BLM Says a Data Center 9x the Power Load Is "the Same". It's Really Not.

I am writing as your constituent to urge immediate legislative oversight regarding the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) unprecedented approval of commercial AI data centers on federal public lands. In June, the BLM approved the 167 MW Townsite Data Center project near Boulder City, Nevada, by treating it as "substantially the same" as a previously approved 19 MW solar installation—a nearly ninefold power scale increase approved without new environmental analysis. By using an administrative Determination of NEPA Adequacy (DNA) rather than conducting a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the agency bypassed public comment entirely. Boulder City officials and local stakeholders raised alarm after learning the project would consume up to 500,000 gallons of water per day during construction alone in an already arid region—water impacts that received no public review prior to federal authorization. An Interior Department administrative judge has since stayed the approval, ruling that a 300,000-square-foot commercial computing facility is fundamentally different from a solar generating plant. However, a temporary administrative stay is not a permanent solution, and the agency’s reliance on executive directives to accelerate data center permitting signals an intent to use shortcut reviews as a template for future public land developments. Federal public lands are protected under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) for multiple use, sustained yield, and conservation. They were never intended to serve as cut-rate real estate for commercial server farms operating without rigorous environmental oversight. I urge you to take immediate legislative action: 1. Support the No AI Data Centers on Federal Lands Act (H.R. 9939): Cosponsor legislation introduced to prohibit large-scale commercial AI infrastructure on federal public property and mandate environmental restoration for unapproved sites. 2. Exercise Strict Article I Oversight Over BLM Permitting: Direct the House Natural Resources and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committees to investigate the misuse of administrative review shortcuts—such as Determinations of NEPA Adequacy—to circumvent full environmental impact statements. 3. Protect Local Infrastructure and Water Basins: Establish statutory guardrails ensuring commercial energy and water demands on public lands cannot bypass local municipal review or shift unstudied costs onto surrounding communities. Our public lands require transparent governance, rigorous environmental review, and strong congressional oversight. I ask that you act to protect them immediately.