Ex-EPA officials: 30 Trump actions raise data center health risks

President Trump's administration has made accelerating AI data center construction a priority. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said he wants to make America "the AI capital of the world" through deregulation, and since then the White House has rolled back dozens of rules, cut EPA staff and funding, and released an "AI Action Plan" in July 2025 recommending streamlined regulations under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Superfund law to expedite permitting.

The Environmental Protection Network's report argues these moves have a direct health cost. It cites a study from UC Riverside, Caltech, and the Rochester Institute of Technology projecting up to 1,300 premature deaths and more than $20 billion in public health costs by 2028 from AI-related air pollution. The group says the toll could be even larger under the policy changes. Former EPA assistant administrator Lynn Goldman said at a briefing that the agency is now "thinking first about industry's needs" rather than acting as a watchdog. EPA spokesperson Cora Mandy responded that the agency is returning regulations to the best reading of the Clean Air Act while prioritizing AI leadership.

The outcome hinges on whether the administration adopts the proposed pledge and whether EPA rebuilds its enforcement capacity. The former officials say a more polluting AI buildout is not inevitable and depends on government choices. For now, the debate sets environmental health advocates against an administration focused on speeding AI infrastructure.