The Trump Administration Wants to Change Public Engagement Rules for Polluters

特朗普政府拟修改污染源公众参与规则

The Trump administration is quietly considering a rule change that could make it easier for polluters to build facilities—including certain gas plants and diesel generators that power data centers—with little to no notice to the public. 特朗普政府正在悄悄考虑一项规则变更，该变更可能使污染者更容易建设相关设施（包括为数据中心供电的某些燃气电厂和柴油发电机），且无需向公众发出通知或仅需极少的通知。

On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency held a public hearing on a proposed rule change that would hand the power to states to decide how the public participates in the permitting process for certain new sources of air pollution. The proposed rollback comes as data centers face greater pushback across the US, with many communities using the permitting process to try to slow down development. Any changes could have major consequences for how ordinary people are given notice about new or expanded polluting facilities coming into their neighborhoods. 周三，美国环境保护署（EPA）就一项拟议的规则变更举行了公开听证会。该提案将把决定公众如何参与某些新空气污染源许可程序的权力下放给各州。此次拟议的撤销行动正值数据中心在美国各地面临越来越大的阻力之际，许多社区正利用许可程序试图减缓其开发速度。任何此类变更都可能对普通民众如何获知其社区内新建或扩建污染设施产生重大影响。

“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, said at the EPA hearing. “作为一名在拥有数据中心的社区积极工作的人，我深知一个基本事实：人们希望拥有发言权，”宾夕法尼亚州“妈妈清洁空气力量”（Moms Clean Air Force）组织的组织者凡妮莎·林奇（Vanessa Lynch）在EPA听证会上表示。

Companies building any kind of facilities that release air pollution are required to get permits under the Clean Air Act. Polluting sources can either be put through a “major” permitting process, meaning that they meet or exceed thresholds for certain pollutants, or a “minor” one for those that don’t. 根据《清洁空气法》，任何建设排放空气污染设施的公司都必须获得许可。污染源可以经过“主要”许可程序（意味着其污染物排放达到或超过特定阈值），也可以经过“次要”许可程序（针对未达到阈值的污染源）。

Major sources of pollution are reviewed by both federal and state regulators and have extensive requirements before and after construction. However, there’s less oversight of minor sources. The scope of what gets permitted as a minor source is extremely broad and can include everything from dry cleaners and auto body shops to diesel and gas engines. The latter two are increasingly being used to power data centers, with operators such as xAI and Meta using minor source permitting processes to build behind-the-meter gas plants. 主要污染源由联邦和州监管机构共同审查，在建设前后都有广泛的要求。然而，对次要污染源的监管较少。被许可为次要污染源的范围极其广泛，涵盖从干洗店、汽车修理厂到柴油和燃气发动机等各类设施。后两者正越来越多地被用于为数据中心供电，xAI和Meta等运营商正利用次要污染源许可程序来建设“表后”（behind-the-meter）燃气电厂。

The Clean Air Act does require the public to be involved in permitting processes; Congress has specified that major sources need to have several public steps, including a public hearing. EPA rules require some public participation for minor source permits. But thanks to a patchwork of state enforcement laws, that engagement process—and whether state agencies are actually complying with EPA requirements—varies across the US. 《清洁空气法》确实要求公众参与许可程序；国会已明确规定，主要污染源必须经过几个公开步骤，包括举行公开听证会。EPA的规则要求次要污染源许可也需一定的公众参与。但由于各州执法法律参差不齐，这一参与过程——以及州机构是否真正遵守了EPA的要求——在美国各地各不相同。

If the proposed rule is finalized, “it 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 tells WIRED, noting the rule wouldn’t alter emissions standards. 如果拟议规则最终确定，一位EPA发言人告诉《连线》（WIRED）杂志：“这将使最熟悉当地问题的州和地方机构处于主导地位，由它们决定是否、何时以及在多长时间内为拟议的新次要污染源和改造项目提供公众参与机会。”该发言人同时指出，此规则不会改变排放标准。

These state-by-state differences can make a big difference in how the public gets involved. Keri Powell, an Atlanta-based attorney at the environmental legal advocacy group Southern Environmental Law Center, says that groups like hers often end up taking on cases in states like Georgia, which, she says, has a more robust public notification and participation process for minor sources. Earlier this month, the group alerted the state utility about construction issues at a data center, based on information they’d gotten from the companies’ public air permit applications. But if the EPA removes the federal requirement, community and legal groups in the state could get little to no heads up about upcoming projects and be shut out of participation and review. 这些州与州之间的差异会对公众参与方式产生巨大影响。总部位于亚特兰大的环境法律倡导组织“南方环境法律中心”（Southern Environmental Law Center）的律师凯里·鲍威尔（Keri Powell）表示，像她所在的这类组织经常需要在佐治亚州等地处理案件，因为她认为该州针对次要污染源拥有更健全的公众通知和参与程序。本月早些时候，该组织根据从公司公开空气许可申请中获得的信息，向州公用事业部门通报了某数据中心的施工问题。但如果EPA取消了联邦层面的要求，该州的社区和法律团体可能几乎无法获知即将开展的项目，并被排除在参与和审查之外。

“Georgia is an example of a place where I can say I’m concerned,” Powell says. “佐治亚州就是一个让我感到担忧的地方，”鲍威尔说。

Sara Lips, the director of communications at Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division, says that the agency is “determining whether proposed federal rule changes would affect the public participation requirements per the state regulations.” 佐治亚州环境保护部门的通讯主管萨拉·利普斯（Sara Lips）表示，该机构正在“评估拟议的联邦规则变更是否会影响州法规下的公众参与要求。”

Kentucky also has 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” behind the scenes to keep their public participation rules the same, even if the EPA changes its rules. But, he says, that could shift: “Who knows [if] the next administration, whether they would actually change it.” 肯塔基州在次要污染源许可方面也有更严格的公众参与法律。肯塔基资源委员会（Kentucky Resources Council）的高级律师拜伦·加里（Byron Gary）表示，州机构在幕后做出了“非正式承诺”，即使EPA更改规则，他们也会保持现有的公众参与规则不变。但他表示，这种情况可能会改变：“谁知道下一届政府是否真的会改变它呢。”

Texas is an example of what lower levels of engagement look like. The data center boom there has driven a massive buildout of private gas plants, many of which rely on minor pollution permits. The state’s lower levels of enforcement have left some communities living in the shadows of data centers surprised at the scope of fossil fuel infrastructure being installed near their homes. 德克萨斯州则是公众参与度较低的一个例子。那里数据中心的繁荣推动了私人燃气电厂的大规模建设，其中许多电厂依赖次要污染许可。该州较低的执法力度使得一些生活在数据中心阴影下的社区，对自家附近安装的化石燃料基础设施的规模感到震惊。

Since coming into power, the Trump administration has gone all in on artificial intelligence, removing multiple roadblocks for data center development at the federal level. That includes efforts at the EPA, which is working to make the US “the AI capital of the world,” the agency spokesperson says. 自上台以来，特朗普政府全力支持人工智能，在联邦层面清除了数据中心发展的多重障碍。该机构发言人表示，这包括EPA所做的努力，该机构正致力于使美国成为“世界人工智能之都”。

Companies are also spending vast sums of money on the data center buildout: Spending on data center construction outpaced spending on public transportation infrastructure for the first time in June. Given that public opposition is creating a new bottleneck for data center development, the timing of the rule revision, Powell says, is probably not an accident. 企业也在数据中心建设上投入了巨额资金：6月份，数据中心建设支出首次超过了公共交通基础设施支出。鲍威尔认为，鉴于公众的反对正在为数据中心的发展制造新的瓶颈，此次规则修订的时机恐怕并非巧合。

“I think it’s part of a package of rules that the Trump administration is pushing through to make it easier for AI data centers to be constructed,” she says. “我认为这是特朗普政府正在推动的一揽子规则的一部分，旨在让AI数据中心的建设变得更加容易，”她说。