Trump is giving data centers a pass to pollute
| Source: The Verge AI
Tags: data centers, EPA, AI regulation, Trump, environmental policy, AI infrastructure
Former EPA officials released a report identifying 30 federal regulatory rollbacks since January 2025 that increase health risks from AI data center pollution — 17 specifically targeting AI or data centers — as the Trump administration prioritizes deregulation to accelerate data center construction over environmental protections.
Details
The Environmental Protection Network, composed of former EPA officials, published a report this week identifying 30 specific federal policy changes since January 2025 that worsen health outcomes connected to AI data center expansion. Of those 30, 17 directly mention AI or target data centers.\n\nEPA administrator Lee Zeldin proclaimed his goal of making America 'the AI capital of the world' through deregulation at the start of Trump's term. The rollbacks include executive actions curtailing renewable energy projects while softening pollution regulations and exempting existing power plants and factories from certain standards.\n\nThe core concern: new AI data centers are increasingly powered by dirty energy rather than renewables, and the health impacts extend beyond communities near individual facilities. Former EPA assistant administrator Lynn Goldman, a pediatrician, said at a briefing: 'You would think that an industry buildout of this magnitude, billed as a revolution, would mean more vigilance from EPA. Instead, EPA is doing just the opposite.'\n\nThe group is calling for a 'Data Center Health Protection Pledge' from the Trump administration — an ask the report itself frames as potentially futile. Trump released an AI Action Plan in July 2025 recommending streamlining or reducing regulatory requirements for data centers.