What did the governor’s September 21 letter tell TCEQ to do?
On September 21, 2026, Governor Greg Abbott told the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to stop issuing any permit sought by a data center. Governor’s letter I will call the commission TCEQ from here on. It is the state agency that approves air pollution and water permits for new industrial sites. The pause lasts until ERCOT, the nonprofit that runs the electric grid for most of Texas, finishes its review of these projects.
The letter also reaches past TCEQ. It says no other state agency may move ahead on approvals tied to data centers until the grid and water regulators have the information they are gathering. It sets conditions for every project too. A project must pay for its own power lines and help lower home electric bills. It must stay off water that nearby towns need, report its power and water use, and keep a required distance from neighbors.
The letter names no statute that lets a governor stop an agency’s permits. Governor’s letter A Houston Chronicle opinion piece notes that Texas law gives TCEQ’s permit powers to the commission itself. It adds that the governor can suspend agency rules only during a declared disaster. Houston Chronicle opinion The letter declares no disaster. TCEQ followed the order anyway.
TCEQ has stopped issuing air and water permits for data centers
TCEQ says it has stopped issuing every air and water permit and authorization for construction that directly supports a data center. Houston Public Media That covers a lot of ground. Any construction project that disturbs at least one acre needs a TCEQ stormwater permit, which controls rainwater running off the site. Community Impact So nearly every data center campus needs something from the agency.
The pause closes a gap left by the governor’s August order. That order froze new connections to the ERCOT grid, so data centers building their own gas plants could keep moving. Texas Tribune Those plants still need TCEQ air permits. Now they cannot get them.
The letter pauses the issuance of permits and makes no exception for applications already on file. A pending TCEQ application for Crusoe’s Goodnight data center, for example, cannot be granted while the pause runs. TCEQ records also list pending applications for Crusoe’s Longhorn site, IREN’s Childress site and an Aligned Data Centers project in Plano. Blockspace The letter does not say whether it touches work already allowed under a permit TCEQ issued before September 21.
| What changed | Before September 21 | After September 21 |
|---|---|---|
| TCEQ permits for data center projects | Issued after normal review | Not issued until ERCOT finishes its review |
| Data centers with their own gas plants | Outside the governor’s August grid freeze | Stuck, because they still need air permits |
| Approvals from other state agencies | Moved on each agency’s own schedule | On hold until grid and water regulators get their data |
| Report to the governor | No report owed | TCEQ update due October 19, 2026 |
| Conditions on a project | TCEQ’s usual permit rules | Also pay own power costs and stay off community water |
When will TCEQ start issuing data center permits again?
The letter sets no end date. TCEQ owes the governor a compliance report by October 19, 2026, but that report does not end anything. ERCOT plans to file its audit reports on December 10, 2026, and present them to state utility regulators on December 17. ERCOT presentation
The letter ties the end of the pause to ERCOT completing its review. It does not say whether the December reports count as completion. ERCOT has already said the larger grid study that follows the audit will miss its April 9, 2027 deadline, and it has set no new date. Utility Dive The governor also wants the Legislature, which meets in mid January 2027, to end financial incentives for data centers. Community Impact
ERCOT’s data center survey is still due October 12
Answers to ERCOT’s audit survey are due October 12, 2026, from 247 large and 214 medium data centers. Houston Public Media It asks about power use, water use and cooling. It also asks about tax breaks, ownership and effects on neighbors. Projects that do not answer get reported to the state utility commission and the governor’s office.
The Texas Water Development Board runs a separate yearly water use survey. Texas law says anyone who misses its deadline cannot get a TCEQ water rights permit, amendment or renewal. Water board letter A water rights permit is the state’s permission to take water from a river or lake. On September 14, the governor told the water board to report late filers to TCEQ and to local prosecutors. Fewer than 30 percent of the 329 data centers surveyed last year answered. Texas Tribune For those sites, a missed survey can block a water permit even after the governor’s pause ends.
Work that needs no new TCEQ approval can keep going. That includes leasing land, ordering equipment, lining up financing and construction that needs no new TCEQ authorization. Blockspace All of that spending moves forward with no date for when the permits will come.
Tomorrow’s topic
Governor Lombardo’s executive order on Nevada data center standards and tax abatements.