EPA Proposes to Abandon Clean Air Act to Fast Track AI Data Center Construction

The EPA under Director Lee Zeldin is proposing to abandon perhaps the most important provision of the Clean Air Act in order to accelerate the construction of major pollution sources like AI data centers.  For decades the EPA has required major sources of pollution to obtain an air quality permit from a state’s relevant agency before construction can begin to make sure that pollution from the new facility will not cause a violation of national clean air standards. 

But now the Trump EPA is proposing to abandon that requirement and allow construction of every part of a facility except the actual source of pollution to precede before that permit is obtained.   This absurd change is a clear capitulation to the AI data center industry, allowing them to fast track the construction process.  Little imagination is required to understand the impossible task of getting a facility “unapproved” that has been nearly completely built, and hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of dollars already spent on construction.

The EPA is holding a national, virtual hearing on this proposed rule change Thursday, May 28, beginning at 8:00 a.m. MST.  Many of the speakers against this rule change will be from Utah, worried about how this might fast track AI data centers in the state, such as the Stratos Project Proposed by Kevin O’Leary.

Making this rule change even more onerous is a law passed by the Utah Legislature in this past session, SB234, that prohibits state agencies from making any environmental rules stricter than the EPA’s rule.  Taken together, these two rules could make it nearly impossible to stop construction of AI data centers in Utah until it’s too late.

While he was standing next to Director Zeldin last week, Gov. Cox promised that no short cuts on permits would be allowed by the state for data centers,.  But if this change in the EPA rule is finalized, the Utah Division of Air Quality may be unable to require an air quality permit before construction begins.

“This rule change would be a huge gift to the AI data center industry, and at the same time makes a mockery of the statutory obligation of the EPA to protect public health. Under this director, the EPA has been turned into the Polluter Protection Agency. This rule change is one of the most egregious examples of the perversion of what their mission is supposed to be,” said Dr. Brian Moench, President of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment.

“Utah is facing a crisis. Our water resources are stretched to the breaking point; on windy days our air is filled with toxic dust from our dying Great Salt Lake. And we’re being inundated with industrial development proposals, coming in the form of data centers with independent gas power plants. Now, more than ever, we need to assess the impacts of development on our parched and dusty lands before we allow projects to proceed,” said Deeda Seed, Senior Utah Campaigner for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The EPA’s proposal to allow some construction to proceed before air pollution permits are received makes the pollution permitting process a farce as there will be enormous pressure not to halt a half-built project. This is a cost Utah can’t afford.”