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The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed cutting the American public out of air pollution permits for “minor sources,” which includes the tractor trailer-sized diesel generators used by data centers for backup power. EPA’s proposal removes any requirement for transparency or public participation for “minor source” pollution sources, including most data centers.
As data centers rapidly expand across the country, many rely on fleets of diesel and gas generators while obtaining multiple “minor source” permits that can obscure the cumulative pollution impacts of clustered data centers. Instead of strengthening oversight, the administration is proposing to weaken one of the few tools communities have to understand and challenge new pollution sources in their neighborhoods.
In September 2024, Sierra Club began commenting on the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s (EPD) data center air permitting process, responding to concerns over the growing number of diesel generators being permitted at the facilities. Sierra Club has submitted nearly fifty sets of comments on the process, arguing data center facilities are polluting the air by burning diesel fuel and increasing electricity demand which has brought more polluting generation online; data centers should be required to use more protective emissions control technology on diesel generators; and EPD should require more transparency about the number of diesel generators operating at each facility and their cumulative effects on air quality.
