Trump Administration Proposes New Polluter Public Engagement Rules

The Trump administration is quietly advancing a regulatory shift that could significantly reduce public notice requirements for polluters seeking to build certain facilities, including gas plants and diesel generators used to power data centers. On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency held a public hearing to discuss a proposed rule change that would delegate authority to states on how the public participates in the permitting process for new sources of air pollution. This potential rollback arrives as data centers face mounting opposition across the United States, with many communities leveraging the permitting process to slow development. The outcome could profoundly affect how ordinary residents learn about new or expanded polluting facilities arriving in their neighborhoods.

“As someone actively working in communities with data centers, I know this to be fundamentally true: People want to have a say,” Vanessa Lynch, a Pennsylvania organizer with Moms Clean Air Force, stated during the EPA hearing.

Under the Clean Air Act, companies constructing any facility that emits air pollution must obtain permits. These permits fall into two categories: “major” sources, which meet or exceed thresholds for specific pollutants and undergo rigorous federal and state review, and “minor” sources, which do not. While major sources require extensive pre- and post-construction oversight, minor sources face less scrutiny. The category is remarkably broad, encompassing everything from dry cleaners and auto body shops to diesel and gas engines. The latter two are increasingly used to power data centers, with operators like xAI and Meta relying on minor source permitting to build behind-the-meter gas plants.

The Clean Air Act mandates public involvement in permitting, with Congress requiring major sources to include steps like public hearings. EPA rules also require some public participation for minor source permits. However, a patchwork of state enforcement laws means that the quality of this engagement, and whether agencies comply with EPA requirements, varies widely across the country.

If finalized, the proposed rule would “put state and local agencies most familiar with local issues in the driver’s seat to determine whether, when, and for how long to provide opportunities for public participation for proposed new minor sources and modifications,” an EPA spokesperson told WIRED, emphasizing that emissions standards would remain unchanged.

These state-level differences can have real consequences. Keri Powell, an Atlanta-based attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, notes that her group often takes on cases in states like Georgia, which has a relatively robust public notification process for minor sources. Earlier this month, the group alerted Georgia’s utility about construction issues at a data center, using information from public air permit applications. But if the EPA removes the federal requirement, community and legal groups could receive little or no notice about upcoming projects and be excluded from participation and review.

“Georgia is an example of a place where I can say I’m concerned,” Powell says.

Sara Lips, director of communications at Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division, says the agency is “determining whether proposed federal rule changes would affect the public participation requirements per the state regulations.”

Kentucky also maintains stronger public participation laws for minor source permits. Byron Gary, a senior attorney at the Kentucky Resources Council, says state agencies have made an “informal commitment” to keep their rules unchanged, even if the EPA alters its own. However, he warns that could shift: “Who knows [if] the next administration, whether they would actually change it.”