EPA eases air quality permits to accelerate AI infrastructure buildout

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has announced changes to the New Source Review program that will allow companies to begin construction on new facilities before obtaining air quality permits, as long as the initial work doesn’t involve “emissions units” that release air pollution. The move is designed to accelerate the construction of data centers and power plants needed to support America’s artificial intelligence infrastructure, with Zeldin calling the current permitting system “broken.”

What’s changing: The EPA will now permit companies to start certain building activities before receiving full Clean Air Act construction permits.

• Companies can begin work on elements like installing cement pads and other non-emissions-related construction activities.
• The change applies specifically to activities that don’t involve air pollution-releasing components of industrial facilities.
• This represents a significant loosening of the long-standing New Source Review program, which was created to ensure major plant projects don’t worsen air quality.

Why this matters: The policy shift directly targets the bottleneck slowing AI infrastructure development in the United States.

• Data centers require massive amounts of electricity, creating urgent demand for new power generation facilities.
• Zeldin has positioned faster permitting as essential for maintaining American dominance in artificial intelligence.
• The administrator previewed this change in a July Fox News op-ed, emphasizing the need to expedite both data center and power plant construction.

What they’re saying: “This action provides flexibility to begin certain building activities that are not related to air emissions, such as installing cement pads, before obtaining a Clean Air Act (CAA) construction permit,” the EPA said in its news release.

The big picture: The announcement reflects the Trump administration’s broader push to streamline regulatory processes that could hinder AI development while attempting to maintain environmental protections through targeted exemptions rather than wholesale deregulation.