Cheyenne BOPU Suspends Acceptance Of Some Data Center Discharges

The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities says it is suspending "acceptance of industrial discharges associated with data center fill and flush and closed-loop system operations until further notice."

The move was announced on Thursday in a BOPU news release. the release identifies Goat Systems LLC as having been issued a Noncompliance Violation Notice for contaminating the the city's wastewater treatment processes with Cupriavidus gilardii, bacteria.

The company is building a new 800,000 square foot campus in Cheyenne.

Here is the notice:

Public Notice of Environmental Noncompliance:

In accordance with 40 CFR 403.8(f)(2)(viii)(H), the following industrial wastewater discharger regulated by the City of Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities Industrial Pretreatment Program was in Significant Noncompliance (SNC) of Cheyenne City Code Chapter 13.20.050: Goat Systems, LLC was in SNC for contribution of a pollutant (Cupriavidus gilardii) that interfered and caused pass through at the City of Cheyenne Water Reclamation Facilities. Goat Systems, LLC was notified of the presence of the pollutant and immediately ceased discharge of wastewater from the fill and flush operation at Meta Cheyenne Datacenter CHY 1-2.

May Mostly Impact Newer Data Centers

Townsquare Media asked BOPU spokeswoman Erin Lamb how many data centers the policy change would impact in the Cheyenne area. She said she doesn't have an exact number "but I would think it's mostly the newer centers that are coming online."

An article from earlier this year in Data Centre magazine said closed loop systems "are rapidly becoming the standard architecture for operators seeking to balance performance with environmental responsibility." 

The article says that's because of the advantage of "circulating coolant through sealed systems that eliminate the need for constant water replenishment."