EPA Moves to Limit Public Access in Data Centers
The Trump administration is pushing to make it harder for communities to consider proposed data centers, even as opposition to the megaprojects grows across the country.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to repeal a federal requirement that states publish and solicit public input on air pollution permit applications for a range of industrial facilities, including new data centers and power plants needed to operate them.
The move could prevent residents from raising awareness about — or even learning about — data centers before permits are approved and construction begins.
Nearly 200 interest groups and more than a dozen states have voiced opposition to the change, making it the latest flashpoint in the national debate over data centers fueling the AI boom.
“People need to have a say before they see the bulldozers,” said Keri Powell, a senior fellow at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit legal group.
Technology companies are increasingly building their own gas-fired power plants to power energy-intensive data centers, sometimes in response to pressure to keep the facilities from raising electricity costs.
But gas-fired power plants can release greenhouse gases that cause climate change, as well as harmful pollutants like particulate matter and nitrogen oxides that can contribute to asthma, heart disease and other ailments in people living nearby. In some states, the permitting process is the only time the public is informed of plans for power plants.
Carolyn Holran, an EPA spokeswoman, said in an email that the proposal would “give state and local agencies best familiar with local issues the ability to decide whether, when and for how long to provide opportunities for public participation.”
Ms. Holran said the move is intended to “responsibly accelerate permitting, promote American economic development and energy dominance. Our proposal does not change emissions standards or weaken environmental protections.”
In March 2025, Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the EPA, stated that the top priority was to “make the United States the artificial intelligence capital of the world.” He reformulated the purpose of the agency, which was founded in 1970 to protect the environment and public health.
The EPA also proposed another sweeping change that would allow developers to begin building data centers before their permits are approved. And it exempted the gas-fired power plants that power many data centers from limits on pollutants that cause acid rain.
The latest proposal would apply to industrial facilities that the EPA classifies as a “minor source” of air pollution. The category includes auto repair shops, data centers, landfills, laundries and steel mills.
Environmentalists say the phrase “minor source” is misleading because such facilities can emit up to 250 tons of hazardous pollutants annually, a significant amount from a public health perspective.
“It’s a misnomer,” said Jessica O’Donnell, senior counsel at the nonprofit Environmental Law & Policy Center.
Several “minor resource” permits can have a large cumulative effect.
For example, in a section of Virginia called Data Center Alley, Amazon has enough “small resource” permits to allow its backup generators to broadcast 4,200 tons of nitrogen oxides per year, which is roughly equivalent to the amount of nitrogen oxides released by a medium-sized coal-fired power plant in a year.
Josh Weissman, Amazon’s director of data center provisioning, said backup generators account for less than 4 percent of regional nitrogen oxide emissions, adding that they don’t run around the clock.
“It is important to distinguish between what is permitted and what is actually emitted — just because backup generation is permitted does not mean those generators are running,” Mr. Weissman said in an email.
Polls have shown a bipartisan revolt against data centers, with both Democrats and Republicans citing concerns about noise, air pollution and energy and water use. Governors of both parties have called for more public input into projects, not less.
Gov. Spencer Cox, Republican of Utah, ordered state agencies to provide “transparent, meaningful and thorough opportunities for public comment” on the proposed data centers. Governor Greg Abbott, Republican of Texas, has a suspended approval permits for data centers until state regulators can review their effects. And Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, demanded that developers create “Detailed Community Outreach Plans.”
“Even if the Trump administration is willing to limit local entry, Pennsylvania will continue to conduct strict review of all data center permits,” Will Simons, a spokesman for Mr. Shapiro, said in an email.
IN joint letterDemocratic attorneys general from 14 other states have expressed opposition to the EPA’s proposal, although none of the states are data center hubs.
Public comments on the permits sometimes swayed state officials.
Last year, for example, environmentalists wrote to regulators in Indiana about a proposed permit for Project Maize, the $832 million Google data center campus planned along Lake Michigan. Regulators then revised the permit, though they still approved it. (Devon Smiley, a Google spokeswoman, said the project complies with all state and federal regulations.)
The EPA is expected to finalize the proposal within the next year.