Woodlands residents have no single place to file complaints about data centers because the community is unincorporated.
A KPRC 2 guide published Sept. 7 breaks down which agencies handle which problems. Without a city government that holds zoning power, many issues in The Woodlands route to the Montgomery County Commissioners Court or state agencies.
Here is where Woodlands-area residents should start.
Noise: Texas counties cannot enact noise ordinances, according to the Texas State Law Library. Montgomery County has limited tools to address loud generators or overnight construction. Residents can contact the county or a local police non-emergency line. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) says noise and light complaints fall outside its permitting authority.
Water pollution and environmental concerns: TCEQ handles complaints about unauthorized discharges, stormwater runoff at construction sites, air pollution, dust and odors. Call the TCEQ Environmental Complaint Hotline at 888-777-3186 or file a complaint on the TCEQ website. For spills or emergencies, the 24-hour Texas Spill Reporting Hotline is 800-832-8224.
Groundwater: Questions about where a data center gets its water or whether it needs a groundwater permit go to the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District (LSGCD), the local authority for Montgomery County. The LSGCD is at 655 Conroe Park North Drive in Conroe. Its next board meeting is Oct. 13.
Electric bills and grid concerns: Start with your retail electric provider. If the issue is unresolved, file a complaint with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) Consumer Assistance Hotline at 888-782-8477. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the grid but does not investigate individual residential complaints.
Land use and development: Contact the Montgomery County Commissioners Court at 501 North Thompson, Fourth Floor, Conroe. The court includes County Judge Mark Keough and Commissioners Robert C. Walker, Charlie Riley, Ritch Wheeler and Matt Gray. TCEQ says zoning and property-value concerns are outside its authority.
Permits: Search pending TCEQ permit applications on the TCEQ website. Some permits include public comment periods. TCEQ's Public Education Program answers process questions at 800-687-4040.
The regulatory gap matters. Nearly half of planned data centers in Texas are set for unincorporated areas free of city regulations, the Texas Tribune reported in June. Only 12% of existing data centers sit in unincorporated territory.
"The data center folks have found a sweet spot in the state that has limited regulations, limited enforcement, limited code, and they're coming faster than we can keep up with," Hill County Commissioner Jim Holcomb said in May, when his county approved a one-year moratorium on data center construction.
Gov. Greg Abbott directed ERCOT and the PUCT on Aug. 3 to audit all data centers seeking grid connections before approving new ones. ERCOT was tracking roughly 474 gigawatts of large-load interconnection requests as of June, about 90% from data centers, according to Broadband Breakfast. The audit is expected to take several months.
Abbott told KPRC 2 on Sept. 9 that he is enforcing data center standards now. He expects the Texas Legislature to pass them into law in the session beginning Jan. 12, 2027.
TCEQ recommends residents documenting a concern record what happened, where, when, who caused it and any supporting evidence including photographs. Residents who want to weigh in on data center development can contact the Commissioners Court or attend LSGCD board meetings in Conroe.
