EPA moves to fast-track air permitting for data centers, power plants, other industry

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has unveiled a proposal to accelerate air quality permitting for various industrial facilities, including data centers and power plants. This change would permit the construction of non-emitting components, such as foundations and utility infrastructure, before a full air pollution permit is secured. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stated the proposal aims to alleviate delays and regulatory burdens for "critical American infrastructure," while maintaining environmental protection. The federal initiative follows a year of community protests and legal challenges in West Virginia against air quality permits granted by the state's Department of Environmental Protection for data center projects. One such project, the Fidelis-linked Monarch Compute Campus AI project in Point Pleasant, Mason County, recently acquired by Nscale Global Holdings, involves a proposed biomass-fired boiler and hydrogen production facility. The EPA's proposed revisions target the New Source Review program of the Clean Air Act, which traditionally restricts preconstruction activities on emissions units. Critics argue that a looser interpretation of these regulations could enable industries to increase emissions without implementing pollution control technology. This proposal is the latest in a series of measures advanced under President Donald Trump to narrow federal oversight on air pollution, including past actions that paused compliance with mercury and air toxics emission standards and repealed greenhouse gas standards for vehicles.