EPA: Don’t silence communities to build data centers
Tell the EPA: Don’t silence communities to build data centers
- Tue, Aug 11 2026 at 10:31 AM
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a rule that could strip away your right to speak up before polluting facilities get built in your community — including data centers powered by dirty energy and notorious for water waste.
Data center expansion is happening at an alarming rate with almost no guardrails, requiring enormous amounts of energy and water and driving countless harms to communities across the country.
To meet the growing energy demand, many data centers are running on dirty diesel generators and gas turbines that pollute nearby communities' air and water and drive the climate crisis.
Right now, when a company wants to build one of these facilities, federal law requires that the public be notified and given a chance to weigh in.
The EPA's proposed rule would eliminate public notice and feedback requirements for "minor source" air permits and let state agencies decide whether you get any say at all.
Don’t let the term “minor” fool you. Minor source air permits apply to many data centers because of the massive fleets of on-site diesel backup generators and industrial boilers. This proposed rule change has major implications for everyone living near a polluting facility.
The EPA is accepting public comment through August 21. Demand the EPA reconsider this rule.
This is a clear attempt by the Trump Administration to give Big Tech and other corporate polluters the green light to build where they want, how they want, and with less opportunity for public scrutiny.
The public deserves more say over what gets built in our communities, not less.
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