President Donald Trump is backing a broader effort to accelerate data center construction across the U.S. as the Environmental Protection Agency considers eliminating federal minimum requirements for public participation in some air-pollution permits, a move critics say could reduce communities' ability to scrutinize projects near their homes.
The EPA proposed the change in July under the Clean Air Act permitting system. If adopted, it would give state and local air agencies greater discretion over whether residents are notified about permits for certain "minor" pollution sources, when notice is provided and how much time the public has to respond.
The proposal would not prohibit residents from commenting on data center developments, nor would it apply to all data center construction. Instead, it would remove a federal baseline for public participation in permits involving sources classified as minor emitters.
That distinction has become increasingly relevant as data centers expand their use of diesel backup generators and natural-gas turbines to meet enormous electricity requirements. Some of those power installations can fall within the permitting category covered by the EPA proposal.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has said the change is intended to reduce unnecessary permitting delays and give more authority to state and local regulators who are "closest to the issues and the public."
The agency argues that minor pollution sources generally create lower emissions and more limited environmental effects than major facilities. It has also said the proposal would leave existing emissions limits and other environmental protections intact.
Environmental groups and former regulators say the change could have a different practical effect. The Environmental Protection Network, an organization of former EPA employees, warned in August that communities could receive less advance information about industrial facilities, including fossil-fuel-powered infrastructure serving rapidly expanding artificial-intelligence data centers.
Nearly 200 organizations have urged the EPA to withdraw the proposal, according to recent reporting. Their objections come as data center development has emerged as a broader political issue involving electricity prices, water demand, noise and pressure on local infrastructure.
Trump has increasingly defended the industry as opposition spreads across both Republican- and Democratic-led communities. In a recent social-media post, he argued that data centers can bring jobs, economic growth and greater tax revenue.
"The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor," Trump wrote.
He also warned that if the U.S. "kill[s] the Golden Goose," China would benefit, framing rapid data center expansion as part of the broader technology competition between Washington and Beijing.
The administration has taken several steps to speed development. Trump signed an executive order in 2025 aimed at accelerating federal permitting for data center infrastructure, and the EPA this year issued guidance intended to provide developers more flexibility when constructing power facilities serving those projects.
Local resistance, however, has been widening. In Pennsylvania, officials from both parties have faced pressure over large proposed developments, while Gov. Josh Shapiro has introduced additional requirements aimed at community engagement and transparency around new data centers.
Texas has gone further by freezing new data center grid connections amid concerns over extremely large and potentially speculative electricity requests. Reuters reported Sept. 1 that data center power requests across parts of the U.S. now exceed 700 gigawatts, substantially more than projected actual consumption.
The scale of those requests has intensified questions about whether utilities could be forced to build generation and transmission capacity for projects that never materialize, while residents and businesses face pressure from higher infrastructure costs and tighter electricity supplies.
The EPA proposal's public-comment period closed Aug. 21 after the rule was introduced in July. The agency has not yet issued a final version.
