Utah

Water-use reporting for new large data centers (H.B. 76)

Reporting or resource-use requirement

In effect This instrument is recorded as currently in effect as of the dataset date.

Scope

Utah Code section 73-5-8.3, enacted by H.B. 76 (2026 General Session), defines a large data center as a facility with an annual water withdrawal of 75 acre feet or more that houses networked server computers as its primary service and has buildings totalling at least 10,000 square feet. For a new large data center (one that begins operations on or after 1 July 2026), the operator must, 90 to 360 days before construction, notify the water provider and report the location, estimated annual withdrawal and related plans to the Division of Water Rights, and must report actual withdrawals and related information annually by 1 July. A land use authority must notify the Division before approving a land use application for a new large data center. The Division publishes withdrawal data, may protect some information, and, after notice, must fine an operator that still fails to submit a complete report up to $100 a day.

Geographic scope
Utah
Jurisdiction
State
Authority type
Legislature
Issuing authority
Utah Legislature

Dates

Adopted
23 March 2026
Effective
6 May 2026
Scheduled expiration
See completion condition
Ended
Not recorded as ended
Completion condition
The section states no end date. The 1 July annual report deadline and the 1 July 2026 start of the reporting duties are compliance dates, not expirations.
Source document
The source page states no document date
Last checked
23 September 2026 (earlier than tracker date 5 October 2026; not an automatic status change)

Summary

Utah's H.B. 76 of 2026, the Data Center Water Transparency Amendments, enacted Utah Code section 73-5-8.3. It requires operators of new large data centers, defined by a 75 acre-foot annual water withdrawal and a 10,000 square-foot building threshold, to notify their water provider and report planned water use to the Division of Water Rights before construction, and to report actual withdrawals every year once operating. Cities and counties must notify the Division before approving land use applications for these facilities, and the Division publishes withdrawal data. The Governor signed the bill on 23 March 2026 and it took effect on 6 May 2026. It is a reporting duty; it does not cap water use or bar any data center.

What this does not establish

  • The link between H.B. 76 and Laws 2026, chapter 298 is inferred: the codified section 73-5-8.3 prints "Enacted by Chapter 298, 2026 General Session" and matches the enrolled bill text. No session-law chapter list was opened.
  • The Division of Water Rights web page on large data center reporting says the bill was signed on 26 March 2026 and "enacted on July 1, 2026". The Legislature's bill data record the Governor's signature on 23 March 2026, and the enrolled bill and the codified section give 6 May 2026 as the effective date; this record uses the Legislature's sources.
  • The duties reach only large data centers that begin operations on or after 1 July 2026. The record does not establish that any particular facility is covered or has reported.
  • No Division of Water Rights administrative rule defining "construction activity" or adding report contents was found or opened.

Unresolved questions

  • Whether the Division has adopted a rule under the section's rulemaking authority was not established.

Relationships

Supersession means a later instrument replaces the earlier legal effect. Repeal links identify the repeal instrument and the measure it ends. A later implementation or related letter is not treated as a replacement unless the record says so.

Sources

Primary source

https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0076.pdf

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