# Data-Center Cooling-Water Regulatory Correspondence Four Outlook `.msg` threads from the Department of Agriculture production in which engineering consultants ask Arkansas agencies how data-center cooling-water wells, withdrawals, and discharges are regulated. The threads document **two unnamed hyperscale-scale data-center projects** distinct from the [[Google Data Center Water-Use Registration|Google / Project Pyramid]] site, and they establish how lightly Arkansas regulates large industrial groundwater withdrawal. ## What's inside - `RE_ Arkansas water_wastewater regulatory questions.msg` — an October 2024–March 2025 thread between **[[Elai Fresco]]** of **[[Arup]]** (San Francisco) and Arkansas agencies (Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Division; Division of Environmental Quality; Department of Health). - `Re_ Proposed Well(s) for a Data Center.msg` and `RE_ Proposed Well(s) for a Data Center_WPC.msg` — a January 2026 thread between **Stephen Youngblood, P.E.** of **[[McClelland Consulting Engineers]]** (MCE) and Department / Health staff. - `RE_ Water well drilling for industrial cooling water within municipal boundaries.msg` — a November 2024 inquiry from **Shannon Jones, P.E.** of [[McClelland Consulting Engineers]] to the Department. ## The Arup project (confidential; 2024–2025) [[Elai Fresco]] of [[Arup]] described himself as *"a consulting engineer working on water infrastructure due diligence for some proposed industrial facilities in Arkansas"* and stated the work was to *"understand regulatory and technical risks for the project to decide to go ahead with land purchase"* (`RE_ Arkansas water_wastewater regulatory questions.msg`). Arup withheld the site, citing *"project confidentiality."* The described facilities are unmistakably a hyperscale data center: - *"industrial water demands as well as non-contact cooling water discharges that are in the hundreds of thousands to millions of gallons per day,"* plus ~30,000 gpd of domestic wastewater; - *"We envision using groundwater as a source for industrial cooling water. Much of the water will then evaporate during the cooling process, and remaining water will be recirculated";* - *"many discrete buildings, that will be built in phases."* The thread covers Class V underground-injection wells for cooling-water disposal, the NPDES non-contact-cooling-water general permit (ARG250000), Critical Groundwater Area rules, and a multi-parcel site straddling two public water systems' service areas — with Arup asking what happens *"if additional real estate were purchased by the developer"* to reach the second system. ## The McClelland Consulting Engineers project (unnamed; 2024–2026) In January 2026, **Stephen Youngblood** of [[McClelland Consulting Engineers]] told the Department that *"MCE is doing primary work on possible well locations and capacity for the required cooling water needed for a future data center"* and asked: *"If these well(s) are pulling a total **4.32 MGD from the Sparta Aquifer**, will we need Arkansas Department of Agriculture's review and approval for State Water Compliance?"* (`Re_ Proposed Well(s) for a Data Center.msg`). The wells *"will just serve the cooling needs"*; domestic water would come from the local utility. The November 2024 MCE inquiry (Shannon Jones) asked, more generally, whether anything prevents drilling a private well for *"industrial cooling water"* where municipal water is available. The corpus does not establish whether the two MCE inquiries concern the same project, or which data center either concerns. ## Key takeaways — the regulatory gap Across all three threads, Arkansas agency staff describe a light-touch regime for large industrial groundwater withdrawal: - **Privately owned wells escape Water Plan Compliance.** Josh Burns (Department NRD): *"if the company that owns the data center is drilling the well (owning and maintaining) they are not required to obtain WPC. WPC would only be required if the nearby water utility or the county (or any other political subdivision) were the entities drilling the well"* (`Re_ Proposed Well(s) for a Data Center.msg`). Blake Forrest (Department NRD): *"currently only public supply wells fall under water plan compliance; there is nothing preventing private entities from constructing water wells"* (`RE_ Water well drilling for industrial cooling water within municipal boundaries.msg`). - **Outside a Critical Groundwater Area, registration is the only requirement.** Tate Wentz (Chief, Water Resources Management): *"until ground water rights are enacted pursuant to Act 154 of 1991, then the only regulatory requirement is well registration and annual well use reporting"* (`RE_ Arkansas water_wastewater regulatory questions.msg`). - **The Sparta is a sustaining aquifer.** Wells drawing from the Sparta are subject to the metering requirement (Corbin Cannon, `Re_ Proposed Well(s) for a Data Center.msg`); see [[Water-Use Registration]]. - The November 2024 reply also flagged a state **"surface water conversion" tax credit** — 50% of project cost up to $1 million in state income-tax credits — as an incentive to use surface water instead of groundwater (Blake Forrest). ## People and orgs mentioned - [[Elai Fresco]] — [[Arup]] senior engineer; led the confidential data-center water due-diligence inquiry. - [[Arup]], [[McClelland Consulting Engineers]] — developer-side engineering consultants. - [[Arkansas Department of Agriculture]] — Natural Resources Division staff in the threads: Tate Wentz (Chief, Water Resources Management), Josh Burns, Corbin Cannon, Blake Forrest, David Cowden. (Plain-text mentions.) - The Division of Environmental Quality (Terry Liu, Dalton Barnum) and the Arkansas Department of Health (Lance Jones, Director of the Engineering Section) also participate. (Plain-text mentions.) ## Concepts invoked - [[Water-Use Registration]] — the registration regime and the Water Plan Compliance gap. ## Events documented - [[2026-05 Department of Agriculture FOIA Response]] — this correspondence was produced under the data-center FOIA. ## Cross-references - The regulatory gap described here is central to the investigation's thesis about who bears the cost and impact of the data-center buildout — see [[Water-Use Registration]] and the [[agriculture/water-withdrawal-2026-05-22/_overview|production overview]]. ## Open questions / follow-ups - **Neither the Arup project nor the MCE project is named.** Both are hyperscale-scale cooling-water footprints; candidates include AVAIO / Project Leo and the announced Conway data center. A follow-up should attempt to identify them — e.g., via the engineers (Arup, McClelland Consulting Engineers) or the aquifer/location clues (the MCE project draws from the Sparta Aquifer). - The Arup thread references site parcels straddling two public water systems near a state highway; those geographic clues may help locate the project. - The 4.32 MGD Sparta withdrawal figure is a planning estimate from the engineer, not an as-built or permitted figure.