The Trump administration is moving to make it harder for communities to weigh in on proposed data centers, even as a backlash against the behemoth projects grows across the country.

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate a federal requirement that states publicize and solicit public input on applications for air pollution permits for a range of industrial facilities, including new data centers and the power plants needed to run them.

The move could prevent residents from raising concerns about — or even learning about — data centers before permits are approved and construction starts.

Nearly 200 advocacy groups and more than a dozen states have voiced opposition to the change, making it the latest flashpoint in the national debate over the data centers powering the artificial intelligence boom.

“People need to have a chance to have a say before they see bulldozers,” said Keri Powell, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy group.

Tech companies are increasingly building their own gas-burning power plants to fuel energy-hungry data centers, sometimes in response to pressure to keep the facilities from raising electricity costs.

But gas plants can release greenhouse gases that are driving climate change as well as harmful pollutants like particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, which can contribute to asthma, heart disease and other ailments in people living nearby. In some states, the permitting process is the only time the public is notified about plans for the plants.

Carolyn Holran, an E.P.A. spokeswoman, said in an email that the proposal would “provide the state and local agencies most familiar with local issues the discretion to determine whether, when, and for how long to provide opportunities for public participation.”

Ms. Holran said the move was intended to “responsibly speed up permitting, supporting American economic development and energy dominance. Our proposal does not alter emission standards or weaken environmental protections.”

In March 2025, Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, declared a top priority was to “make the United States the artificial intelligence capital of the world.” He has reframed the purpose of an agency that was established in 1970 to protect the environment and public health.

The E.P.A. has also proposed another sweeping change that would let developers start building data centers before their permits are approved. And it has exempted the gas plants that fuel many data centers from limits on pollutants that cause acid rain.

The latest proposal would apply to industrial facilities that the E.P.A. classifies as a “minor source” of air pollution. The category includes car repair shops, data centers, landfills, laundromats and steel mills.

Environmentalists argue that the phrase “minor source” is misleading, since such facilities can emit up to 250 tons of hazardous pollutants per year, a significant amount from a public health perspective.

“It is a misnomer,” said Jessica O’Donnell, a senior attorney at the Environmental Law & Policy Center, a nonprofit.

Several “minor source” permits can have a large cumulative effect.

In a part of Virginia called Data Center Alley, for instance, Amazon holds enough “minor source” permits to allow its backup generators to emit 4,200 tons of nitrogen oxides annually, roughly equivalent to the nitrogen oxides released by a medium-sized coal plant in a year.

Representatives for Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Josh Levi, the president of the Data Center Coalition, a lobbying group representing tech companies including Amazon and Microsoft, defended the industry’s environmental record.

“Regardless of whether requirements come from the federal government or states and localities, data centers will continue to be good grid citizens in compliance with applicable air quality standards,” Mr. Levi said in an email.

Polls have shown a bipartisan revolt against data centers, with Democrats and Republicans alike citing concerns about noise, air pollution and energy and water usage. Governors in both parties have called for more public input on the projects, not less.

Gov. Spencer Cox, Republican of Utah, has directed state agencies to provide “transparent, meaningful and thorough opportunities for public comment” on proposed data centers. Gov. Greg Abbott, Republican of Texas, has paused approvals of permits for data centers until state regulators can audit their effects. And Gov. Josh Shapiro, Democrat of Pennsylvania, has required developers to craft “detailed community outreach plans.”

“Even if the Trump administration is willing to limit local input, Pennsylvania will continue to conduct stringent review of all data center permits,” Will Simons, a spokesman for Mr. Shapiro, said in an email.

In a joint letter, Democratic attorneys general from 14 other states voiced opposition to the E.P.A. proposal, though none of the states is a data center hub.

Public comments on permits have sometimes influenced state officials.

Last year, for instance, environmentalists wrote to Indiana regulators about a draft permit for Project Maize, an $832 million Google data center campus planned along Lake Michigan. Regulators then revised the permit, though they still approved it. (Devon Smiley, a Google spokeswoman, said the project complied with all state and federal regulations.)

The E.P.A. is expected to finalize the proposal within the next year.