Querétaro data center environmental regulation proposal, Digi Mart USA News (Querétaro, Mexico): Environmental advocates in Querétaro plan to push for regulation of data center installations in the state, and they said they will seek a reform to the Environmental Code. Among the proposals is a public registry of data centers and annual reports on water and energy consumption.
Members of the collective Voceras de la Madre Tierra said the reform would also require the publication of permits issued since 2018 and cumulative environmental impact assessments. They added that the group is working with national collectives on changes to the General Law of Ecological Balance, citing the damage caused by these projects, including the extraction of materials used in microchips.
Teresa Roldán said the National Water Commission (Conagua) declared the San Juan del Río valley to have a water deficit above 50%. She questioned why data centers continue to arrive without regulation, saying authorities lack sufficient information to verify permits, water and energy consumption, and environmental impacts.
Pamela Siurob said the group also cites a legal challenge (amparo) related to a lack of transparency about these projects, and that more such cases may exist. According to the Secretariat of Sustainable Development, there are 20 data centers, but information is insufficient for 14 of them.
The advocates also criticized the lack of records showing community consultations, saying nearby residents were not notified about these impacts. Since June, the group has filed 41 information requests with federal, state and municipal agencies and received 32 responses, which they said were incomplete, classified, or conditioned on payment.
