AI firms want more data centers; Trump's EPA may give neighbors less say
Ars Technica AI · Molly Taft, wired.com · 2026-07-24
The Trump administration's EPA is proposing to cede public participation authority in air-pollution permitting to individual states, a change that could sharply reduce community oversight of data center construction and the gas plants and diesel generators that power them.
Appears in
Extraction
Topics: data-center-regulationepa-policyai-infrastructureenvironmental-regulationcommunity-oversight
Claims
- The EPA proposed a rule giving states the power to decide how the public participates in permitting for new sources of air pollution, including facilities that power data centers.
- Data centers are already facing significant community pushback across the US, with residents using existing permitting processes to slow or block development.
- The proposed rule change could reduce or eliminate public notice requirements for new polluting facilities such as gas plants and diesel generators associated with AI infrastructure.
- Community organizers argue that local residents have a fundamental interest in participating in decisions about polluting facilities entering their neighborhoods.
Key quotes
As someone actively working in communities with data centers, I know this to be fundamentally true: People want to have a say.