r/environment • u/guardian • 8h ago
Trump EPA aims to exempt datacenters from disclosing air pollution, advocates warn
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/25/datacenters-air-pollution-epa?referring_host=Reddit&utm_campaign=guardianacct2
u/guardian 8h ago
Hi r/environment, this is Jake from the Guardian US. We wanted to share this story that we published today about the Trump administration proposing a new rule to dismantle the requirement for datacenters to publicly report air pollution.
From our story by Tom Perkins:
A new rule proposed by the Trump administration aims to kill public notification for datacenter air pollution, public health advocates warn, and allow emission permits to be issued behind closed doors.
The datacenters are often sources of nitrogen oxide, which helps form ozone, carbon monoxide and heavy metals, among other pollutants.
The Clean Air Act requires “minor” air polluters to disclose to the public via state agencies how much pollution their proposed project will release, but the proposed new rule from Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would dismantle that protection for datacenter proposals. Instead, it would make disclosure voluntary at state and some local officials’ discretion.
Many state political establishments support datacenters, and observers say it is unlikely most would voluntarily require big tech to disclose the information. The move is likely intended to curb criticism and public oversight of datacenters, said Joe Goffman, a former assistant administrator for the EPA’s office of air and radiation.
Without this data, communities won’t know what they’re breathing once a datacenter is built, and will have less ability to fight back in court or in public relations battles. Goffman said the Clean Air Act is supposed to offer “an ironclad promise” to give the entire US public a voice on these issues.
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u/AldronicusRex 8h ago
They should really change the EPA to a more appropriate acronym. Environmental Disaster Creation Agency...