The Trump administration is stripping away Americans' right to weigh in on data centers before construction starts, even as bipartisan backlash against the massive AI-fueled facilities grows nationwide.
According to The New York Times, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate a federal requirement forcing states to publicize and collect public comments on air pollution permits for data centers and the gas plants that power them.
The change would apply to facilities the agency classifies as "minor sources," a category environmentalists call misleading since such sites can legally emit up to 250 tons of hazardous pollutants annually — comparable to the impact of a medium-sized coal plant when multiplied across a cluster of permits.
Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Keri Powell summed up what's at stake for residents, warning, "People need to have a chance to have a say before they see bulldozers."
Public input has made a real difference before — in Indiana, resident pushback led regulators to revise (though ultimately approve) permits for an $832 million Google data center campus near Lake Michigan.
Nearly 200 advocacy groups and more than a dozen states have pushed back against the proposal. EPA spokeswoman Carolyn Holran defended the move as a way to hand states more flexibility over permitting timelines, insisting it doesn't weaken emission standards. But the change fits a broader pattern under EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who declared in 2025 that making America "the artificial intelligence capital of the world" was a top priority, and the agency has separately proposed letting developers begin construction before permits are even approved.
Meanwhile, a public comment posted by 14 states, the District of Columbia, and the Cities of New York and Chicago slammed the proposal, claiming it "sidelines ... democratic safeguards." And Matt Yglesias, a center-left commentator, said of the plan, "This is like they straight-up want to lose the midterms."
The politics cut across party lines. Utah's Republican Gov. Spencer Cox has directed state agencies to ensure "transparent, meaningful and thorough" public comment opportunities, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott paused new data center permit approvals pending an audit. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's office says the state will keep its own strict review process regardless of what Washington does.