Agency for Research on Cancer, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Arguing That These Assessments Do Not Confirm the Cancer Risks

The proposed change, announced in July, would eliminate the federal public participation requirement for a large set of polluters and shift that responsibility to state and local air agencies, which would decide whether to notify the public about new sources of pollution. Advocates warn the move would allow data center developers and other industries to break ground without giving nearby residents a say or even a warning that construction is planned. "You can see why that would be so interesting to an administration that wants to rush through the construction of data centers, said Keri Powell, senior attorney and air program leader at the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC).

"What EPA would be allowing would be all of those facilities to go through and just not have to deal with the public, issue the permits in secret behind closed doors. Nobody knows what's happening until the bulldozers are out there. The changes apply to a permitting process in place since the 1970s called New Source Review, which covers a wide range of facilities from landfills and paper mills to power plant expansions.

With the rise of generative AI, these permits have become a flashpoint for opposition to new data centers and the power plants built to supply them with electricity. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin defended the plan, saying, "The state and local authorities closest to the issues and the public should be making the decisions on the permitting process as much as possible, not Washington. We are cutting unnecessary and burdensome red tape.

The change applies to so-called "minor" sources of pollution, which the EPA says "have relatively low emissions and limited environmental impact. Powell's group contends the "minor" label is a misnomer and that the permitting process routinely covers projects with significant consequences for neighbors. Colossus 1, xAI's massive data center in Tennessee that the company billed as the "most powerful AI training system yet, applied for a minor source permit in 2025, leading to a hearing and thousands of public comments, Inside Climate News reported.

The SELC and NAACP threatened to sue xAI for installing unpermitted gas turbines at the site that year. SELC was one of nearly 200 health and environmental groups that filed comments asking the EPA to withdraw its proposal. "[The EPA's proposal] could deprive the agencies making decisions about these [pollution] sources the necessary lived experience data of those communities.

Without that information, it is impossible for permitting agencies to evaluate the full, cumulative impact of these facilities, Kentucky Resources Council Senior Attorney Byron Gary said in a press release. Air pollution is often regulated at the federal level because it can waft across the country, affecting residents in one state even if the source is in another. The EPA's plan would leave it up to state and local agencies to decide whether to notify the public, leaving advocates concerned many would forgo the process altogether. The agency's proposal is now facing opposition from nearly 200 health and environmental groups that filed comments last Friday asking the EPA to withdraw it.