Two New Mexico Supreme Court rulings will allow water to flow and permitting to continue for the Project Jupiter data center, which is currently under construction. Meanwhile, one of the conservation groups that lost its effort to cut off the water says it is gearing up for a long legal fight.
The site is being built by Oracle and is expected to house OpenAI, known for its ChatGPT platform.
Colin Cox is a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. He’s been critical of state officials who approved the use of water at the site.
“They’re giving it away to thirsty corporations, to data centers that nobody wants,” Cox said.
The recent rulings restore Oracle’s access to non-potable groundwater via a private supplier. The Center for Biological Diversity sued New Mexico State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson in one case over water use, and the group New Energy Economy sued New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney in another, over air quality permitting.
The New Mexico Supreme Court justices didn’t explain their rulings in the Sept. 17 orders, but in both cases, they unanimously denied emergency petitions and lifted a pause on regulatory proceedings that they ordered in August.
Previously, an Oracle spokesperson said that the water will be used for construction of the site.
“Construction uses non-potable water from an existing New Mexico water-rights holder for activities such as dust control which is no different than any construction project like an office building,” the statement said. “This water use is also subject to oversight by the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer.”
Oracle claimed in the statement that it has made “significant conservation efforts” on Project Jupiter.
“We are using less water than originally projected, and water use will decline as construction progresses,” the statement said.
The New Mexico State Engineer has reported that 197 million gallons have been used in construction of the site to date.
