How the U.S. Public Lost Its Say on Environmental Policy
The article examines efforts by the Trump administration to limit public participation in federal environmental reviews and regulatory decisions. It discusses how reduced public comment could affect data center permitting, including EPA proposals involving air pollution permits and the administration’s intervention in a Clean Air Act citizen suit against xAI.
The Trump administration has curtailed public involvement in environmental reviews and rulemaking by eliminating draft-impact disclosures, narrowing analyses of indirect and cumulative effects, and using emergency or national-security justifications to bypass normal procedures. Agencies including the EPA, Interior, Agriculture, Energy and Transportation have adopted or pursued changes that make it harder for communities and other stakeholders to review proposed projects and regulations.
The article notes that the EPA is proposing to eliminate public-comment requirements for permits covering certain minor air pollution sources. That change could affect data centers that use gas or diesel generators by allowing operators to divide generating units into smaller permitted sources. The administration has also intervened in a citizen lawsuit alleging that xAI violated the Clean Air Act while generating power for its data centers, arguing that the president can seek dismissal of such suits.