Former EPA officials warn Trump data center deregulation raises health risks
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Former EPA officials warned this week that the Trump administration's deregulation of AI data centers is increasing health risks for Americans. They released a report identifying 30 federal actions since January 2025 that they say exacerbate pollution from data centers. The group urged President Trump to adopt a 'Data Center Health Protection Pledge' to address the environmental threat.
Key Facts
- The Environmental Protection Network released a report this week identifying 30 federal actions since January 2025 that exacerbate health risks from data center pollution.
- Of the 30 policy changes, 17 specifically mention AI or target data centers.
- Trump's 'AI Action Plan' released in July 2025 recommends streamlining or reducing regulations under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Superfund law to expedite data center permitting.
- Former EPA assistant administrator Lynn Goldman said EPA is 'thinking first about industry's needs and weakening or reconsidering limits on toxic chemicals and harmful pollutants.'
Deregulation and Health Risks
President Donald Trump is weakening environmental regulations to speed up construction of AI data centers, raising health risks for Americans, according to former EPA officials. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin proclaimed the goal of making America 'the AI capital of the world' through deregulation at the start of Trump's term. Zeldin and the White House have rolled back dozens of rules and cut staff and funding at the US EPA. The wave of new AI data centers is increasingly powered by dirty energy that can impact Americans' health even if they don't live near a data center, the EPA alumni warn.
Report and Policy Changes
The Environmental Protection Network, an independent organization of former EPA employees, released a report this week identifying 30 federal actions since January 2025 that exacerbate health risks from data center pollution. The actions include executive orders and proposals to curtail renewable energy projects while softening pollution regulations and exempting existing power plants and factories from certain standards. Of the 30 policy changes, 17 specifically mention AI or target data centers. Trump's 'AI Action Plan' released in July 2025 recommends 'streamlining or reducing regulations' under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Superfund law to expedite permitting for data center projects and chip factories.
Calls for Action
Former EPA officials are urging President Trump to adopt a 'Data Center Health Protection Pledge' to signal that the administration is taking the environmental threat seriously. Lynn Goldman, a pediatrician and former EPA assistant administrator, said at the briefing, 'You would think that an industry buildout of this magnitude, billed as a revolution, would mean more vigilance from EPA.' Goldman added, 'Instead, EPA is doing just the opposite, thinking first about industry's needs and weakening or reconsidering limits on toxic chemicals and harmful pollutants.' Tyson Slocum, energy program director at Public Citizen, told The Verge that the AI plan is 'using unprecedented emergency powers to grant massive new exemptions for data centers and specifically fossil fuel infrastructure.'
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