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WASHINGTON — A coalition of nearly 200 environmental, health, and community groups filed comments late Friday urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw its proposal to eliminate the minimum public participation requirements for air pollution permits often used for data centers, power plant expansions, and other industrial facilities.
EPA’s proposal would eradicate minimum federal public participation requirements for state-issued Clean Air Act minor New Source Review permits, which typically apply to new sources like data centers, asphalt plants, landfills, waste incinerators including plastic pyrolysis facilities, and emissions-increasing expansions of existing large industrial sources, including new units at power plants. EPA’s existing regulations, which have been in effect for more than 50 years, require states to provide public notice of draft permits and at least a 30-day public comment period.
If EPA finalizes its proposal, it will be entirely up to state and local air agencies to decide whether to provide public notice and an opportunity to comment on Clean Air Act minor new source review permits or to instead issue permits behind closed doors.
