E.P.A. Moves to Curb Public Input on Air Pollution Permits for Data Centers

The Trump administration is moving to make it harder for communities to weigh in on proposed data centers, even as a backlash against the behemoth projects grows across the country.The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate a federal requirement that states publicize and solicit public input on applications for air pollution permits for a range of industrial facilities, including new data centers and the power plants needed to run them.The move could prevent residents from raising concerns about — or even learning about — data centers before permits are approved and construction starts.Nearly 200 advocacy groups and more than a dozen states have voiced opposition to the change, making it the latest flashpoint in the national debate over the data centers powering the artificial intelligence boom.“People need to have a chance to have a say before they see bulldozers,” said Keri Powell, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy group.Tech companies are increasingly building their own gas-burning power plants to fuel energy-hungry data centers, sometimes in response to pressure to keep the facilities from raising electricity costs.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....