Prop 45 in California could be hiding a loophole for data centers

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A high-stakes California ballot measure pitched as a fast track for “essential” infrastructure could wind up giving data center developers a loophole to evade public scrutiny, environmental advocates warn.

加州一项被宣传为“必要”基础设施快速通道的高风险投票提案，可能会为数据中心开发商提供一个规避公众监督的漏洞，环保倡导者对此发出警告。

Proposition 45 would shorten timelines for state-mandated environmental assessments for eligible projects and make it more difficult for residents to challenge those projects in court. Proponents say passing the measure would help alleviate the state’s housing shortage and meet rising electricity demand with new renewable energy projects.

第45号提案将缩短符合条件项目的州强制环境评估时间，并增加居民在法庭上质疑这些项目的难度。支持者表示，通过该提案将有助于缓解该州的住房短缺，并通过新的可再生能源项目满足日益增长的电力需求。

Environmental groups and some legal experts, however, warn that data center developers backing the proposition could escape scrutiny if Prop 45 becomes law. “The concern here is that data center developers will find a way to shoehorn their projects into the definition of an essential project and then get to take advantage of … the fast-track review that it’ll create,” says Fernando Gaytan, a senior attorney at the nonprofit environmental law organization Earthjustice.

然而，环保组织和一些法律专家警告称，如果第45号提案成为法律，支持该提案的数据中心开发商可能会逃避审查。非营利性环境法律组织“地球正义”（Earthjustice）的高级律师费尔南多·盖坦（Fernando Gaytan）表示：“这里的担忧是，数据中心开发商会想方设法将他们的项目硬塞进‘必要项目’的定义中，从而利用它所创造的快速审查通道。”

Prop 45 would loosen standards for certain projects subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). CEQA requires state agencies to perform environmental reviews and work with project developers to find ways to limit any harmful impacts to the environment and public health.

第45号提案将放宽受《加州环境质量法》（CEQA）约束的某些项目的标准。CEQA要求州政府机构进行环境审查，并与项目开发商合作，寻找限制对环境和公共健康造成任何有害影响的方法。

Specifically, Prop 45 would create a 365-day deadline for agencies to complete the environmental impact report for a project. It also stipulates that any legal challenges would need to be settled within 270 days. It would only allow for 45 days of public comment, and it would only require state agencies and developers to consult with Native American tribes that have been federally recognized.

具体而言，第45号提案将为机构完成项目环境影响报告设定365天的截止日期。它还规定，任何法律挑战必须在270天内解决。该提案仅允许45天的公众评论期，并且仅要求州政府机构和开发商与联邦认可的美洲原住民部落进行磋商。

On top of all that, Prop 45 would bar courts from halting a project altogether even if it finds that the regulatory agency failed to correctly comply with CEQA. The judge would only have the ability to pause specific parts of a project that are problematic, rather than forcing a full stop to construction.

最重要的是，即使法院发现监管机构未能正确遵守CEQA，第45号提案也将禁止法院完全叫停项目。法官将只有权暂停项目中存在问题的特定部分，而不能强制全面停止施工。

The proposition lists nine types of “essential” projects that would be eligible for streamlined review, including housing, clean energy, and “broadband Internet access.” Gaytan and some other legal experts contend that the latter designation — broadband internet access — could include data centers.

该提案列出了九类有资格进行简化审查的“必要”项目，包括住房、清洁能源和“宽带互联网接入”。盖坦和其他一些法律专家认为，后一种定义——宽带互联网接入——可能涵盖数据中心。

Proponents, meanwhile, argue that Prop 45 would not apply to data centers. “The fact that data centers may play a role in supporting the Internet does not make them ‘essential broadband Internet access projects’ under Prop 45,” attorney and lobbyist Kurt Oneto writes in The National Law Review.

与此同时，支持者辩称第45号提案不适用于数据中心。律师兼游说者库尔特·奥内托（Kurt Oneto）在《国家法律评论》中写道：“数据中心可能在支持互联网方面发挥作用，这一事实并不意味着它们属于第45号提案下的‘必要宽带互联网接入项目’。”