Kyle McClenagan/Houston Public Media

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has shut down its online permit application system after watchdog groups accused the agency of approving permits related to data center projects, in violation of a recent directive from the governor.

Watchdog groups Public Citizen and FracTracker said earlier this week that the TCEQ had continued to process permits for data centers, despite an order from Gov. Greg Abbott to halt approvals for these facilities until an audit is completed.

In particular, the groups identified a handful of construction stormwater permits related to data centers that they said the TCEQ had approved. Public Citizen and FracTracker said after they publicized their findings, the environmental agency suspended at least 17 stormwater and wastewater permits for data center projects.

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"TCEQ retroactively suspending construction stormwater approvals in the wake of FracTracker and Public Citizen’s scrutiny means that any clearing, grading and excavation at these sites must stop immediately," Sam Law, researcher and manager of communications at FracTracker, said in a news release. "The confusion surrounding these approvals further proves the need for a moratorium: TCEQ is proving itself incapable of meeting complex regulatory challenges posed by data centers without further study."

TCEQ spokesperson Victoria Cann said the watchdog groups identified stormwater permits known as notices of intent, which are approved through "automated authorizations," prior to construction.

Cann added that all notices of intent related to data centers have been suspended, along with the agency's online permit application system.

"To ensure all applications are thoroughly reviewed by agency staff to determine if they are related to data centers, applications must be physically provided to TCEQ," she said in a statement.

Cann said the stormwater permits do not grant authority to operate a data center. However, they are required for the construction of data centers if the building process will disturb at least one acre of land and cause erosion, according to the TCEQ’s requirements for stormwater permits.

The governor's office also denied that TCEQ had approved any data center permit applications, following Abbott's order.

“In line with the Governor's directive, TCEQ has not taken and will not take any proactive actions related to the approval of data center permits," Abbott's press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, said in a statement. "Likewise, no other state agency will approve data center-related permits until the Public Utility Commission, ERCOT, and the Water Development Board have the information they need to make informed decisions. Texans must come first."

Kathryn Guerra, director of Public Citizen's TCEQ Watchdog Campaign, said that's not true. Guerra previously worked for the environmental agency, educating companies about the TCEQ permitting process.

"The TCEQ failed to follow the governor's directive and is trying to gaslight Texans about it," she said in a news release. "Once the permit record says approved, the TCEQ has granted the permit — and with it, legal authority for that data center to begin construction. In this case, the agency's rubber stamp worked so well, even the agency had difficulty stopping it. Texans don't need another reason to distrust TCEQ, but here it is."