Officials in Wyoming have enacted stringent safety regulations for wastewater disposal from datacenter projects after a contractor for Meta Platforms Inc. discharged bacteria-contaminated water into public sewers during construction of an AI datacenter in Cheyenne.
Incident and Immediate Response
The contamination was discovered in February during routine testing of wastewater discharged from the cooling system of the datacenter campus in the High Plains Business Park, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. The city permanently revoked Meta's authority to discharge waste into Cheyenne's water treatment facilities, where water is recycled for irrigation in parks and other public spaces.
Meta's general contractor, Fortis, was ordered to cooperate with the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities (BOPU) to prevent recurrence. A Meta spokesperson stated, "When the board shared that it found a substance in the city's wastewater - not public drinking water - Fortis immediately stopped discharging industrial wastewater and began hauling it offsite." The company added that independent environmental testing found no trace of the bacteria in their water.
Bacteria Details and Health Risks
The contaminant was Cupriavidus gilardii, a naturally occurring soil bacterium classified as an "opportunistic pathogen" harmful only to individuals with serious health conditions or weakened immune systems. A March 2026 study in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases reported a patient who died of septic shock after contracting an infection from this bacterium during a cord blood transplantation. Only seven human infections have been documented, including a 12-year-old American girl who died of sepsis after exposure during a European vacation, according to a 2010 report in the National Library of Medicine.
New Regulations and Context
Frank Strong, BOPU's engineering and water resource division manager, told the Tribune Eagle that the city adopted a new policy prohibiting wastewater discharges from datacenters using closed loop cooling systems and fill and flush systems. These systems circulate purified water to remove construction debris, flux residue, and pipe scale. The new regulations require companies to build separate collection systems that direct water from cooling equipment or floor drains into storage tanks for offsite disposal, rather than flushing it into the city's sanitary sewer.
Strong expressed concern about the city's reuse system: "The concern we have with our reuse system is we put it into aerosol, where we spray it onto the grass, and that increases the potential for health issues." The irrigation program has resumed since the datacenter's wastewater is no longer being discharged.
Broader Backlash Against Datacenters
The incident occurs amid growing national opposition to resource-intensive datacenters. According to Data Center Map, the US has nearly 4,500 datacenters, some consuming up to 300,000 gallons of water daily—equivalent to the demands of about 1,000 households. Public opposition to Project Cosmo, the 800,000 sq ft facility, was already mounting before the bacteria incident, with environmental concerns about closed loop cooling systems used by Meta and other tech companies advancing AI.
The Cowboy State Daily reported in May on pushback in Cheyenne and elsewhere in Wyoming. Erin Lamb, BOPU's administrative and public affairs coordinator, stated the city will host a press conference in the coming weeks and will not address media questions until then.
