Proposed EPA Rule Could Let States Decide Whether Residents Get Notice Before Some Data Centers Receive Air Permits
Communities could have less opportunity to learn about or weigh in on proposed data centers under an Environmental Protection Agency plan that would remove a longstanding federal public-notice requirement from certain air pollution permits.
The proposal would eliminate the federal requirement that states notify the public and provide an opportunity for comment before issuing permits to facilities classified as “minor” sources of air pollution.
That category can include some data centers, along with businesses and industrial facilities ranging from laundromats and auto repair shops to landfills and steel mills.
States could continue requiring public notice and hearings under their own laws. But they would no longer have to provide them as a condition of their federally approved permitting programs.
The change comes as communities across the country increasingly debate the rapid expansion of massive data centers needed to power artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
Critics Warn Communities Could Lose Their Voice
Environmental advocates say eliminating the federal minimum could leave residents in some states unaware of proposed projects until after permits have already been issued.
“Data centers and other industrial sources should not be able to get their air pollution permits in secret,” said Keri Powell, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Powell’s organization is part of a coalition of nearly 200 environmental, health and community groups opposing the proposal.
“Communities deserve a chance to weigh in” before potentially harmful projects are approved, she said.
Also Read: Greg Abbott Says Texas Data Centers ‘Dug Their Own Grave’ as Backlash Grows
Mike Koerber, a former deputy director of the EPA’s air quality office, said the proposal could produce major differences in transparency from one state to another.
“By eliminating the long-standing federal requirement for public notice, this proposal continues efforts by the Trump administration to turn its back on the fundamental EPA principle of transparency,” Koerber said.
He warned that residents in states with limited public-notice protections could have fewer opportunities to learn about new data centers, power plants and other industrial projects before construction begins.
The issue is particularly significant because environmental groups say some states rely heavily on federal requirements rather than imposing stronger public-notice standards of their own.
“We rely on a minimum federal requirement to ensure we have environmental protections and a voice,” Powell said.
EPA Says States Should Control Permitting
The EPA disputes claims that the proposal would shut communities out of the process.
“In our proposal we are saying that states get to pick how they want their permitting process to go for minor sources” of air pollution, EPA spokesperson Carolyn Holran said.
Holran said the proposal would not change federal emissions limits or directly weaken existing pollution standards. Instead, the agency says the change would give states greater authority over how they handle permitting.
“The proposal simply aligns the national program with the Clean Air Act language to ensure that states are in the lead regarding their programs,” she said.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the plan is intended to cut what the administration considers unnecessary regulatory requirements while giving states greater control.
The proposal is aimed at “cutting unnecessary and burdensome red tape, unleashing American energy and advancing cooperative federalism,” Zeldin said.
The EPA is expected to finalize the rule next year.
San Antonio Could Still Have A Say
The proposed EPA change would remove a federal public-notice requirement, but it would not prevent San Antonio from imposing its own rules on where and how data centers are built.
As the Observer has previously reported, San Antonio City Council has been considering tighter local oversight as data center development accelerates across the city.
Council members have discussed changing zoning and land-use rules, including restricting data centers to certain commercial and industrial areas, establishing buffers between the facilities and homes, schools and other sensitive sites, and limiting development over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. City officials are expected to continue developing those proposals before Council takes a final vote.
Related: San Antonio City Council Could Restrict Where Data Centers Are Built
That means San Antonio residents could still have opportunities to weigh in through local zoning decisions, public meetings and City Council action even if the EPA eliminates its federal requirement. But the level of transparency would increasingly depend on what local and state governments choose to require — one of the central concerns raised by opponents of the EPA proposal.
Data Centers Face Growing Scrutiny
The permitting debate comes amid broader concern over the environmental and economic effects of the rapidly expanding data center industry.
President Donald Trump has strongly supported data center development as the United States competes with China in artificial intelligence.
Trump recently argued that communities without data centers could “end up being backwards and poor.”
At the same time, he has acknowledged that the industry needs “a little public relations help” and has encouraged technology companies to generate their own electricity rather than place additional pressure on household utility customers.
Public opposition has grown in communities concerned about electricity demand, water consumption, noise and air pollution.
Data centers can produce nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and other pollutants, particularly when using diesel generators and other on-site power systems.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted with the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute found about 4 in 10 U.S. adults were extremely or very concerned about the environmental consequences of artificial intelligence.
Americans also expressed concerns that AI could worsen economic inequality and eliminate jobs.
Supporters of data centers argue the projects can bring significant local tax revenue and help finance public schools and other public services.
Environmental advocates say those potential benefits should not eliminate public scrutiny before projects are approved.
“Every community should be able to participate robustly in governmental decisions that can pollute our air,” said Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics.
