County Council approves Quantum Loophole water, sewerage amendments

Oct. 18—The Frederick County Council on Tuesday approved water and sewerage amendments for Quantum Loophole's data center campus, which will allow the campus' water and sewer infrastructure to connect to public systems and get water from water treatment plants.

The amendments, submitted by Quantum Loophole and Aligned Data Centers, respectively, requested that land on the former Alcoa Eastalco aluminum smelting plant site be reclassified to reflect progress on planned water and sewer projects on the campus.

With the the reclassifications being granted, the companies will be expected to complete the proposed developments within the next three years.

The motion to approve Quantum Loophole's amendments passed 6-1, with Councilman Steve McKay the only member to opposeit. The motion to approve Aligned's amendments passed unanimously.

Quantum Loophole's campus will include two water distribution systems, according to a preliminary site plan the Planning Commission approved in December 2021.

One system will be for potable water for use in domestic and fire service purposes. The other system will be for non-potable water for cooling.

Quantum Loophole has proposed creating a gravity sewer collection system for the entire campus, which includes Aligned's lot on the property.

The gravity sewer collection system would include a sewage pump station that could pump 5 million gallons per day at its peak, as well as a pipe connecting the station to existing infrastructure at New Design Road.

A gravity sewer system has pipes that slope downward, so the wastewater flows down due to gravity.

The campus will pull potable water from the New Design Road Water Treatment Plant. Once its water and sewer developments are completed, the site will use non-potable water from the Ballenger-McKinney Wastewater Treatment Plant for cooling.

The campus will pull water from the wastewater treatment plant, use it for cooling and send it back to the plant to be treated again in a closed loop system.

In the interim period before the water and sewerage developments are completed, the cooling water will be temporarily provided by the New Design Road Water Treatment Plant.

The first phase for Quantum Loophole's campus is limited to using a combined 1.3 million gallons of water per day for cooling from the New Design Road Water Treatment Plant, according to the site plan approved in 2021.

Quantum Loophole has estimated its entire campus build-up may use up to 5 million gallons of non-potable water per day for cooling.

During the hearing on Tuesday, Kraig Walsleben of Rodgers Consulting spoke on behalf of Quantum Loophole. He said the 5 million gallons per day was "speculative."

"We had to come up with a number because we don't know which users are going to be using water for cooling and which won't," he said.

If data centers want to use more than a combined 1.3 million gallons per day of potable water before the campus can pull water from the Ballenger-McKinney Wastewater Treatment Plant, Walsleben said, they won't be able to because the county has limited how much potable water the campus can pull.

Currently, Aligned is the only company that has bought a lot on Quantum Loophole's campus. Walsleben said Aligned's first site plan for a data center facility on Quantum Loophole's campus does not plan on using water for cooling.

He said it's possible the entire campus may never reach using 5 million gallons per day for cooling — or even reach using 1.3 million gallons per day — depending on the cooling methods companies use.

"I understand that it may be hyped up. There's a lot of water out there that all these data centers are using," Walsleben said. "We are limited. We are limited by what you have already applied to us."

McKay asked Walsleben if Quantum Loophole is still working with the Maryland Department of the Environment and whether the company is allowed to continue work on the campus.

The department revoked approval for Quantum Loophole's environmental management plan in May following numerous environmental and work violations.

No installation of utilities can continue on the site until a new environmental management plan has been approved and Quantum Loophole has obtained permits to discharge contained groundwater, according to department spokesperson Jay Apperson.

Walsleben said Quantum Loophole is still operating under a "stop work order" from the department.

"The applicant is active with MDE, working through their issues, and plans continue to be reviewed and approved ... with the expectation of being allowed to resume building," Walsleben said at the hearing.

McKay said he was concerned that Quantum Loophole doesn't have a specific amount of water it knows its data center campus will use.

He said if the campus reaches a point where the buildout is partially completed and Quantum Loophole realizes the campus needs more potable water, the county will also be invested and more likely to give Quantum Loophole access to more water than allowed under the approved limit.

"Ultimately, I'm just concerned because nobody seems to know how much water you're going to need," McKay said.