# Virginia SB521: Data centers; rainwater harvesting systems.

Virginia SB521, Data centers; rainwater harvesting systems., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by R. Creigh Deeds (Democratic); status in committee, last action 2026-02-03 (Assigned HACNR sub: Water Usage) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB521-2026
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB521
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Data centers; rainwater harvesting systems.
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-02-03, Assigned HACNR sub: Water Usage
- Sponsor: R. Creigh Deeds (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Water Usage
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (12 yes, 2 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Data centers; rainwater harvesting systems. Requires any new construction or substantial expansion, as defined in the bill, of a data center, as defined in the bill, to (i) include a rainwater harvesting system sufficient to capture rainwater runoff from at least 30 percent of the total roof surface area of such data center and (ii) use such harvested rainwater for non-potable water needs, as defined in the bill, including irrigation or the dissipation of heat from any component of such data center. The bill also requires any such system to be designed, installed, and periodically inspected by a person certified by the American Society of Sanitary Engineering and authorizes the State Board of Health to promulgate regulations in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Quality as necessary to effectuate the provisions of the bill.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: R. Creigh Deeds (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-03 | Senate | Continued to 2027 in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources | pass | 12 | 2 |   |

## Actions (6)

- 2026-02-03: Assigned HACNR sub: Water Usage (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Senate subcommittee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Continued to 2027 in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (12-Y 2-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB521) (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102641D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Amendment, 2026-02-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1108353.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090664.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090663.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1108353.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090664.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090663.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB521-2026 (as of 2026-10-11).