EPA Moves to Scrap Public Review for Data Center Pollution Permits
The EPA Is Planning to Scrap Public Review Rules for Data Center Pollution
The EPA plans to eliminate the federal requirement that states notify the public and allow comments before approving air-pollution permits for industrial facilities, including data centers and their power plants. A separate proposal would let developers start building before permits are approved. Critics say this erases one of the few chances for residents—especially in Black communities across the rural South—to learn about projects, ask questions, or challenge health and cost impacts.
It is a betrayal of everything that this country should stand for, purports to stand for. It runs counter to the will of the people.
- GolfPopper
This is bad news for everyone (well, except the high priests of the LLMs / nascent Cthulhoid godlings), but it certainly makes the communities who've successfully opposed data centers seem ever more justified in retrospect.
- agentultra
The EPA hasn’t been able to regulate anything since it’s been gutted by the current administration. Of course it’s going to scrap rules. We’re not even allowed to measure the effects of climate change.
- JohnFen
That's in line with the EPA's new mission of ensuring environmental degradation.
- twsted
I can’t believe we’re seeing so much bad news coming from EPA. Why all this backtracking from an agency that used to be so effective and well organized? Well, I guess we know the reason.
- awakeasleep
I wonder if you could open any type of business as a datacenter now, to avoid the review.
- sagebird
public forums should be for exchanging ideas and not a place to virtue signal whatever fad Nextdoor/Facebook emotional bait normies are feeding each other via brain rot feeds.
the public essentially has little interest in preventing human extinction. And tons of interest in preventing data centers under false arguments and performative displays.
What is the point of empowering the public when they are not curious but rather emotional children.
Basically, to empower the public now means, how to bastardize your arguments into an emotional narrative that is palatable to the commoners but probably misses all relevant arguments.
Like if you think x-risk is real, and datacenters are benign/reasonable/can-be-done-in-net-local-positive-way - then you are incentivized to pretend like datacenter are bad because peasants will not entertain your x risk calculus.
It's a herding/shepherding game where the only people willing to play are compromised.
- chasd00
ftfa "provide the state and local agencies most familiar with local issues the discretion to determine whether, when, and for how long to provide opportunities for public participation."
so give local government the controls, that doesn't seem so bad. As for the next line in the article saying people are losing faith in their local government i don't buy that a bit. Local government and elections are where your vote and voice are loudest. The most faith lost seems to be at the federal level.
Triggering articles like this are usually not so alarming if you take the time to read them and fish out the details. They're made for social media distribution and engagement from the headline alone.
- snowwrestler
These changes will last exactly as long as this administration, so it would be a pretty foolish business that makes long term investment decisions based on this announcement.
- 59percentmore
Antis are running out of time to stop what they wish to stop without resorting to destructive methods (bold and extreme action is already necessary).
Pros are running out of time to square their ambitions with a public that's about to go from needing a leg up to a public that wants their heads.
- childofhedgehog
Probably an oversimplified question but how do we actually stop this?