Former EPA officials warn Trump administration’s deregulation will increase AI data center pollution risks

A group of former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials warned this week that the Trump administration is weakening environmental regulations to accelerate the construction of AI data centers, thereby increasing health risks for Americans. The officials, organized under the Environmental Protection Network (EPN), released a report identifying 30 federal actions taken since January 2025 that they argue exacerbate health risks stemming from data center pollution. Of these, 17 actions specifically mention AI or target data centers, including proposals to curtail renewable energy projects and soften pollution regulations.

The report follows the Trump administration’s stated goal, outlined in an 'AI Action Plan' released in July 2025, to streamline or reduce regulations under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Superfund law to expedite permitting for data center projects and chip factories. Critics argue this plan effectively uses emergency powers to grant exemptions for data centers and fossil fuel infrastructure. 'What the AI plan is really about [is] using unprecedented emergency powers to grant massive new exemptions for data centers and specifically fossil fuel infrastructure,' Tyson Slocum, energy program director at Public Citizen, told The Verge at the time.

The policy changes coincide with a revival of production for advanced chips needed for generative AI, which can involve the use of 'forever chemicals' that persist in the environment and accumulate in human bodies. The report emphasizes that pollution from AI infrastructure is not confined to data center sites, noting that 'you do not need to be near a data center to be affected, because the pollution doesn’t just come from the data centers themselves,' according to Lynn Goldman, a pediatrician and former EPA assistant administrator.

A study cited in the report, conducted by researchers from UC Riverside, Caltech, and the Rochester Institute of Technology, estimates that air pollution associated with AI could lead to up to 1,300 premature deaths and more than $20 billion in public health costs by 2028. The EPA alumni argue that these projected impacts could be even larger when accounting for the additional policy changes outlined in their report. They advocate for restoring clean air and water standards and rebuilding federal agencies’ capacity to enforce those rules to mitigate the risks.

The former officials are urging the Trump administration to adopt a 'Data Center Health Protection Pledge' to signal a commitment to addressing the environmental threats posed by AI infrastructure. 'A more polluting AI buildout is not inevitable. It depends on the choices government makes now,' said Marc Boom, EPN’s senior director of public affairs, during a briefing. The group also calls for the EPA to publicly disclose data on how the AI infrastructure buildout is changing pollution levels and exposure risks.