaporative cooling and high-volume drinking-water use, and asks the Legislature for county authority.
Source: Caldwell County news releasePaid for a professional sound study near the MARA bitcoin mine to set a noise baseline.
Source: Texas Tribune; KERAStricter development rules for large industrial projects, including data centers. The county rejected one plan over missing water information.
Source: Texas Tribune (June 2, 2026)Unanimous resolution opposing new data centers until the Legislature addresses water and energy.
Source: KERAResolution asking the Legislature for authority to regulate data centers.
Source: Texas Tribune; KSATReplaced its rescinded moratorium with a review checklist for developers.
Source: KWTX; Texas TribuneCommissioned its first full county water study since 2011, covering all proposals together.
Source: Community Impact; Texas TribuneMandatory water-use reporting for data centers, at the Governor's direction.
Source: Texas Tribune; KBTXClosed-loop cooling, annual water and power reporting, grid connections that lower household bills, and repeal of sales tax breaks.
Source: Office of the Governor; Texas TribuneDraft zoning: 250-foot setbacks from homes, generators at least 300 feet away and screened, closed-loop cooling, stricter noise limits, and no crypto mining.
Source: City of Fort Worth presentation; NBC DFWRule changes requiring monitoring wells with real-time readings for power plants and data centers. Public hearing Nov. 9.
Source: Pineywoods proposed rule amendmentsCouncil directed staff to draft a community benefits agreement for the Meta data center.
Source: KFOX14Know of another? Tell us and send the record. We add it after we check it.
Send this page to your commissioners, cite it in public comment, or copy any part of it into your own letter. If your county adopts any of it, tell us and we'll add it to Ground Truth Texas.
Start a watch in your county This is a public advocacy framework, not legal advice. Counties should have their attorneys review any contract language.