Siting deals are negotiated under non-disclosure agreements and operating data is withheld, so communities cannot evaluate the trade

Observable evidence, before the decision

Public Citizen reports that roughly 80% of Virginia localities with proposed or existing data-centers have non-disclosure agreements in place, and documents NDA-shrouded deals in Tucson, Shreveport and Memphis. In the first half of 2026 more than 300 data-center bills were introduced across US states, at least 10 proposing NDA restrictions (Public Citizen).

The practical effect is sequencing: load, water source and generator count become public after rezoning rather than before it, leaving opposition to the whole project as the only remaining instrument.

Observable evidence, after the decision

Mandatory reporting exists in Europe and is largely ignored. The first cycle of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive database drew 36% participation despite being mandatory — Ireland around 17%, Czechia zero — with "no known consequences for non-reporting" (Green Web Foundation). The same dataset contradicted two industry claims: the efficiency gap between largest and smallest facilities was only about 40%, and larger facilities had worse water use effectiveness. Reported renewable shares of 85–96% rest on roughly 70% unbundled annual Guarantees of Origin, with only ~29% power purchase agreements and under 0.5% on-site generation.

Voluntary corporate reporting follows the same pattern. Microsoft reports a water use effectiveness of 0.27 L/kWh and claims water positivity, while withholding absolute consumption since 2022, when it was 1.69 billion gallons (DCD). Google publishes site-level water for 36 cities and is the exception; its water lead said peers do "absolutely not" the same (Latitude Media).

Where a figure was forced into the open it turned out to matter. The Dalles, Oregon spent 13 months suing a newspaper to keep Google's water use secret, with Google contributing over $100,000 to the litigation. Released records showed 355.1 million gallons in 2021 — up from 124.2 million in 2017 — equal to 29% of the city's total consumption (DCD).

The design flaw in new disclosure rules

Virginia finalised waterworks reporting rules effective 1 January 2027 requiring monthly sales broken out by data-centers with air permits, split potable and non-potable. Utilities objected that the data "is not readily available without extensive manual manipulation", and self-supplied on-site withdrawals are excluded entirely (VPM). A facility on its own wells reports nothing.

Who is affected

Residents and local officials asked to approve a load whose parameters they may not see; researchers and journalists attempting basin or grid-level assessment; and operators with better designs who cannot demonstrate the difference because nobody discloses comparably.

Scope

This issue covers the availability and enforceability of information: pre-decision confidentiality and post-construction operating disclosure. The substantive harms are separate sub-issues.

Impact if unaddressed

Every other facet of this problem is measurement-dependent. Noise limits, basin allocation, cost allocation and generator runtime all require numbers that are currently contractually secret, voluntarily reported by the interested party, or mandated without enforcement. Secrecy also converts negotiable disputes into referendums on whether the facility should exist at all.