Institute Fellow Explores Data Center Regulation Ahead of Great Lakes Water Conference

Carmela Sleva brings a life-long learner's mindset to The University of Toledo College of Law.

That tendency toward the new or unfamiliar - any opportunity to learn something - in large part attracted her to the College of Law's Legal Institute of the Great Lakes Fellowship.

And it's serving her well as she now explores an area of the law that's new and unfamiliar to nearly everyone in her chosen profession ahead of the Institute's 26th Great Lakes Water Conference on Friday, Nov. 13. Four national panelists are set to explore the intersection of water, technology and law, including one topic of keen interest to the Great Lakes.

"Data centers are kind of the elephant in the room," Sleva said. "There's a lot of conversation on what needs to happen to regulate them, but not much actually happening yet."

"Which," she added, "is kind of alarming."

Sleva is a third-year student at the College of Law, where she enrolled with nearly four years of paralegal experience in immigration-focused law firms and a quickly waning interest in narrowing her focus to a single practice area. She's since nurtured her wide-reaching curiosity as an extern for Justice Jennifer Brunner of the Supreme Court of Ohio, an intern for the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Ohio and an extern for Judge Jeffrey Helmick of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, as well as numerous roles, including managing editor, within The University of Toledo Law Review.

As she approached her final year in law school, Sleva, who recently accepted a post-graduation position clerking for a judge in the U.S. District for the Eastern District of Kentucky, identified yet another learning opportunity in the College of Law's Legal Institute of the Great Lakes.

This one aligned with her priorities as an environmentalist as well as a long-standing affinity for the Great Lakes.

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Sleva grew up frequently living or visiting with family in Michigan. After she earned undergraduate degrees in history and French from Wayne State University, she went on to work in both Petoskey, Michigan, and metro Detroit.

"I've spent a lot of time around the Great Lakes," Sleva said.

The Legal Institute of the Great Lakes is a distinctive offering within the College of Law. Established as a multidisciplinary research center in 1993, the Institute supports research, maintains publications and sponsors an annual conference on legal, economic and social issues of importance to the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada.

As a Legal Institute of the Great Lakes Fellow, Sleva is helping to organize the 2026 Great Lakes Water Conference: Water, Technology and Law alongside director Evan Zoldan.

Registration for the live webinar is required online by Tuesday, Nov. 10.

The yearlong fellowship is also an opportunity for independent research into the annual conference theme under Zoldan, who is also the associate dean for academic affairs and the John W. Stoepler Professor of Law and Values at the College of Law.

"Data centers are a big part of this year's theme, but we're looking at both ends of the spectrum," Sleva said. "So it's technologies that threaten water resources and water security, but also technologies that could aid in protecting water resources like storm or groundwater monitoring."

With enormous demand for water to cool the processors responsible for artificial intelligence, data centers fall into the former category. Their development boom raises concerns about increasing pressure on an essential natural resource - particularly in the region surrounding the Great Lakes, where easy access to abundant freshwater is attractive to developers.

Sleva said she's been interested to dig into a case out of Wilmington, Ohio, where the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a citizen initiative to add data center regulations to city zoning code could not go to a vote because it would have enabled private citizens to sue the centers for zoning violations. Ohio municipalities, in this context, do not have the authority to create private causes of action.

But when it comes to case law, by and large, the rapidly advancing artificial intelligence industry and accompanying data center boom still present more questions than answers.

"I think a big question for us is: How do you regulate something that's growing so fast?" Sleva said. "There's a lot of opportunity to better understand what data centers' water needs actually are and to better regulate these facilities."

Zoldan said Sleva is supporting the mission of the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes.

"Her work on the Great Lakes Water Conference, along with her excellent research and writing skills, have already made a positive impact on the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes," Zoldan said. "Throughout the fellowship period, Carmela will help the Institute fulfill its mission of creating and disseminating legal and policy research relevant to the Great Lakes region."

Sleva has begun summarizing her research in LinkedIn blog posts under the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes ahead of the Great Lakes Water Conference. She's looking forward to hearing first-hand from some of the same engineers and lawyers whose work she's been analyzing.

"I can't wait to see them present," she said. "It's really full circle."