O licenciamento ambiental de Data Centers em Minas Gerais

uma análise dos impactos da Lei n.° 15.190/2025 no processo de regulamentação dos licenciamentos ambientais

Abstract

The growth of the digital age and the evolution of artificial intelligence are driving demand for technological infrastructure, with data centers emerging as essential tools. However, the installation and operation of these facilities result in significant environmental impacts, particularly due to excessive water consumption for cooling. This study analyzes the regulatory challenges in Minas Gerais, focusing on State Law No. 15,190/2025, which facilitates environmental licensing, and its effects on water security and the fundamental rights of local communities. Although the legislation does not establish preventive criteria for potentially polluting activities, particularly those with high water consumption—such as data centers, which can consume as much water as a city of 30,000 inhabitants, using 3 to 5 million liters of water per day. The simplification of the permitting process, which often classifies these complexes as low-impact, allows them to be established in smaller communities without the requirement for detailed environmental impact studies. While this relaxation of regulations may be attractive to investors, it undermines the state’s ability to control the use of a vital resource in a context of water vulnerability. The central argument put forward is that streamlining the licensing process for data centers without specific regulations violates the Precautionary Principle and the fundamental right to water of communities in Minas Gerais. The government’s failure to establish preventive standards and oversee water use constitutes state inaction. This failure disregards the duty to prevent irreversible environmental and social harm, especially given the risk of water scarcity. The state’s inaction is evident in the absence of effective oversight, which turns data centers’ water use into a potential source of socio-environmental conflict. Law No. 9,433/1997 establishes the priority of human consumption in situations of scarcity, but the lack of strict control over the volume of water used by data centers, primarily for cooling, jeopardizes access to drinking water and the livelihoods of neighboring populations. Methodologically, this study employs a normative-legal research methodology of an exploratory nature, using a qualitative approach. The research draws on both primary sources—such as laws, treaties, and case law—and secondary sources—such as texts by various authors. Regarding data collection procedures, both inductive and deductive methods are employed, utilizing case law research tools. For data analysis, Laurence Bardin’s Content Analysis Theory is applied. This study is structured as follows to achieve its findings: The need for regulation of data centers to guarantee the fundamental rights of local communities (2) the violation of the Precautionary Principle due to the failure to regulate data centers (3) the State’s inaction regarding the excessive use of water in data centers, which leads to water scarcity (4) and the absence of state oversight of data centers from the perspective of the priority use of water as a factor in socio-environmental conflict.