The agreement resolves a lawsuit filed in June by the Sierra Club and Midwest Environmental Advocates in Ozaukee County court. The groups argued that the DNR approved permits for a large Vantage data center under construction in Port Washington without conducting an adequate environmental impact statement.

The statewide review will examine how data centers use Wisconsin’s resources, including their cumulative impacts as more facilities are proposed. Midwest Environmental Advocates attorney Michael Greif said the settlement expands the focus beyond the Port Washington project to the effects of development across the state.

“Looking at these impacts holistically is important because the impacts of data centers are statewide,” Greif said.

The scale of the issue is reflected in a state Public Service Commission report released this summer. It found that the Port Washington facility, along with data centers under construction by Microsoft in Mount Pleasant and Meta in Beaver Dam, are expected to contribute to a 40% increase in statewide energy demand over the next six years.

Elizabeth Ward, director of the Sierra Club’s Wisconsin chapter, said residents and regulators need information about data centers’ potential water and energy use before projects move forward. She called for a transparent process for decisions that could affect communities and the environment for decades.

State law and DNR rules allow the agency to conduct a broad analysis when an issue is complex or new to Wisconsin, may lead to future environmental reviews or policies, or involves controversial resource-related projects. Wisconsin will join a small number of states examining data centers’ statewide effects: New York began a similar analysis through an executive order in July, while Maryland passed a law last December requiring agencies to study the likely environmental, energy and economic impacts of data center development.