ON-PREM
State and local regulators would decide whether the public gets a say on minor-source permits
Soon, you may not even be able to find out what that new neighborhood bit barn could do to your air quality. A proposed change by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would eliminate federal minimum requirements for public participation in minor-source air permits, a move critics warn could affect some datacenter projects.The Environmental Protection Network, which is made up of former employees of the EPA itself, says the proposed rule change would eliminate mandatory public notice and comment requirements for so-called minor New Source Review (NSR) industrial air pollution permits in state plans under the Clean Air Act (CAA).Instead, state and local air quality regulatory authorities would be able to determine whether and to what extent public participation in minor NSR programs is necessary, effectively allowing them to decide whether the public is notified about new sources of pollution or modifications to existing sources.
The EPN, which has submitted formal public comments on the proposed changes, warns that it would leave communities in the dark regarding industrial developments. These could include large-scale, fossil-fueled power generators for AI datacenters that may be permitted as minor or synthetic-minor sources, and therefore avoid more stringent major-source review, it claims.
