West Virginia HB 4983: Data Center Certification Rules

On March 27, 2026, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) signed House Bill 4983, the rules bundle that completes the certification machinery for the state's high-impact data center and certified microgrid program created by 2025's House Bill 2014, the Power Generation and Consumption Act (W. Va. Code §5B-2-21 through §5B-2-21b). The same day, Morrisey announced that Google will build a data center campus in Putnam County, the program's second certified project in a month.

Under the two laws, one state officer certifies projects, local governments are preempted from regulating them, and nearly the entire application record is confidential. The state already has two certified campuses.

The rule drew heavy public comment. The December 2025 comment period on the Commerce rule drew 935 individual comments, which the agency sorted into economic, environmental, transparency, local-control, and infrastructure concerns. The Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee approved the rule with modest changes on January 28, 2026, and the Legislature enacted it, effective from passage, six weeks later.

How Certification Works

Certification works by petition to the Department of Commerce. The certification rule filed with the Secretary of State, 145 CSR 20, the "Rule to Petition the Department of Commerce for Certification of a Microgrid District or Certification as a High Impact Data Center," sets out the sequence shown in Exhibit 1.

Certification is the gateway to HB 2014's operating privileges. Under §5B-2-21b, certified projects are exempt from county and municipal zoning, noise, viewshed, lighting, development, and land-use ordinances, and from local building permitting, inspection, code enforcement, and license requirements. Microgrid districts, which can cover up to 2,250 acres, may generate and consume their own power behind the meter of any existing utility. State and federal environmental laws still apply, a point the enacted rule makes explicit: "Nothing in this rule is intended to exempt a certificated microgrid district from otherwise applicable state and federal environmental regulations."

The confidentiality is statutory as well as regulatory. §5B-2-21a(e) exempts from the Freedom of Information Act any information a data center identifies as confidential business information, and §5B-2-21 requires the department to hold microgrid letters of intent and all supplied information in confidence. Section 15.1 of the rule goes further and deems all letters of intent and all petitions confidential, with no listed exceptions. The state keeps a list of certified projects for the Governor and Legislature with identifying details removed.

The sealed record also leaves developers without public cover. Because the state's file is sealed and the burden analysis is self-reported, a developer's own diligence on water, air-permitting exposure, community opposition, and title is the only diligence that exists. We expect the Berkeley County pattern (certification announced first, organized opposition after) to repeat at the next three certified sites, and we expect the confidentiality provisions to draw a FOIA or constitutional test case within 18 months.

What the Legislature Rejected

Every attempt to open the record or give residents a procedural foothold failed, most of them by wide margins. The House took up HB 4983 on February 16 and 17, 2026, and the Senate on March 11. Exhibit 2 lists each vote.

The opposition was bipartisan but small. All nine House Democrats and seven Republicans voted against passage on February 17, and five Republicans and Sen. Joey Garcia (D-Marion) opposed it in the Senate. Del. Jonathan Pinson (R-Mason) captured the majority's view of the buffer amendment: "This really just sends the message, 'We don't want a single data center in the state of West Virginia.'" Del. Hansen described the water amendment's purpose: "The intent is to make sure that serious consideration is given up front to make sure that they're not impacting other water users."

Water: In the Rule, Inside the Sealed Record

The Senate's one substantive change moved water into the developer's analysis without moving it into public view. The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Tom Willis (R-Berkeley), amended the rule to require that potential water usage be studied and that water sources receive "mindful protections" in developer applications and building plans. Willis called it "a more burdensome requirement" intended to address community concerns. Sen. Rupie Phillips (R-Logan) opposed it on the ground that it "could affect a lot of other industries."

The enacted rule now defines an inordinate burden to include loss of water access. The final rule's definition reads: "a parcel's use is so severely restricted that it deprives the owner of nearly all of its economically beneficial use or access of water." A neighboring landowner could rely on that definition only if the filing were public. Preservati confirmed during the January rulemaking that water-related information would remain confidential because it may contain trade secrets.

Petitions now need a water study. A defensible study covers source, withdrawal volumes, competing users, and mitigation. The state will not publish it, but the Secretary may verify it, and the DEP may be consulted on it. A record that stays sealed under 145 CSR 20 may not stay sealed under a court's reading of §5B-2-21a(e), so the study may face both an agency challenge and a later public records fight.

How the Property Tax Is Split

The fast track also carries a tax split that sends most of the revenue away from the host county. Under HB 2014, codified at W. Va. Code §11-6N-4, property tax revenue from certified high-impact data centers is distributed: 50% to the state Personal Income Tax Reduction Fund, 30% to the host county, 10% to counties statewide on a per-capita basis, 5% to the Economic Enhancement Grant Fund administered by the Water Development Authority, and 5% to the Electric Grid Stabilization and Security Fund. Exhibit 3 applies the split to a $20 million annual bill.

For a certified campus generating $20 million in annual property tax, the host county keeps $6 million. Ten million dollars reduces state income taxes for all West Virginians, $2 million is spread per capita across counties that host nothing, and $2 million funds state grant and grid programs. A county absorbing 100% of the traffic, water, and emergency-service impacts retains less than one-third of the revenue, which is why county commissions pushed back on the formula in 2025 and why the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy has argued the redistribution of locally levied tax dollars raises state constitutional questions.

The formula is also the state's leverage in every certification conversation. Berkeley County Commission President Eddie Gochenour publicly welcomed the Penzance project's "annual revenue" on announcement day. At 30%, that revenue is bounded, and a county that wants more than the statutory share has to negotiate it directly with the developer, outside a certification process it has no role in.

Two Certified Campuses

Two high-impact data centers have been certified since the rule took shape.

• Penzance, Bedington Campus, Berkeley County. Announced February 26, 2026 as the state's first certification: roughly $4 billion at full buildout on 548 acres in the Falling Waters District, 1.9 million square feet and 600 MW of IT capacity at full capacity, about 1,000 construction jobs and 125 permanent positions, with county officials pointing to a reclaimed-water strategy. Organized resident opposition followed the announcement.
• Google, Buffalo, Putnam County. Announced March 27, 2026 as the second certification, described as a multibillion-dollar project. Google committed to cover 100% of the electricity powering the facility and to fund all needed electric, water, and sewer upgrades, and it cited its company-wide goal of replenishing 120% of the water it consumes by 2030. Putnam County Development Authority Director Morgan Tenney said Google had been "receptive" to community feedback early.

The confidentiality provisions have not yet been tested. Two certified projects, one organized opposition campaign, and a statutory FOIA exemption that turns on what the company labels confidential make a likely set of facts for a court challenge. Exhibit 4 sets out the dates ahead.

What to Do Now

If you are weighing a West Virginia site for a data center of 90 MW or more, the certification lane is open and two campuses have already used it. Projects below 90 MW stay under local zoning and permitting. If you want a read on fit before the 2027 Regular Session, reach out to our team.

References

1. West Virginia Legislature, HB 4983 bill history, 2026 Regular Session, approved by Governor March 27, 2026, effective from passage.
2. West Virginia Legislature, HB 2014 bill history, 2025 Regular Session, signed April 30, 2025, effective July 11, 2025.
3. West Virginia Secretary of State, 145 CSR 20, Rule to Petition the Department of Commerce for Certification of a Microgrid District or Certification as a High Impact Data Center.
4. W. Va. Code §5B-2-21, §5B-2-21a, §5B-2-21b, §11-6N-2, and §11-6N-4.
5. West Virginia Legislature, House Roll Call No. 108, HB 4983 (78-16), February 17, 2026; Senate Roll Call No. 464, HB 4983 (28-6), March 11, 2026.
6. LegiScan, WV HB 4983 (2026), actions and roll calls.
7. West Virginia Watch, WV lawmakers approve changes to microgrid, data center rules, vote down public transparency measure, January 30, 2026.
8. West Virginia Watch, WV House passes new data center development rules without local control, water protection provisions, February 18, 2026.
9. West Virginia Watch, WV Senate passes data center rules with new language urging developers to study potential water use, March 11, 2026.
10. West Virginia Watch, Morrisey: Google commits to build data center campus in Putnam County, WV; limited details available, March 27, 2026.
11. West Virginia Watch, Morrisey signs priority bill meant to incentivize data centers, microgrids locating in WV, April 30, 2025.
12. Office of Gov. Patrick Morrisey, Governor Morrisey Announces $4 Billion Private Investment in West Virginia's First High Impact Intelligence Center, February 26, 2026.
13. Office of Gov. Patrick Morrisey, Governor Morrisey Announces Google Data Center Project in Putnam County, March 27, 2026.
14. West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, Five Ways HB 2014 Harms Communities, Local Governments, and Schools, July 15, 2025.
15. West Virginia Department of Economic Development, Data Centers program page.

© Copyright 2026 TC Policy Group, LLC (d/b/a Crawford Partners). The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of Crawford Partners, its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals. Crawford Partners is not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice.